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

rainmac

I think second hand is fine so long as it works and is in good condition. I bought my son most of the Bob the Builder vehicles from ebay 2 years ago and some of them were used. We still have them today, they are still in great condition and our DS2 now plays with them. Saved lots of money and DS1 was thrilled that he had the Bob vehicles for Xmas.

arthur_dent_2

I am totally and utterly for second hand most things. My girls are very used to having things from Ebay (7 year old loves it) or car boot sales. DD1 prides herself on being able to pay a pound for stuff that is a tenner! Therefore I am buying a new Peppa pig playhouse (found it cheap) but all the accesories will be Ebay as pointed out with the boxes already removed.

wendywitch

I think second hand is a great idea! Done it tons of times, especially if it's something that's hard to track down new.
In our house big presents come from Father Christmas but it's always set up with no packaging eg bikes ready to ride, dollshouse with furniture and people "living" in it.
And as others have said it saves time on getting into it to play lol.

papworth

My children always get a mix of new and second hand presents bought from ebay and car boots. Most of their clothes are from ebay or hand me downs.
We spent a large part of the Summer car booting stuff from our loft and my children loved the challenge of selling their outgrown toys. We had two paste tables so that they had one for toys and they kept the money they made. They often bought things they wanted at the car boots as well (especially beyblades) using the money they had made. My eldest son had true entrepreneurial spirit and made a profit of £100 over the summer which he has saved. I feel it taught the children a valuable lesson that you don't have to have everything new, that you have to earn things you want, that you can spend in a clever way to get more for your money and also they learnt how to handle money and give change etc. They are 8 and 6 if anyone is wondering.

hm71_2

just a little note- I don't see anything wrong with second hand gifts at all, but we have a woolworths clearance near us that has 50% off last marked price- these robo dinosaur, sapian things are all down to between £25/45 pounds. Might be worth taking into account when looking at prices on ebay. To be honest most toys are heavily overpriced when new- and the child doesn't care about packaging etc... they just want to play with the toy.

Meadows

easy wrote: »

I might get a bit flamed for this ... but here goes.

I know my son would like a Robosapien or Robopet for Christmas, but I'm really trying to keep costs down, and get rid of old Credit Card debts. and these things are £45 - £90.

I've browsed a bit on ebay. There are a few on there, hardly played with. The sellers say they work fully (but then they would, wouldn't they).

So I might be able to get a used one for 1/2 the price. But I have never given anyone a second-hand present before, it seems ......uncaring ?? Like I feel he's not worth spending the full amount on ??

Better not to buy him one at all ????

Tell me what you think please ..

Why not buy second hand.

If it is as described, you have a bargain (if the item is described as like new, and it isn't up to scratch, you can take it to a dispute and you will most likely win and get your money back).

I have bough DVD's from eBay as gifts and my family do the same, why pay more if you can get a bargain.
Check out compare sites first to see what the best buys are (such as Kelkoo etc, just type compare sites into your browser & there are loads).

Chances are your son will only play with it for a limited time, better to pay the least you can!

DaisyFlower

easy wrote: »

I might get a bit flamed for this ... but here goes.

I know my son would like a Robosapien or Robopet for Christmas, but I'm really trying to keep costs down, and get rid of old Credit Card debts. and these things are £45 - £90.

I've browsed a bit on ebay. There are a few on there, hardly played with. The sellers say they work fully (but then they would, wouldn't they).

So I might be able to get a used one for 1/2 the price. But I have never given anyone a second-hand present before, it seems ......uncaring ?? Like I feel he's not worth spending the full amount on ??

Better not to buy him one at all ????

Tell me what you think please ..

I bought my DS one of these last year as he "really" wanted a robopet. Its been played with 3 times if that - luckily I had an inkling he was a little too young for it so had it as part of the 3 for 2 on Boots so didnt pay full price.

Gadget type toys tend to be hit and miss so you can pick up some great bargains on Ebay. Buy a nice box and he'll never know, you can say you unpacked it ready to play with :A

code-a-holic

No need to feel guilty. its very MSE!
I even bought 2nd hand gifts for friends children, although i did check for feelingson this with the parents first. Must im happy as im not spending silly money at xmas, and 9 months later i sell on ebay or car boot the now un-used toys in preparation for buying for next xmas.

jkmum

I've done it several times before - ebay, charity shop, even passed down our old digital camera to DS. We take everything out of boxes before wrapping anyway to make sure things work, have batteries, are assembled etc. Have you noticed how many toys need a screwdriver just to get them out of the packaging these days! So they don't know if it came in the box or not. However, mine are only 5 and 2 - maybe they will notice in later years?

mary43

Nothing wrong with second hand - not in my book anyway.Everyone this year is having 'recycled' pressies from the charity shop - all good stuff and some of it other peoples unwanted gifts so still gift wrapped.
My kids years ago had second hand as finances were really tight - oldest one so wanted a little stereo and I managed to get one someone was selling - his face when he opened it was a picture and he wouldn't have looked more pleased if I'd paid a fortune for it.