Disclaimer
I do have links and photos in this post, but I am not affiliated with any of these businesses or products mentioned. I am not being paid to promote them. These are my honest opinions and experiences. The computer print screens are from my computer (that is why they have my blog name), however, I do not own any rights to the copyright material. That belongs to the original creators and businesses promoting their products.
Don't Buy New, Buy Used!
I do have links and photos in this post, but I am not affiliated with any of these businesses or products mentioned. I am not being paid to promote them. These are my honest opinions and experiences. The computer print screens are from my computer (that is why they have my blog name), however, I do not own any rights to the copyright material. That belongs to the original creators and businesses promoting their products.
Don't Buy New, Buy Used!
You may remember my post Taking My Children’s Toys Away: What I Learned. One of the parent realizations I realized with buying my children toys is not everything has to be purchased brand new. It’s no secret children grow up fast. And their interests are constantly changing. I don’t know about you, but I dislike seeing a $60 dollar toy sitting unused in a toy box. Or worst still in the box unplayed with. What was the purpose of having over 10-20 gifts under the tree if my kids will only play with a few of them for longer than a few days? My new motto is to try to never buy brand new. If you must buy brand new, then look for sale or clearance.
Some Toys
Since I wrote that post, I’ve donated a good number of toys, some I purchased on sale, clearance, and brand new. Some ranging from five dollars up to $50 plus. But now I ran into the issue what do I buy my kids? I have a few birthdays to plan for. Did it make sense to buy them more toys when I am taking toys away? This made me think what is the end result I am hoping for from this little experiment? The end result may vary among different parents. It depends on what you feel is best for your family and whether you want your children to have a small number of toys, some toys, a lot of toys, or no toys at all. Well, the goal my husband and I had in mind for our children was for them to have fewer toys. It wasn’t for them to have no toys. For example, instead of ten baby dolls, one or two and some accessories. That kind of put us in a delicate balance. We wanted them to have some toys, so we weren’t on either extreme of no toys or a lot of toys.
Consignment Shopping
I decided to visit my local consignment store to see what hidden gems I might find. One person’s trash might be another person’s treasure. This rang true for me today as I found a few affordable gifts for my daughter’s birthday.
For example, I found a Build A Bear stuff animal and clothing with the Build A Bear Tags. It cost $1 dollar.
I did some research on my item and found the name of my stuff animal. She is called Fennec Fox. The Fennec Fox was a 2011 Build A Bear Stuff animal that is now considered retired in 2017. My consignment find was even better than the cheapest Fennec Fox on eBay. (eBay is where I bought my second child's Build A Bear. My first child's Build A Bear was passed down from me. My Build A Bear was a birthday gift during my teenage years.)
The next item I found is a Barbie doll that is currently for sale on Amazon. The link takes you to the brand new Barbie doll. The one I found at the consignment store was in pretty good condition, just as the Build A Bear. It cost me $2.00. The Barbie doll is the Disney Princess Belle, the classic version. Not to be confused with the Live Action Film Verison that is fashioned to look like the actress, Emma Waston who plays Belle.
The only thing is my Belle did not come as a full set. She was missing Chip, the teacup. I’m honestly okay with it, as I did not have to spend $15 plus dollars to buy the Barbie doll (the most important part) and it’s only a small accessory missing.
Part of the reason I decided to buy a used Belle is that my daughter has a collection of Disney Princess Barbies. However, I had no expectations with the consignment store. My only goal was to find possible name brands I recognized or accessories for toys, such as Barbie, Dolls, or Build A Bear Accessories.
I also found what appeared to be a Belle Dress for 25 cents. After much researching, I came across the dress on Pristine Auction in a google search and found the name of the Belle I was looking for. It belongs to the 2012 Disney Princess Sparkling Belle Barbie Doll. My Belle dress was missing a Belle and did not include the pink crown or shoes. I was okay with this as I already found a Belle Barbie doll and she came with her own yellow shoes and gloves.
The next Barbie doll I found is Troy from High School Musical. My daughter has a Sharpay. This Troy took some time to find. They aren’t selling it anymore on Amazon. I did find some luck on eBay here and here. I bought my Troy for $2. He came with an outfit and cheaper than what I found on eBay. I spent a grand total of $5.25 for these gifts.
It was a successful day for finding things for my daughter, but unfortunately a bust for finding items for my oldest son. That is the thing with shopping consignment, it can be a real hit or miss situation. However, I like to start with consignment. If no luck, I give Facebook online sale posts a try. Then I usually head to E-bay. Next, is usually hunting down the best deals and comparing prices online.
It was a successful day for finding things for my daughter, but unfortunately a bust for finding items for my oldest son. That is the thing with shopping consignment, it can be a real hit or miss situation. However, I like to start with consignment. If no luck, I give Facebook online sale posts a try. Then I usually head to E-bay. Next, is usually hunting down the best deals and comparing prices online.
Last Edited: July 8, 2017
Comments
Post a Comment