Do you buy Used clothes for your kids?

[PMJ]

I've recently come to learn that many of the people I know buy Used clothes for their kids. I was a bit surprised, b/c many of them come from middle-to-upper class.

1) yes

2) No

3) Sometimes

I don't know if it is a cultural thing, but I don't buy used clothes. I also kind of feel like it's 'wrong', b/c we can afford to buy new items. DD does not have a TON and an over-abundance of clothes, but enough.

[sariana]

I voted no, but I do accept hand-me-downs from people I know. I also pass along clothes to a friend. So we kind of have a local network going.

[crl]

Yes, absolutely, I buy used. We could afford to buy new, but why spend more money on something that gets such short use? Dd went through five sizes of clothes on the first year of her life; thank goodness for CL lots at $1 a piece instead of $5-10 or more new! And, of course, it is better for the environment. I also gladly accept hand me downs!

I voted sometimes because I haven't ever found much used for older ds, especially in bigger sizes, and because I have bought a fair chunk of new stuff for dd too based on lack of ready availability of a specific item used and because I'm a sucker for "special" dresses.

Catherine

[Puddy73]

Yes, sometimes. I don't have the patience for yard sales, but I do like consignment stores and sales. I suppose we could afford to buy everything new, but I'd rather put that money towards other things.

[echoesofspring]

I buy a combination of new and used. I always try to buy used first and then if I can't find what I'm looking for buy new, except for an occasional 'i have to have that moment'. I buy used for a whole host of reasons that people have already mentioned. But I am very picky about what I'll buy, and I am aware of dimishing returns for too much time spent. But I have a couple consignment and used stores I'll cycle through once a month or so.

I'm also fairly price savy, alot of time used isn't much cheaper than something new with sales and coupons, etc. At least where we live....if we lived in a bigger area I could probably find more used stuff. High end stuff (HA, etc. ) is next to nearly impossible to find around here.

I feel so wasteful looking at the box of clothes that DS hardly wore and grew out of in the blink of an eye.

I'm curious why you would think it's wrong?

[essnce629]

I voted "sometimes." When DS1 was under one I pretty much bought everything used from the consignment store. I was only 22 years old at the time and a full time college student so money was scarce. Also, none of my close friends had kids yet so I didn't have many hand me downs. Once DS was older though I started shopping at Gymboree a lot more since I found the clothes lasted longer and I knew we'd have another baby one day and was saving all of DS's clothes. I could get stuff pretty cheap at Gymboree by only shopping their sale stuff and using a coupon and I could do all my shopping online without having to drag DS to different stores. And once DS started preschool he started ripping through the knees of all his pants and I had to start buying the LE climber pants. They are the only pants that would actually make it through the season (just barely) and they are not cheap, but buying 5 pairs of them (with a coupon) and having them last the entire season was better then going through 15 pairs of less expensive or used pants that he could rip through in a week.

With DS2 I had a bunch of clothes from DS1 that I saved, so I really didn't need to buy many clothes the first 18 months. Now that DS2 is 2 1/2, I've had to start buying things again, since this is the age DS1 started preschool and his clothes (size 3T) started getting trashed (so not as much was saved). I choose to buy new stuff, since I want it to last and I feel that I can get new clothes for nearly the same price as consignment store clothes if I buy stuff on sale and use a coupon. Not having to drag my kids around to different stores and search for clothes is worth it. I continue to save all of DS1 and DS2's clothes that are in good condition and have passed them on to two of my friends who have boys younger than DS2. They will give them back to me when they are outgrown. There are no children's consignment shops near me that I know of.

[LarsMal]

I voted no, but I do accept hand-me-downs from people I know.

I also pass clothes along.

[stefani]

I voted yes, but more accurately: "I did, but not anymore". When DS was little, the clothes from consignment stores (Kid to Kid, Once Upon A Child, etc.) look brand new and DS wore them in such a short period of time.

Now, DS can wear clothes for many years, and I see that the used clothes are more "worn", so I stopped buying used clothes. I think DS was about 4 or 5 when most, if not all of his clothes are brand new.

I noticed that when DS was little I would either sell or donate most of his clothes, while now I throw away a lot of his clothes because they are really not wearable anymore.

My parents did cringe when they heard that their first grandchild wore 2nd hand clothes :-) We are Asians, so the "buy new if you can afford it" is embedded there.

[Uno-Mom]

Almost always, except for HA outlet sales. We could afford new clothes but I don't see any reason to. Besides, in general buying used at our consignment shops let my dollars support quirky local businesses vs national brands/stores.

The other big reason is that I'm able to buy high-end, interesting and lovely designer clothes. I would never, ever pay those brands' "new" prices for toddler clothes!

Eta: like pps, I am finding it harder to buy used basics now that Sprog is pushing 3t.

[YouAreTheFocus]

I buy my son a lot of stuff on eBay. His wardrobe wouldn't be half as cute without it! For Xmas he'll be wearing HA red corduroy overalls from the 'bay--they don't make em anymore. Cost a whopping $4.50