How To Select Baby Gear That Lasts

There's no reason parents have to run through baby gear like babies go through clothes, which is why many companies are starting to make quality products that grow with your infant. Shop smarter for long-lasting strollers, high chairs, swings and more, that not only will serve you and your family for years, but can also be resold for a great price.

After all, we all want gear that works just right for our little ones at every stage of development. By reselling your gear you’re giving more parents access to the gear kids need for every milestone—not to mention earning some cash while you’re at it. 

The Value of Resale 

Before we dive into long-lasting products, let's chat about resale. The average, middle income family spends between $20,000 and $50,000 the first year of their kid's life. Yup, the first year. That's a lot of money, and through choosing items wisely you can spend less and recoup costs by reselling gently-used baby gear. 

For example, let's say you purchase a brand spanking new UPPAbaby Vista, the ultimate birth-to-toddler-to-three-kids stroller system. That will cost around $1,000 (we sell gently-used and open box Vistas in the $400 to $500 range). After five years of using the stroller you can still sell it and make a few hundred dollars. Now imagine doing that with all your baby gear. 

Not only does this cycle of reselling and buying second hand earn you money to reinvest in your child’s next gear milestone, but it's better for the environment too. Reusing an item can reduce its carbon footprint by 82-percent. It also means less packaging being thrown away. So before you decide on what baby gear to buy, also consider how it can be repurposed and passed on down the line.

Grow-With-Your-Child High Chairs 

A traditional high chair won't keep your kid seated past the age of 2, if you're lucky. They just aren't made to do that, which means many parents have to purchase a booster seat or other contraption so their little one can sit at the table. Over the last few years this cycle has changed thanks to grow-with-me highchairs by companies such as Stokke and Lalo. Another great grow-with-me high chair includes the Oxo Tot Sprout, which can go from six months to 5 years. 

The Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair is another popular option that we often receives as an open box item, meaning you save at least $50 for a highchair that retails for around $270. With an adjustable seat and footrest, this highchair could be your kid's preferred seat all the way to college if so desired, it's that strong and flexible. 

The Chair by Lalo also grows with your child, though we doubt many older kids will want to sit in a play-sized seat past a certain age. It does hold up to 200 pounds, so it is an option. The way Lalo's works is by adjusting the legs to get shorter as the kid needs less added height at the dinner table. Eventually the cushion comes out in order to give more room, the tray is removed, straps are taken out and the device becomes the perfect kid-sized chair. Source this highchair in open box condition from us for just $135, about $60 off the retail price, and then easily sell it when you're done. 

Multifunctional Items

This type of baby gear is for items that have more than one purpose. For example, Skip Hop's newish high chair design, the Sit-to-Step High Chair, which goes from a secure infant feeding station to a toddler seat and finally, can be used as a step stool. This means not only do you save space, but spend less by only getting one piece of baby gear. 

It's not just high chairs that have many modes. The 4Moms Breeze is a one-hand-opening portable crib that works as a play yard, bassinet and changing station. The idea of having all that in one device isn't new, Graco has offered a lot of these accoutrements with its deluxe Pack N Play, including vibrating sleep surfaces to help your baby relax. We often carry these sleepers in open box and gently-used condition in stock, and at 30 to 50-percent off retail cost. 

Another multifunctional item is the Oribel Portaplay, a fun activity center for babies that can grow up with them and become an activity table. Normally this unique item runs $129 new, but we sell them for $70 in gently-used condition. The Skip Hop Explore & More 3-Stage Activity Center also functions this way and is another item we have in stock as open box items for $50 off the listed retail cost. 

Ride Along From Birth To Big Kid 

A stroller is one of the most expensive things a family might invest in, and it's something just about everyone needs. If you choose this item wisely you can avoid buying multiple strollers in order to fit each stage of life and instead, get one that you'll love for years. And yes, that aforementioned UPPAbaby Vista is the crème de la crème. This stroller system comes with a bassinet for the very small baby, which can also be used in the house as the infant's bed. Once your little one has grown out of the bassinet they can move into the seat. You can also add another seat for another child, or the PiggyBack Ride-Along Board for older kids to stand on. At the most, three kids at a time can use this stroller, making it worth every penny. 

Of course Vista isn't the only option. The Baby Jogger City Select Stroller also can carry that many kids and features 16 possible configurations to suit your family's needs. This stroller retails for $500, but can be found gently-used on our website for closer to $150. Also check out the hard-to-find Mockingbird Single-to-Double Stroller, which has options to add on a bassinet, car seat adaptor, infant seat insert and a second seat. We sell this in-demand stroller for around $100 off the retail cost in open-box condition. 

Conclusion