If you’re like us, “one and done” or on your last baby, you likely have a glut of baby and toddler “stuff” that has overtaken your closets and basement. Every time I look at something my little guy has outgrown (clothes, toys, gear) my heart breaks a little bit knowing that I’ll never have another sweet little baby to hold and snuggle.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t make sense to hold onto the “stuff.” It’s been easy to look at our parents who held onto things from our childhoods and see that we didn’t want the items when we finally had a baby because most of the items were older than the current safety standards, the elastic had become brittle in the clothing, and the items simply weren’t on trend. So I’ve come around to the idea that it’s better to get rid of the “stuff” while it’s still marketable– it’s still within the current safety standards, it can still be found in stores today, and it hasn’t discoloured or picked up funky smells from being stored for years on end.
So, if the item isn’t something my sister will use for her little ones, and isn’t a memento, it’s gotta go. Making these decisions is hard almost every single time, but kids grow, so we’ve gotta make room for the new stuff by getting rid of the old stuff! For clothing, I’ve set aside one tote bin where I keep the sweetest clothes my little guy once wore. I’ve got grand plans for turning them into a quilt or blanket in the future, but that’s easier said than done. The rest of the stuff gets either (a) listed on Kijiji, (b) taken to Once Upon a Child, (c) given to family or friends, or (d) donated to a good cause.
Once you’ve decided to part with your little one’s outgrown belongings, Kijiji is a great place to start to recoup some of your expenditures. I’ve had great success with my listings, so I’ll share some of my tips for getting things sold:
1. Price– List items for the price you think someone will pay… not what you think they’re worth. We always place a higher price tag on items we paid for new and loved. The buyer doesn’t see this! They want a deal, and you want it gone. So what I always do is browse Kijiji for similar items (sometimes outside of your own area), see what they’re listed for, and then set the price a few dollars lower. Being the least expensive on the market will get your stuff sold! As I like to think of it, some money in the pocket is better than something sitting in the basement collecting dust for the next 20 years!
2. Pictures– Take actual pictures of your items. It’s tempting, especially if you’ve boxed them back up, to grab stock photos from the internet and to use those for your listing, but people want to see what they’re actually going to get. I think it goes a long way to be able to show potential buyers that your item actually is “stain free” or in “excellent used condition.” Bring your items to an uncluttered area of your home with a neutral background so the buyer isn’t distracted. This can also back up your claims that the items are clean and in good condition when the buyer sees that they’re coming from a neat and tidy home.
3. Deals– Be willing to make deals! If you have a whole bunch of baby items listed on Kijiji you might find people who want to make a deal if they take numerous items off your hands. Take them! Sure, you might get a few dollars less than what you were hoping, but you’ll save a ton of time responding to listings, setting up pick-up times, and potentially missing out on sales. With the number of Kijiji sales that tend to fall through because buyers become disinterested it makes sense to get rid of items when a buyer is willing and ready to make a deal!
4. Know Your Items– It’s been my experience that you can recover a larger amount of your original cost on baby gear– things like carriers, wraps, swings, strollers, etc. that are in next-to-new condition and were expensive to begin with tend to sell for a greater percentage of their original cost. For example, I sold my Solly Baby wrap for about 80% of its original cost, my Rock-n-Play for 90% of its original cost, and my breast pump for my entire out-of-pocket cost (i.e. the portion insurance didn’t pay for). I had saved the boxes for those items which may have also helped.
On the other hand, items that are a dime a dozen (think baby clothes, baby toys, feeding supplies) are much harder to sell on Kijiji because there are just so many of them. I’ve found that you really have to price them low (i.e. a whole lot of one size of baby clothes for $15, or a whole lot of Melissa and Doug toys for $10) if you want them to go. This can be really painful because you know you spent way more than that to buy them, but again– do you want them gone and money in your pocket, or do you want them staring back at you from your basement shelves when you’re retiring and downsizing?
Tip: I usually take my baby clothes to Once Upon a Child first, as I discussed in my post this fall. If they won’t take the items, then I move onto Kijiji. I find it’s a lot of work to post clothes on Kijiji because you have to do so much sorting and taking pictures… so if I can offload some at OUAC first, I do!
All of that being said, my husband and I have been into Internet marketplace selling since university. We started with Craigslist and moved onto Kijiji. We’ve had a ton of success and I can honestly say that I have never looked back and thought “I shouldn’t have parted with that” or “I let that go for too little.”
During our university days we were able to buy and sell enough to save for us both to go on an all-inclusive vacation to the Dominican Republic. Every time we’d make a sale we would put the money in a jar, and eventually it added up. These days I stick the money in my wallet and when I have a good amount I stop off at the bank and deposit it into our little guy’s RESP. It makes it a lot easier to get to the $2,500 you need to save to make the most of the government’s contributions! Since being inspired by Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, I’ve been able to put away over $250 for him that I earned through Kijiji sales!
Ok– so I’ve given you tips on how to sell clothes at Once Upon a Child, and how to sell baby and toddler items on Kijiji… in the near future I’ll be doing a post on charities and organizations in Hamilton that take donations of children’s an women’s items where the recipients benefit the most. I love that donations to thrift stores get re-used and keep the items out of the landfill, but my priority when it comes to donating is to get items into people’s hands who don’t have the means to buy the items, even from thrift stores. Stay tuned!
Happy selling!! I’d love to hear your Kijiji success stories and how you get things sold using internet marketplaces. Do you have any other favourite buy/sell sites that you’ve been successful with?
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