Dollar Stretcher

Re: Second Hand Toys

goldenblaise — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:24:35 GMT

When I was growing up my mother would secondhand our own toys. In July she would do a deep clean of our rooms and what ever wasn't played with was put up in a box and at Christmas she would rerap and and give them to us again. We never caught on, she confessed this to me when my kids were small and would recive a ton of gifts from everyone we knew. Some times she would give us the same toy back or give to a younger sib.

cyn

Re: Second Hand Toys

MarthaMFI — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:59:49 GMT

love second hand toys! I do buy new but my kids are used to getting toys from thrift stores. especially going out with grandma! It is amazing how many new or nearly new things you can get.

most things like the melissa and doug puzzles are way too pricey new. I have gotten so many things used and unique things too. My mom just got a wooden thomas the train set in the box... blowing down the trees set, with thomas and james engines for $6 at sally ann in the box. had been played with but just a little. someone there did not know the price of thomas stuff! I told my mom what a deal. the box had the sale price of $39.99.

part of the kids xmas gift is a pokemon fiqures set I got from craigslist for $30 better then the $100 it would be new.

Re: Second Hand Toys

Brandy — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:18:36 GMT

sunshinetreva:
Had she taken that same $1.50 to the toy store she would have been able to purchase only one very small toy -- never a whole box of something.

I agree with that. I have been able to give my children higher quality gifts for less than a junk toy would cost. I have also been able to find items they really wanted like Disney princess toys or Legos for what a cheap toy would have cost.

Re: Second Hand Toys

sunshinetreva — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:40:17 GMT

One of the arguments in The Tightwad Gazzette that the author (I can't spell her name) taught her children was how much more she can get when buying used. She used the example that she bought a big box of mixed legos for $1.50 at a garage sale for her son for Christmas. Had she taken that same $1.50 to the toy store she would have been able to purchase only one very small toy -- never a whole box of something. I really liked that argument. I spent about $6 on 7 or 8 used books for one of my DD's presents at Christmas. That same $6 at the book store would have only gotten 1 book and maybe a single piece of candy next to the register.

Re: Second Hand Toys

Brandy — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:17:15 GMT

cheapChic:

Brandy would the secound hand dolls do , if I make lets say a dress for the doll to make it better looking would that be tackie, I never bought this would be the first time 20 years ago when I worked in the dry cleaner I also had to be a smeastress my question if I buy a nice looking doll and do the outfit my self would be tackie...

Thanks

ps. joined the debt freeze challange

If the doll itself is in good condition then I don't think that is tacky at all.

Re: Second Hand Toys

cheapChic — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:03:25 GMT

Brandy would the secound hand dolls do , if I make lets say a dress for the doll to make it better looking would that be tackie, I never bought this would be the first time 20 years ago when I worked in the dry cleaner I also had to be a smeastress my question if I buy a nice looking doll and do the outfit my self would be tackie...

Thanks

ps. joined the debt freeze challange

Re: Second Hand Toys

haverwench — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:56:22 GMT

This year, we got great toys for the nieces and nephews at the town-wide yard sales in our town and a neighboring town. We found two sets of wooden blocks (one set with letters on them, and one set in a variety of shapes and colors) and a 3-dimensional dinosaur puzzle with wooden pieces. In previous years we've found a wooden car, truck, and airplane (all 50 cents to a dollar apiece). You never know what you're going to find at yard sales, but if you're lucky, you can pick up some real gems at great prices.

Re: Second Hand Toys

Joyous — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:13:40 GMT

I don't have children yet, but I'm very interested in providing them mostly with old-fashioned, non-electronic toys. I've sometimes seen a brand I've been really impressed with which makes wooden toys - I think it's called David and Melissa. They're terribly expensive new; I've seen them price $20 for a chunky toddler's puzzle, for instance. Does anyone come across these kinds of toys second-hand when on the hunt for playthings for their own children? I love them, but $20 for a puzzle is too much.

Re: Second Hand Toys

Brandy — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:57:58 GMT

Toni B.:
now a new generation is using them

My Mother passed some of my toys to my cousins but both my husband and I kept several things that we passed to our children. In turn, when I weed out my children's toys, I pass them along.

One that has gone around is Strawberry Shortcake. My parents purchased the bedding set for me when I was child. When I outgrew it, my Mother passed the set to my Aunt for my cousin. When my daughter was born, my Aunt gave the bedding back to me and I used pieces of it along with some other things I had and picked up at thrift stores for a country doll theme in my daughter's room.

I was visiting one of my other cousins and her daughter complained about her bedroom set. My cousin had used the yellow checkered curtains and matching doll sets she had as a little girl with some Veggie Tale things she bought. Her daughter wanted a pink room. I sent over the Strawberry Shortcake bedding, curtains, framed pictures of country dolls, the large Strawberry Shortcake Dollhouse and some other pieces we had. My cousin used those to blend pink into a more developed country theme in her daughter's room.

Last I heard, the "set" was still passing around and evolving.

Re: Second Hand Toys

gayla50 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:40:04 GMT

we have legos that on the third pass down . my older DD toys were played with my DD and now they being played with my Grand daughers.

Re: Second Hand Toys

mamasjob — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:07:08 GMT

Toni B.:
When our kids were young, they inherited a big box of Legos from their older cousins on the stipulation that when they outgrew them, they would be passed back to the cousins kids. We added to that box and have since returned it and now a new generation is using them.

That is how we are using some of our toys. Baby toys are mostly gently used and are cleaned and passed along. Not sure if we will get to another generation, though!

Re: Second Hand Toys

Toni B. — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:20:48 GMT

When our kids were young, they inherited a big box of Legos from their older cousins on the stipulation that when they outgrew them, they would be passed back to the cousins kids. We added to that box and have since returned it and now a new generation is using them.

Re: Second Hand Toys

Brandy — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:48:14 GMT

I was recently in a thrift store that had several of the Disney princess dolls for .50 a piece! If my youngest daughter had not been with me, a doll matched to a corresponding princess story book would have made a great choice for her secondary gift and would have cost me under $4 total.

At another store, I saw a ceramic tea set that is identical to the one she has now and still in the box. It was priced at less than half of what I paid since I bought hers new for her birthday this summer.

A doll, a story book or early reader and a tea set would make a complete gift from a Christms shopper who has decided that less can be more. For me, these items would have been a $10 expense. Maybe others can make great finds and I hope this inspires you to consider how to put discount or used items together to save.

Re: Second Hand Toys

mamasjob — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:01:52 GMT

So many of our toys had a former home. To either receive them free from family or buy discounted is a huge savings for us and allows us to have a variety of nice things for our boys to play with. I always check for safety concerns: broken things that could be a choking hazard, cords and strings, etc. Lead paint is another issue that concerns me and I try to keep up on the literature so I can see if we have any of those items.

Some of our favorite (and cost saving) items that are second-hand: children's bike, tricycle, scooter, wooden building blocks and storage cart, musical-light up LeapFrog type toys, DVDs and videos, sturdy dump trucks for inside and outdoor use, balls (basketball, football, soccer, etc) and wooden puzzles. Pricing these items as new shocked me and made me appreciate our gently used toys.

Re: Second Hand Toys

Brandy — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:58:28 GMT

Jane_b:
good-looking toys, toys still in the box

I have made some good buys with combing through the toy aisles of thrift stores all year. I have also purchased on Ebay but those usually cost a bit more, though less than what I would have paid new for exactly what my child wanted.