Do you buy Used clothes for your kids?

[mikala]

Most of my child's wardrobe consists of generous hand-me-downs, consignment sale and garage sale finds. I only buy stuff that is in good condition and have saved a lot of $$ this way. I almost never buy Gymbo or Gap in stores but we have a lot of clothes in both brands. I fill in the gaps with basics from places like Target.

I do it because I'd rather spend the money on other things (travel, eating out, etc) and because it's more eco-friendly than always buying new. I refuse to spend $$ on a pair of Gap jeans when I can get them for $2-3 in like-new condition.

I imagine this will taper off as DS grows and the like-new used market shrinks for the larger sizes.

[lizzywednesday]

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.

I accept hand-me-downs when I can (it's tough - the rest of my family has boys and I have a girl and the next ones up are quite a bit older than my DD, so their things have long since gone out to donation or been handed down elsewhere) and make it a point to offer hand-me-downs to friends when I have them available.

Part of this is that I love shopping for DD but part of it is I simply can't make the time to get out of the house to go to consignment shops or Goodwill. I won't buy off eBay - used clothing has to bee seen in person, IMO.

[anonomom]

I voted "yes," but I'm more of a mix these days. I buy used at consignment sales because I love brands like HA and Boden but am generally too cheap to buy them new (though, thanks to the BBB, I've started shopping Hanna outlet sales). When DD1 was younger, most of her clothes were from Target. Now, though, Target's girl clothing is both skanky and expensive, so I stalk the Gymboree and LE sales, and fill in with consignment finds.

[justlearning]

I buy a good amount at our semi-annual MOPS Munchkin Market sale. I donate a lot to it too and appreciate that it's a way to share good clothes with each other and pay $1 per item that goes to the MOPS group. Our sale is a huge event and I would guess that most of the moms who attend could easily afford new clothes if they wish.

I would say that about 50-75% of my kids' wardrobe is bought new, though, because I can't find those items in good shape used (e.g., uniform clothes). I do never pay anywhere near full price, though.

ETA that DS2 rarely gets any new clothes because he's happy to wear hand-me-downs from big brother. He only gets some new items when the hand-me-downs get holes in them (e.g., uniform pants and socks).

[AngelaS]

Yep I buy used. I'd say that probably at least 75% of their wardrobes are bought used. That number was higher when they were younger because baby and toddler clothes are a dime a dozen at garage sales.

I love garage sales and thrill of the hunt. . So do my girls. We also shop Goodwill. I'm very picky about what I'll buy and it's got to look almost new or I don't buy it. Thankfully garage sales are plentiful here and there's a lot to choose from.

[jerigirl]

YES! Through BBB Swap and other similar boards I am on. I do buy some new, especially for DS1, now that he is getting older and there is less available in his size on Swap. But I also know that it hopefully will be used by DS2 eventually.

[nfowife]

I buy a ton of used clothes for my kids. I try to buy the better brands used- HA, Miniboden, etc. But I will also buy regular stuff used if it's in good condition and a good deal- I've done well on gymbofriends and BBB swap and I always go to my local consignment sales fall and spring. Usually I will buy stuff there, and fill in the gaps with cheaper new stuff, like Kohls. I find that as they get older less and less stuff is pre-owned because kids just wear their clothes longer and play harder as they get older. So DD2's clothes are about 90% pre-owned/hand me downs (didn't save much from DD1 in her current size). DS is about 40% preowned and it's almost all shirts, and DD1's about 25% preowned. But at DD1's age she can wear stuff a good 2 years if I buy slightly large in terms of tops and dresses especially.
For me, it has nothing to do with my ability to buy them nice new stuff so much as my general cheap-ness and refusal to pay more for their stuff than I do for mine- considering how much wear they get out of something.

[momm]

Absolutely.. it's a very rare new cloth that has found it's way into my son's closet (most of the new clothes he wears have been gifts, so I didn't vote as I "buy" new clothes)

I think it makes most sense as they wear it for a few weeks if I'm lucky.

I do understand about the cultural thing though. My parents and in-laws were shocked when they learnt that I do this. Ah well. it makes sense to me, so why not?

It's not a question of affording - it's a question of getting your money's worth.

[brittone2]

Yes, I would say 75%of their wardrobe is used. I do this to stretch our $$ further. Then, I often turn right back around and resell it.

I definitely don't see anything "wrong" with used clothing.

I shop a lot of big consignment sales (watchingthemgrow got me started on this...it is all her fault!). At my local one this year, I scored DD several Lands End, LL Bean, and HA playdresses for 1-3 bucks each, and they looked new. In fact, one of the like-new HA dresses was a buck. I have no idea why someone would price it like that at a consignment sale, but I don't argue I picked up a pair of never-worn (or maybe they were tried on, but there was literally no wear on them at all!) new balance sneakers for DD for 2 bucks.

I'm selective about what I buy, but if I can score the very same brands I prefer anyway for 1/10 of the cost, why not? I have also turned around and resold some of the items for what we paid or sometimes a bit more in the case of Hannas.

We could afford new, but I like the thrill of the hunt and I like using it to stretch our budget (which in our case frees up extra money for things like organic foods, etc.). I aim for about 75-85% 2nd hand, and then I buy a handful of new things to fill in the gaps, or focus on buying my very favorite outfits new, kwim? DD is extremely easy to buy 2nd hand for, since girls' stuff is just so abundant at consignment sales, etc.

It is much harder now that DS1 is older. He's starting to need more new stuff more frequently because boys his age are *rough* on clothes. Up until he was 5-6 I could still find a lot of decent 2nd hand stuff for him but it is more difficult now.

I thrift, although I haven't done much in the last year. I've scored things like a like-new HA zipper for a 1.19 in the goodwill bin. DD has a gorgeous vintage gray wool Rothschild swing coat with black velvet cuffs and collar that is just stunning. I think it was 5 bucks at goodwill. I replaced the buttons but it is just beautiful. Last year I found her LL Bean parka in like-new condition for 3 bucks at Sal Val. Her Trek Mystic bike (in EUC) was 19 dollars at sal val. If I can get things like that we want/need for a fraction of the retail price, I am thrilled

We also get some hand-me-downs from my niece, but she's very tiny for her age (as is my DD), and by the time she outgrows stuff and it comes to us, it is often too small for my DD anyway. However, even if we only keep 1/4 of the things, we usually get some really helpful things like snow boots, rain boots, etc. that are only fairly lightly used anyway by the original owner.

[MamaSnoo]

I do get used clothes for DD sometimes. It depends on convenience mostly for me. If I had more time, I might search for more used items.