Half Yearly Baby Sales - How to spot a bargain before first baby is born?

isthisreallife22 on 04/08/2016 - 02:21

I have my first baby due in 4 months (just before post-xmas sales) and have noticed there are a lot of half yearly baby sales atm e.g.

But I have absolutely no sense of bargains in this segment yet, because I've never had to remotely consider any of these things :)

I've often referred to the epic thread here a few months back (Baby on The Way - Any Advice https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/245177) but my question is slightly different… how can I get a quick sense of whether now is a good time to jump for picking up essential baby items in the current sale :)

Thanks in advance!

General Discussion

Comments

  • DarkOz on 04/08/2016 - 07:41

    Half Yearly Baby Sales - How to spot a bargain before first baby is born?

    /Facepalm.

    • isthisreallife22 on 04/08/2016 - 09:41
      +1

      Knew I'd get a bit of that feedback ;)

      Seriously now though…

  • cypher67 on 04/08/2016 - 09:07
    +3

    Every 2nd week they have a sale, don't feel pressured into buying now. What you actually NEED to raise a baby is not much. Also buy secondhand for the big ticket items like prams, cots and change tables.

    • isthisreallife22 on 04/08/2016 - 09:41

      thanks, that first part is good insight which is really what I was after :)

  • theHMASfriendship on 04/08/2016 - 09:19
    +2

    Are you planning to get a refund on the first baby if you find a good deal on another baby at the half yearly sales?

    • isthisreallife22 on 04/08/2016 - 09:40

      haha just spat out a bit of my coffee :)

  • mooney on 04/08/2016 - 09:30
    +2

    Congratulations.. advice by cypher67 is true, however my wife doesnt subscribe to OzBargain principles and always insists on NEW for our kids. No exceptions.One thing to get ready for is that you can spend crazy sums of money on anything and everything for your kid.

    Given my time again I would have gone to Ikea for cot, baby feeding chair, and a chair to breastfeed in. Nice and cheap but still do the job perfectly well. Don't go to the likes of Babies R Us etc for those items.

    The areas I would spend the money on again are stroller and baby car seat. They get used a lot and are IMO worth spending the $$ on.

    As for consumables like nappies- try many different brands and prices. We started out at Huggies but quickly found my kids had an ability to shit out the back of them. Cheaper nappies for us actually did a better job. Similar with bum wipes- you can save a lot on buying bulk and not the big brands you find in woolies and coles.

  • altomic on 04/08/2016 - 10:08
    +7

    father of 3 here.

    1st kid - OH MY GOD, STERILISE EVERYTHING. THEY'LL GET THE PLAGUE OTHERWISE
    2nd kid - "give it a good wipe, it'll be ok"
    3rd kid - "they are eating toast?!. We haven't made toast for weeks…oh well"

    with the first child It's seems really important to buy E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G so you can be the best parent and be prepared for every eventuality.

    the reality is that you can't plan for everything, so don't bother. if you need something extra then buy it when you need it.

    babies have been born for at least the last 6000 years and with todays modern medical and health knowledge (and growing up in a first world nation) your baby will more than likely survive into child hood. in fact, I was once a baby myself.

    My advice -
    things you need nappies, wipes, sudocream, swaddle blankets, dummies, bottles, breast pump (for dad to feed baby and convenience).
    cot and pram and clothes - buy second hand.
    reversible car seat - buy new or get from a friend who can vouch for seat not being in a car which has had an accident.

    the nappy/baby bag - many people go overboard and buy a small suitcase to store everything and lug that around. all you need are a couple of nappies, wipes, sudocream, a change of clothes, some sandwich bags for dirty nappies, a face washer/bib. then keep a larger supply in the car for topping up.

    with a new born baby - you just need to keep it feed, comfortable and loved. - if you are doing these 3 things then you've got it covered.

    • djones145 on 04/08/2016 - 10:12

      hahahhah love that 1,2,3 kid thing, so true lol
      only have 1 kid and we sterilise everything hahahha

    • tassieeagle on 04/08/2016 - 10:32
      +1

      Everything altomic said +1. Father of three here as well.

      Don't stress if you don't have everything by the time the baby comes. As long as you have a car seat (i recommend a capsule, very convenient), basinet, wipes, blankets, a couple of suits (probably 0000 or 000), and a pack of newborn nappies, you are good.

      Things I would buy new:
      Car seat (unless trusted source like altomic said)
      Bottles and teats
      Neutral clothes, particularly if you plan on having more kids. (Kmart, target and bigw have cheap decent baby clothes)
      Toys (don't go overboard, they don't really play with toys much for the first few months and you will heaps as gifts)
      Bibs, bibs, and more bibs

      Things I'd buy secondhand:
      Cot and bassinet (in good condition obviously)
      Baby monitor (expensive new, very handy for worrisome parents)
      Capsule and pram combo (good condition, not been in any accidents)
      Mobile
      Anything else that is cheap and super awesome (we are ozbargainers after all)

  • djones145 on 04/08/2016 - 10:13
    +1

    to my surprise, baby stuff do have sales and all the time (would have though they wouldn't have sales cause people have babies all the time!)

    just check around, price match and remember babies r us have price beat by 10% so price match to them first!

  • jjno41 on 07/08/2016 - 12:46
    +1

    What I did was make a list of the items I wanted then just checked the weekly catalogues of Babies r us and baby bunting or used eBay 20% off on already reduced items, until I had all I wanted. I always waited until they were at least 30% off but mainly 50% off regular pricing ( not rrp ). There was absolutely no need for me to buy any second hand gear because of this.
    The only exception was the pram, got a strider compact in a run out choccy brown colour that was discounted to around $600 with accessories. We found that they literally give them away on gumtree but we wanted a new one and the grandparents paid - the best kind of bargain.

  • compacc on 07/08/2016 - 20:40

    It kinda depends on what you'll be using, I guess. I had to express milk so I needed a pump and I wanted brand new for that. A nursing chair, I wanted brand new. Car seat definitely wanted brand new. I bought a brand new pram but wish I hadn't - you can pick up real bargains on facebook/gumtree. A piece of advice I wish I'd been given - if you are thinking of a second baby at some point then a City Select pram is amazing. They can be single or convert to double, so you can use it as a single when you have one baby. When the next one comes along you can use it as a double if you have big outings planned so the toddler can rest their legs but still walk around. Then when you just need to pop to the shops with the baby & leave toddler at home with someone - or toddler walks next to you - you don't have a massive pram to push around half-empty. Seriously, I wish I'd invested in a City Select from the start.

    Big ticket stuff like pump, chair etc - I went to Babies R Us when they had a sale, created a gift registry, gave it to no one (I didn't have a baby shower) and bought all the stuff myself. So I got 10% of what I'd spent back in vouchers to buy more stuff later on.

    Oh also - an Ergo was a massive lifesaver for my first baby who just wanted to be held all the time. My second baby screamed as soon as I put her in it because she hated being that close. So lots of stuff sounds good in theory but it can be expensive trial and error to find out what the little dictator will like.

  • zoinks on 09/08/2016 - 11:35
    +1

    Some of the baby soft toys like Lamaze etc you can put through the washing machine even though the tag says not to, it says to wipe them down only. I bought a few brand new, but then started buying them from op shops for a bag full for $3 which would have cost $50RRP or more and testing them through the washing machine and they always looked and felt the same afterwards (made the same crinkle noises, had the same textured feeling).

    But if you have to have brand new you can find a few Taggie, Playgro, Lamaze toys on ebay less than half the price you will pay here if you search for the right phrase as they dont put the brand name in the listing eg educational toy, infant plush toy, handbell, learning, rattle, grasping etc. They are all listed as unbranded but come with the logo stitched on them. Heres a few examples
    Taggie blanket $5 with free postage and I think they used to be $15 at Target from googling it http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151864121048?_trksid=p2055119.m14…
    Playgro tinkle toys around $3each delivered but cost $17 for 3 of them at Target http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/162004369129?_trksid=p2055119.m14… (I did buy one of these and it looks exactly the same with Playgro logo etc as a friends who bought it from Target)

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