Shantice Tarpley used a sanitary wipe on a baby activity saucer on Friday as her 20-month-old daughter, Lyric, played with toys on the floor.
Her 6-year-old son, Brandon, was nearby, blowing bubbles from a bottle provided by a store employee. With the saucer - which Tarpley brought in for cash - cleaned, the three were off to look for clothing and toy bargains at Once Upon A Child, a children's resale store in Gilbert.
"I trade and shop here a lot," said Tarpley, a Mesa resident. "Sometimes, I can just come in with stuff the kids don't use anymore and take the money or get store credit. It's convenient; you can use it to trade up, so to speak, and get new things as well."
In challenging economic times and amid growing environmental awareness, many are turning to resale shops, thrift stores and the Internet to buy and sell children's clothes, toys and furniture that are typically outgrown quickly.
"It's becoming a great resource for mothers - or families, I guess I should say," said Jonni McCoy, author and founder of miserlymoms.com, a website devoted to frugal parenting. "Parents can turn in clothes and other stuff that their kids have gotten too big for, those things get re-used, and they get money or store credit.
"And I think people are finding that (resale stores) are pretty good places to shop."
Joe and Julie Staszkow, owners of the Once Upon A Child location at 3425 E. Baseline Road in Gilbert, indicated that their business has enjoyed "steady growth" since the 2008 recession. About 60 people, from all demographics and income levels, bring in slightly-used items for cash each day, they said.
"Coming here, you can spend 50 bucks and walk out with a stack of clothes 2 feet high," Joe Staszkow said. "You spend that much for brand-new stuff, and you might walk out with three items."
At a resale shop or thrift store such as Goodwill or Savers, quality name brands can be had, from Oshkosh and Gymboree for toddlers to The Gap, Old Navy and Hollister Co. for tweens.
"You can be fussy (buying second-hand)," McCoy said. "There are good choices out there."
Recent donation and sales information for children's items at Goodwill and Savers stores was not readily available.
Such websites as eBay and Craigslist can be productive options for miserly parents. An eBay search for "boys clothing, shoes and accessories" on Friday resulted in 387,580 products for sale; a girls search netted 851,682.
However, the buyer must beware while shopping on the Internet, McCoy said. She advises only patronizing sellers with an approval rating of 99 percent or better, avoiding new sellers and asking lots of questions.
"You could buy a jacket or something off eBay that looks great from the front, but you'll get it, and there is a bleach stain on the back," McCoy said. "Don't assume that what you see is what you'll get."
Some who have gone the resale route during the economic slowdown plan on being longtime second-hand shoppers.
Tarpley said that she will continue to utilize resale stores, regardless of her income. So will Cindy Colley of Gilbert, who toy-shopped on Friday at Once Upon A Child with her grandson, William.
"The stuff here is good and clean, and it's a fraction of the (new) cost," Colley said. "So, Grandma can spoil him with twice as many things."
AZMomma posted at 5:03 am on Sun, Jun 27, 2010.
<--- Momma and Granny here. Listen up little grasshoppers: If you had learned and practiced some self-control and THRIFT before you got slapped by hard times, it wouldn't be such a trauma for you now.
Yard sales, thrift stores and other options are great if the items are what is called "gently used". An outfit that retailed at Dillards, worn a few times and then the kid outgrew it was a BAD decision. Now at a Yard sale, that OshKosh or Kids Gap outfit is a bargain.
Stop whining, cut coupons, use them and remember these are the days of tough times. Your kids will tell these stories around the Thanksgiving table in years to come. HOW they remember them is up to you.