Pre-parenting: A Craiglist win
November 20, 2014
We just paid what felt like an awful lot of money for a used crib. It was the one that PiC liked best from all the research that he did, so I had to hop online, find out what it would have cost new, and how much we would have saved for a new but less fancy crib.
Assumptions: if we bought all of this new, we’d be paying tax, but probably not shipping because paying for shipping is against my online shopping rules (unless it’s drastically cheaper even with shipping).
If we’d gone the IKEA route, we’d probably have bought the more expensive version with the drawers underneath because I’m a fan of underbed storage, and spent: basic crib, $200; mattress, $60-100; and add in a few sheet sets at say, $6-10 each.
Approx. total with tax: $330-375
The retail costs for the crib that we chose were: crib (without all the convertible options) $799; mattress, $199; 4 sets of fitted cotton sheets, $39/each; 1 set of waterproof sheets, $49; 1 bed skirt, $49?; 1 bumper (I couldn’t find the bumper that we actually got but it’s much nicer than the ones I could find online so I assume same price or more), $149+.
Total with tax: ~ $1500
I didn’t do a used-Ikea comparison because while their stuff is fine new, I don’t think it tends to hold up well after one or two cycles of kids so I wouldn’t have gone that route.
There were a few reasons that I ended up liking this crib best, over an IKEA semi-equivalent: it’s a bit smaller than the standard crib sizes which is better in our cramped living quarters; it’s really easy to move around so that means less claustrophobia AND less frustration for me. That alone is worth a bit of money. And down the line, there is some decent resale value to be had with this nicer model, even used.
What we paid: $500.
That’s no insignificant amount of money, but I’m now comfortable with paying a little over $100 more for a piece of solid furniture that fits best in our space.
Solid furniture with all the bells and whistles that will last for years to come – sounds like a great deal to me.
And it supports my weight when I use it as my crutch to get around the room š
You can always re-sell it eventually. I hate to tell you how few nights either of my kids spent in a crib. Luckily, the first one was borrowed. The second one was the cheapest one we could find. We eventually sold it and got most of our investment back.
That was actually one of the first considerations: “And down the line, there is some decent resale value to be had with this nicer model, even used.”
Because it’s nicer and solid, we’re seeing them being resold now (obviously, since that’s how we got it) at prices that suggest we’ll recoup most of the outlay.
We’re definitely looking at getting a convertible crib, just makes so much more sense as like frugalscholar said, they probably won’t spend much time in a crib anyways. I really like the ones that eventually become a double or day bed, that’s such a better idea than something that might get limited use for about 2 years. And, definitely try and re-sell when LB no longer uses it š
It’s interesting how many parents selling their convertible beds said they didn’t even bother using the bassinet or the toddler size conversions so I’m really ok with going from a crib direct to a full bed if we have time.
Definitely sounds like a good deal! I need to be more serious about buying quality stuff used. I am good about selling stuff but I tend to get very consumer-focused and want new stuff when I start thinking about decor and furniture.
The convenience of buying new, and then getting the cheaper deals, is a hard habit to kick. Thank goodness that in this case, PiC is the master of Craigslist. I just don’t have that kind of patience but since he does, we do pretty well getting well built stuff that’ll last and resell well.
That’s not a bad coup at all! Good cribs can be ridiculously expensive, especially considering you only use them for…what? 18 months or two years? Shortly, our kid was sleeping on a mattress laid on the floor. But we were glad to have purchased a crib that operated smoothly and easily, that was at the right height not to put our backs out when we picked him up, and that was as safe as a crib can get.
Can’t imagine you could get much in reselling an Ikea crib. And gosh…Ikea’s stuff tends to be so flimsy, I’d feel nervous about using one, especially if the kid is very active. Better to put up a few extra bucks for a good piece of furniture like this, that you can either re-use later or sell for a reasonable price.
It’s always interesting when people resell IKEA stuff – I wonder, are you serious? But sometimes the stuff is alright, they do have slightly higher quality, but definitely not real wood, stuff.
We have to make a fair amount of concessions to my ability to bend and lift and so on, so this worked well.
We bought a futon on the floor for this very reason. Of course this won’t work for you but we ha wanted something that would be his bed for life.. š
That would be my favorite solution: buy once, keep using it foreevvverrr. Alas.