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From bassinets and car seats to household essentials like baby bottles and swings and even furniture like changing tables, there’s a long list of items you need to buy when you’re having a baby—especially if it’s your first child. But you don’t have to spend a small fortune to give your little one the very best.
While there are some baby things you should not buy used, the secondhand market is exploding—two-thirds of parents purchased secondhand kids’ and baby products in the last 12 months. It’s easy to see why: Shopping secondhand is an excellent way to check off just about every box on your list of top baby items while saving money and minimizing waste.
Here is a look at the best baby items to buy used—including the categories where you’ll see the most savings on used baby gear without sacrificing on quality or safety.
Strollers are some of the best baby items to buy used, because they are big ticket items. Depending on your lifestyle, some families spend a lot of money on bigger strollers like travel systems and then barely use them, opting to babywear or use a smaller umbrella stroller instead.
Plus, when you buy a gently used stroller, you can save at least a couple of hundred dollars, which may give you the luxury of getting a model with nice conveniences and aesthetics (like leather handles!) you wouldn’t have considered buying before.
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You can spend a small fortune on baby toys, but kids grow fast—both physically and developmentally—and will outgrow even their most beloved playthings in the blink of an eye. If you buy used baby toys, you can cycle through more items—great for increased engagement and introducing kids to more toys over time—plus you can buy higher quality products, like more durable, safe and eco-friendly wooden toys.
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High-quality travel cribs are expensive, but last a long time. Rather than buy a cheaper alternative brand new, look for a gently used luxury option, especially if you plan to have more than one child. The longevity is well worth it—one of our gear experts bought two baby Baby Bjorn travel cribs, one for each twin, and they were still suitable for re-selling even after her children grew out of them.
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Here’s the thing with baby swings: Though some parents rave about them, you’ll find just as many who say their baby hated their swing. And swings are very expensive, are only useful for a few months, plus take up a lot of room in your house. By buying this baby item used, you can spare yourself the expense but still give it a try. And if your baby isn’t interested? You can always sell it back to GoodBuyGear for another family to try.
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For a trash can, a diaper pail is a surprisingly expensive item. Who wants to dump that much money into such a utilitarian item? Rather than skip it altogether—you need the diaper pail to help lock the bad odors in—consider buying this baby item secondhand and get up to 63% off retail.
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Similar to swings, babies either love or hate these items. Rather than cycle through a number of expensive products your little one might play in once or twice (or not at all!), opt for a used one instead. This way, if your child doesn't’ gravitate towards this type of baby gear, you won’t feel as much of a sting, plus can resell it yourself.
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Like other expensive baby gear meant to entertain baby—swings, activity centers and jumpers—play gyms are only used for a short period of time. Plus, most are easy to clean and even machine-washable, so you can confidently use them secondhand, even for multiple children.
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For a quality high chair, you’ll have to spend a couple hundred dollars. But the more luxurious high chairs tend to be easier to wipe clean (read: fewer cracks and crevices for food to get stuck) and feature dishwasher-safe trays and machine-washable fabric. Save yourself some money at the point of purchase and time spent cleaning every day by opting for a gently used high-end high chair in the first place. If you're looking for something that will travel well, there are great portable high chair options as well.
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Chances are your tiny human will only be in a bassinet for the first three—maybe six—months, at which point they’ll transition to a crib. Because they’re used for such a short amount of time, there’s a wealth of gently used bassinets on the secondhand market. You can even find plenty of the more sophisticated models, like the 4Moms MamaRoo Sleep Bassinet that sway to help your baby fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
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You likely won’t be toting your little one close to your chest for long, and baby carriers—especially the structured kinds—are highly durable. They can withstand years of even the most heavy daily use. What’s more, many parents invest in carriers but then never use them, so you can find plenty of secondhand options that have been used only once or twice (if at all).
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It’s a fact: There are just some baby things you should not buy used. Typically, these items include gear that may present a health and safety issue when shared amongst more than one child or family.
Think: used cribs that were manufactured before Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) guidelines were revised or open baby formula. Here’s a quick look at some secondhand baby products you may want to skip over and buy new instead.
While you can sterilize baby bottle nipples, these items go directly inside a child’s mouth, which may make you uneasy, even with sterilization. On top of that, babies—especially as they get older—tend to chew on the nipples, so the flow may be slightly off. Some may even have tears in the silicone that lead to leaks. For these reasons, we recommend purchasing new bottle nipples.
Similar to baby bottle nipples, pacifiers go directly in other children’s mouths. And though they can be sterilized, these items are inexpensive enough—you may as well buy brand new ones that are perfectly clean, especially if you’re opting for ones attached to stuffed animals, like WubbaNubs.
Infant formula is expensive—and you’ll go through a lot of it—but you shouldn’t buy formula secondhand. While baby formula is shelf-stable once open, it should be used within a month, per the CDC’s guidelines.
Buying used formula can also pose a massive safety concern: Since baby will be consuming this, you want to be sure that the product inside is exactly what it’s labeled as—something you simply can’t verify with 100 percent certainty when purchasing secondhand.
In 2014, the CPSC issued new safety guidelines for strollers and carriages sold after Sept. 10, 2015. New strollers have to meet these safety requirements. To be safe, do not buy a used stroller that was manufactured before 2015. On most strollers, you can find the manufacture date on the bottom of the frame or seat.
Similar to strollers, crib safety guidelines were heavily revised in June 2011. Hand-me-down or used cribs manufactured prior to this time may not meet current standards for safe sleep—many have slat widths that are too wide and drop sides, both of which can pose a suffocation risk. Used cribs may also have chipped paint from baby gnawing on the rails.
Even if you’re searching through some of the best baby items to buy used, there are some things to keep in mind before making your final purchase.
Can’t wait to start shopping? While you could go to an in-person consignment shop, or a thrift store or navigate to an online marketplace like eBay or Facebook Marketplace, GoodBuy Gear is the safest place to buy baby and kid gear.
We have incredibly high safety standards and do all of the quality and safety checks for you, so you can save money without spending hours scouring the internet. Simply do a quick search for what you need, then get right back to focusing on more important things—like your little one.
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