It’s summer and you know what that means—lemonade, fresh slices of watermelon, days at the beach… and, yes, yard sales! Yard sales are one of the best places to buy baby stuff. Sellers desperately want to get rid of outgrown baby items and you desperately want to save some cash. Aside from being given stuff, yard sales are the number one place to get items cheap-cheap. Here are some tips for avoiding junk and maximizing good finds.
– Head out early to snatch up the best deals and plan ahead where you want to go. Most yard sales start on Fridays and end on Saturdays, but other are weekend-only sales or start on odd days. Be prepared.
– Thoroughly check over products before you buy them. Check clothing for stains and make sure toys aren’t broken or contain chipped paint.
– If you bought baby toys, check online to make sure the product wasn’t recalled.
– Never buy car seats at yard sales. You can never tell if a car seat has been in an accident, rendering it useless and unsafe. Plus, car seat models change all the time and you want to have the latest (and safest) edition rather than some old model.
– Avoid any clothing with drawstrings, zippered bean bags chairs, hairdryers made before 1991 and used pacifiers. Most clothing with drawstrings has been recalled due to strangulation hazards, zippered bean bags chairs contain beads a baby can choke on, old hairdryers don’t contain safety switches and used pacifiers are just gross.
– If you’re interested in a crib, see if the seller has the manufacturer’s name and the crib’s model number, which may be located on the crib itself. Call the manufacturer to make sure the crib wasn’t recalled.
– Negotiate! If you see something you like but the price isn’t right, make an offer. Unless the item is like new, most people are dying to get rid of stuff and will take whatever profit they can get.
About Sarah Valek
Thanks for the car seat tip. better to try to gt hand me downs from friends or family anyway. That way you know the history.