When expecting a baby, especially for the first time, it’s natural to want to be as prepared as possible, and the way I felt most prepared and ready was to have all of the baby supplies that we could possibly need so that we were covered for all eventualities.
With my eldest, I wrote up a huge list of “must-have” items to take shopping, despite some of my friends who were more experienced parents telling me that many of them were not really necessary, and in some cases totally pointless, I still went ahead and checked them off the list just in case!
Inevitably, some of the items I never even took out of their boxes and ended up selling them on still brand new in their packaging. Had I bought some of them second hand, I could have saved some money – especially since I’m sure I could have bought them brand new in the box from another mum who bought the items unnecessarily just like me!
These are just a few of the items I bought but never used, and sold on still in the boxes or barely used
- Tens Machine: I don’t regret buying this because I wanted to have it just in case, but the way my labour went I never needed this item, and ended up selling it on brand new without even taking it out at all. It would have cost to hire one though, and with selling it on new I did make most of the money back. I wonder if the buyer actually ended up using it or not!
- Breast Pump: This is another item I felt like I should have to cover all eventualities, but never used at all. These can be quite expensive, so buying someone else’s unused and unwanted one can be a good idea if you just want it “just in case”
- Cloth Nappies: I had all the best intentions with this, but just didn’t end up using them. Disposables were so much easier, despite all the cute patterns and designs that had wooed me to invest in the cloth sets!
- Baby slings: I tried quite a few, since I really wanted to get into using these but never found “the one” – which resulted in a collection of 4 or 5 slings that had each been used less than a handful of times (and then I went back to my trusty pushchair)
- Rocking horse: We bought a quite expensive toddler rocking horse for our eldest, because it looked so cute but he didn’t end up using it much
To make all of this buying and selling much easier, it would have been great if wanna had been around at the time! wanna is a new app for local people to get in touch and easily buy, sell, swap or give their unwanted items and advertise or find services that they need too.
If you’re reading on your phone or tablet, just click the link to your specific app store below and check it out for yourself. I’m hoping more and more people will get into using the app, since it’s such an easy way to buy and sell. You don’t have to deal with e-bay fees, and it seems quicker and less hassle than selling on gumtree.
Which items should you have bought second hand? Did you spend money on baby products and then hardly use them?
I asked some of the parents over on the In The Playroom Facebook page and they shared many stories of things they should have bought second hand too, including parenting books, baby room thermometers, sterilisers (often bought and never used, if you end up breastfeeding), baby chairs, jumperoos, bedding sets that were never used, baby bath tub, bottle warmers, wipe warmers and expensive pushchairs and travel systems. It seems like every parent has at least a few unnecessary purchases especially in the early days!
Let me know yours in the comments, and follow wanna on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date.
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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
My Tens machine has been used for five people’s births so now I don’t regret buying that but it does make complete sense to rent it or borrow one. I think my friends have the right idea 🙂
oh wow, yes you definitely got the use out of yours!
I agree with the sling, my daughter hated being in it, so it was a complete waste and we too tried several. I loved my Tens, it was the only pain relief I had and I hope to use it with the next baby too. I also loved my breast pump, although I ended up buying three before I found the right one for me, so would probably have been better off getting buying 2nd hand!
I didn’t buy a breast pump before my daughter was born, but I did buy one 2 days later. I subsequently used it 8x a day for 8 months. And I still use my wraps/slings with her at 18 months.
How about pretty much everything? We thought we were done at 4 so gave everything away. For number 5 we had to start over and bought almost everything from consignment stores, thrift stores, and Craig’s list.