Mommy swap groups, yard sale groups, kids’ stuff, garage sale groups…you want it, the Facebook Marketplace probably has it. It might be used, but with the cost of new retail items increasing beyond the budgets of many individuals and families, the resale shopping craze is growing fast. For a parent, it’s a blessing. Why buy a brand new kids’ dresser or bunk bed for thousands of dollars when you can shop through a variety of kids’ furniture and pay just a couple hundred dollars. It’s common for Facebook buyers to even negotiate on prices.

On-line Shopping

The online consignment store thredUP is growing in popularity. In the an article on the PYMNTS.com web site states that the online resale market is expected to grow to $41 billion by 2020. Even Macy’s is now capitalizing on the resale trend by teaming up with thredUp. Macy’s now offers thredUp apparel in some of its stores.

Check it out!: https://www.macys.com/social/thredup/

Cost Comparison

New clothing from Target. 10 items= $81.00

Resale clothing from Savers. 18 items= $81.00

If you prefer to browse and shop in person, Goodwill, Savers and The Salvation Army are great places to go. Some of these stores also have sales once a week. Sometimes these sales can decrease your spending by more than half of what you would spend in a regular retail store. A lot of resale items are also better quality for less money.

Here are six great reasons why parents benefit from 2nd hand shopping:

1. The obvious: buy used and save the difference! Save your cash for more important things… like vacations with the family, your daughter’s piano lessons and retirement.
2. A lot of times you will get better quality items! Case in point: Have you purchased clothing from Target recently? If you have, you have probably noticed how thin the material is. Go to any Goodwill or Salvation Army and you will find much higher quality name brand apparel that is barely used. Even used automobiles are a better deal in most cases! Many used cars come with better warranties than new cars.
3. Your kid won’t care…well if they are under 7 they won’t care. My 7 year old recently protested the idea of purchasing her school clothes at Savers. That is, until she saw what cute shirts they had there. Then she immediately changed her mind. I showed her the cost difference between a Target clothing trip and a Savers shopping trip. She was quite surprised and happy that we could purchase so much more at Savers than at Target. (I always buy used first before I shop new. Sometimes we can’t find what we want at the used store, so that’s when we head to Target).
4. This is good for the environment! When the kids have outgrown their clothes, we simply bring them to Savers or Goodwill and purchase new ones. Reuse, reuse, and reuse again!
5. Even mom can get work clothes inexpensively. I recently shopped for my work clothes at Savers when everything was 50% off. This store has this huge sale once a year.
6. You don’t have to put furniture together when you buy it used, and most people won’t notice the couple scratches in it anyway. 🙂