Considering a second-hand toy as xmas present - feel guilty

MKwife

OP - that is exactly what I am going to do this year! Its going to be tight for us this year so I am trying to cut back.

Northern_girl_2

My brother and I often got 'new' bikes for Christmas. At least I thought they were new but only recently found out that they were really second hand. My dad used to clean them down, respray them, put new mud guards on etc to make sure that they looked brand new. Knowing he did all that to give us the best present they could afford is worth far more than having a new bike!

Plus, my the sound of it, it will be one roboraptor toy sounds like it will be one of those gifts kids really really want and then get bored of almost straight away - both your the ebay seller and posters on here say that there's has hardly been used! I'd be really annoyed if I bought it full price only to have it sit in a cupboard after boxing day.

Smashing

I see absolutely no problem.
I think for some the idea of 'second-hand' brings to mind images of tatty toys with bits snapped off - nowadays with the amount of 'in' things that kids want they get bored so quickly that it would be better described as 'nearly new.'
There's no box - big deal. It gets torn to pieces within 30 seconds.
Even the stuff I got from jumble sales as a kids were 'new' to me, simply because of the novelty factor of having something new to play with. The fact that someone else had enjoyed it before didn't even cross my mind - it was mine now.
Given the choice between second hand and simply not having it because it is so bloody expensive, I know what most kids would choose.

N71

If its anything like xmas in my house, it will be loved until 27th December, then forgotten about til later in 2009!!

As long as the seller has a decent amount of good feedback - i wouldn't worry.

fsdss

i would have no concerns if my children received second hand toys......

tartanterra

I've got three kids under 7yrs. They only wear Next or John Rocha, last year the were made up with their expensive Christmas presents............Er, except they weren't really expensive.:D
All the presents were second hand from the paper, ebay and carboot sales, just like all their clothes (and most of mine!):cheesy:
Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts with thought and care; going into more debt shouldn't come into it. Despite what many people around me think - i.e. that Christmas is a competition to show off at, my family has fantastic Chrismases by just by being together.

Don't fall into the debt trap!!!!!

foreign_correspondent

I think, unless he is the sort of kid who likes to store all their toys in the original boxes, and pristine, I would go for second hand rather than spend too much and resent him chucking it about two days later!!!

Some second hand toys on ebay may even be available boxed - and just give it a bit of a polish up with a microfibre cloth , find a box that it fits in and gift wrap it beautifully! Either that or set it up somewhere (unwrapped and ready to go) to surprise him - maybe somewhere unexpected like in the bathroom! :-)

Some are very nearly new - this guy looks cool - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RARE-BLACK-ROBOSAPIEN-ROBOT-LIMITED-EDITION-EX-COND_W0QQitemZ300266326873QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300266326873&_trkparms=72%3A1350%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Savvy_Sue

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foreign_correspondent

may be worth looking at reviews on amazon or somewhere too - some people who have the robo pet prefer it to the robo sapiens and it appars to be cheaper too

kitschkitty

I vote second hand, but I think that's because over the last few years I've developed a bit of a thing for not buying so much new stuff. There's so much that ends up in landfill or the back of cupboards, and that just annoys me now!

I think so long as items are in good working condition (and as mentioned so many are boxed and near brand new) it's hard to tell the difference.

I'd also like to think that people feel able to bring their kids up to value and enjoy what they've got (especially when it's something they've really wanted) and that where it came from is not the important part.

If more parents encouraged their kids to make extra pocket money from selling their unwanted toys at (family) car boots/ebay rather than just leaving them at the back of a cupboard it would be a good thing. (The only place I've ever seen this happen is when kids trade in their computer games).

I guess I'm rambling a bit, but what I'm trying to say is if half of society judges you on how much things cost and what brand/where they come from being the important and meaningful things in life, then I want to be on the side of the other half, who feel good when they buy from and support charity shops, value what they've got and enjoy it more knowing it cost less and they can spend the savings on other treats!