What to buy secondhand for kids, and what not to

Children outgrow almost everything before they wear it out. That single fact is why secondhand kids gear is such good value, and it is also why the exceptions matter: a thing that was outgrown is fine, and a thing that expired, was recalled or was in a crash is not.

This is an editorial comparison. Nothing here was bought or inspected by us, and no judgement is offered about any specific item.

Buy secondhand without much thought

Clothes. The obvious one. Children’s clothes are frequently barely worn, and school uniforms in particular are outgrown mid-year. Most Australian schools run a secondhand uniform shop, which is the cheapest uniform source there is.

Books and puzzles. Check the puzzle piece count before you buy, because a puzzle missing a piece is not a bargain.

Toys, with the recall check below. Construction sets by weight are the single best value in secondhand toys.

Sports equipment and boots. Outgrown annually and often barely used. Club swap days are better than marketplaces here. What kids sport and activities actually cost explains why this is the line worth attacking.

Bikes and scooters. Check the brakes and the tyres, and buy the helmet new.

Furniture that is not a cot. Desks, chairs, bookshelves, drawers. Check stability, and remember that anything tall needs anchoring wherever it ends up.

Musical instruments. A student instrument that has been played for one term is an excellent purchase.

Baby gear that is not a restraint or a sleep surface. Carriers, high chairs, play mats, bouncers, provided you do the recall check.

Buy new, and why

Child car restraints. Do not buy secondhand. A restraint that has been in a crash can be compromised in ways you cannot see, the history cannot be verified from a stranger, Australian restraints carry a date and a service life, and fitting depends on parts that go missing. This is the clearest case on the list.

Cots and mattresses. Cots are covered by a mandatory Australian safety standard, and older cots may not meet the current one. Mattress firmness and fit matter for safe sleep, and a used mattress may have been stored damp. Buy the cot and the mattress new, and follow Red Nose safe sleep guidance.

Helmets. Bicycle helmets are covered by a mandatory Australian standard, and a helmet that has taken an impact can be compromised with no visible damage. The history is unverifiable. Buy new, and buy for fit.

Dummies, bottle teats and anything a baby mouths, which wear and degrade.

Breast pumps other than hospital-grade rental models designed for multiple users.

Anything with a button battery compartment that no longer closes securely. This is not a category so much as a condition, and it is an immediate no.

Anything with a current recall.

The recall check, which takes two minutes

This is the single most useful habit in this article.

Before buying any used item for a child, search the product name and brand on Product Safety Australia, the ACCC’s recall site. It lists current and past Australian recalls, including toys, nursery products, prams, carriers and children’s products generally.

Recalled goods keep circulating on marketplaces long after the recall, because the seller genuinely does not know. The check is free and it settles most questions.

Checking an item before you pay

• Ask for the model name and year, and look it up before you arrive
• Ask why they are selling it, which is a surprisingly informative question
• Check for the original instructions, or that they are available online. A nursery product without instructions is hard to use correctly
• Check all the parts are there. Missing straps, clips or fixings are common and often not replaceable
• Check for cracks at stress points, hinges and joins rather than surfaces
• Check fabric and padding for damp or mould smell, which does not come out
• Check battery compartments close and require a tool if there is a button battery
• Buy in daylight and take the thing you are matching it to, if fit matters
• Do not buy anything a seller cannot answer basic questions about

Where to buy

• School secondhand uniform shops, for uniforms
• Sports club swap days, for boots and equipment
• Op shops, for clothes, books and toys
• Marketplaces, for everything else, with the recall check
• Toy libraries, which are not buying at all and solve the rotation problem for young children
• Local buy-nothing groups, which are better than marketplaces for handing things on

Selling it on afterwards

The other half of the economics. Things bought secondhand hold their value, because they have already taken the depreciation.

• Sell it before it dates, particularly sports equipment and anything branded
• Clean it properly first, which is most of the price difference
• Group small items into lots, because nobody buys one pair of shorts
• Be honest about faults, and say so in the listing

Selling secondhand kids gear as income covers doing this at scale, and buying kids gear at the right time of year covers the new-purchase timing that goes alongside it.

Before you buy

• Run the recall check on Product Safety Australia
• Never buy a car restraint, a helmet, a cot or a cot mattress used
• Check for the parts and the instructions, not just the condition
• Ask the model and year before you travel to look at it
• Remember that a clean, complete item is worth paying a little more for

And if the underlying question is the total cost rather than one item, what a school-age child costs across a year is where the big numbers actually are.