How much do you sale old baby stuff for?

[julieakc]

I am trying to clear out a bunch of old baby gear, toys, clothes, etc. by listing on craiglist. All of the gear and toys are in great condition; literally look brand new (and I have the instructions for everything). Clothes obviously range depending on how much they were worn, food stain remnants, etc.

So what is a fair price? I'm thinking in the ballpark of 75% of what new would be for the toys and gear and anywhere from 30% - 75% for clothes (based on condition). Does this sound reasonable?

I'd really prefer to sell the stuff myself rather than to a used baby store/consignment store because I sold a stroller that way once and then totally regretted it because I felt I got such a lousy return when my stroller was in WAY better condition than any of the others being sold at the store.

Am I being unreasonable? What would you do?

TIA

[Momof3Labs]

Check eBay for going rates (take into account that people have to pay shipping when they buy on eBay), too. And consider sales - some prices on Craigslist seem really high considering what you can get an item for on sale.

Some items, like the Baby Bjorn, don't go for much even when they are like new because everyone is trying to get rid of theirs. Other items that you don't see secondhand often may go for much more.

[tiapam]

For toys and gear, 75% seems a little high to me, partly because of what Lori said about sales, but also because if you buy at a store and something is wrong, you can usually return.

-Pam

DD - One year old!

[essnce629]

I sold ALL of Conner's baby gear on Craigslist. All of his stuff looked brand new as well and I sold it for 50% of what it was selling for brand new in the stores AT THAT TIME. So, if I paid $100 for his swing at BRU, but they were now selling it for $80, I listed it for $40 instead of $50. I had no problem selling his stuff and it all sold very quick. For clothes, however, what I did was 3 things-- I kept all the brand new looking stuff I liked (for future children or friends), I gave away anything with stains or that was faded, and everything else that was in good condition that I didn't want to keep for myself I sold on Craiglist. I'd just sell everything in a big garbage bag by size (3-6 months, etc). Each bag had about 40-50 items and I sold it for around $25. Before putting everything in a bag, I'd lay it all out nicely on the floor and take a picture of it to list with my ad. ALWAYS include pictures in your ads and make sure they are good pictures and show different angles for all your gear. If you only have a few items to sell, make a separate ad for each item, but if you have a ton of stuff to sell (like I did in the beginning) make one ad listing everything you have to sell (along with their prices) and then create a Shutterfly account with all the pictures and list the link in your ad. Good luck!

***Latia
Conner, my homebirthed water baby, 8/19/03
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Self-weaned at 24 months! http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/9870.gif

[julieakc]

Thanks for everyone's input.

Actually when I started figuring out what the % was for the numbers I had in my head, it was more like 60%, but maybe I do need to think about selling even lower.

I think I'm having a hard time letting go of the baby things :-(, so getting a higher return eases the pain in mind, KWIM? :-) And I suppose I just think how I would love to have bought my excellent used things at any discount.

Thanks again!

[dogmom]

I think there are some more variables to consider, especially for toys. (Sorry I didn't respond right away.)

First off, a lot of toys get sold on sale for 75% of price, so I think that needs to be considered. Also, where do you live? How flexable with you be with pick-up, etc? I don't want to drive 20 minutes with my kids to see a toy that is in much worse shape than stated that I can get new for an extra $5 at the Walmart down the road which has a return policy. I'm not saying YOUR toys are in worse shape, but the person responding to your Craigs list post doesn't know that. Generally people will pay more on eBay than Craigs list because of the Paypal feature, people will mail it to you, and you have a greivance procedure.

I just think the considerations for buying used are a lot more complex than just the price. My neighbor buys everything used, but she either buys from yard sales or consignment shops. The first because it is so cheap, the second because she can make one run to the consignment store and get toys & clothes.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

[kijip]

For used gear items, I would say 40-60% of what the item is CURRENTLY selling for new. Towards the lower end for items that are flooded (Bjorns) and upper end for things that are more scarce or in exceptional condition. The only exceptions are if you have something that is really scarce and in demand---like the LT Activity Garden ;). No harm in marking everything at 60% and bargaining downwards! That said I have always done better than 60% on CL for strollers but the ones that I was selling on CL were in excellent condition.

Used clothes are frankly more like 10%-50% on new price on my area's CL it seems. If I wanted to get more I would need to sell on Ebay or something. Clothes are truly a flooded market in the bigger cities with all of the resale shops and what not.