A guide to buying second-hand toys

I watch a lot of kids’ TV, for research purposes of course, and you can’t get away from the fact that every advert seems to be showing a toy that your child just has to have.

Of course, these are made of plastic and cost a small fortune for what they really are.

The reality of buying these toys is that they will get them home or have them delivered, they’ll be played with for a little while and then the box that they came in will be the most interesting thing about the toy for the next couple of days.

And it is for this reason, Mrs Monday and I look to buy second hand or wait until a special occasion to see what baby gifts are bought.

Where do we buy second-hand toys?

Mrs Monday is old school when it comes to her purchases and looks to look and feel the item before she hands over any cash and it’s for that reason we prefer to buy off Facebook Classifieds.

Are the toys safe?

No parent would knowingly buy something that isn’t safe for their children and we are no different.

If for one moment we thought an item was unsafe, we would just walk away, we might have travelled a little way, we only buy locally, but saving a few pounds isn’t worth jeopardizing the safety of our little man.

The toys that we often buy are also from well-known brands so they would have met safety standards in the first place to be able to have been sold here.

We also generally favour larger second-hand items so they are a little difficult to put in the mouth but don’t get me wrong, they see their fair share of sucking.

Are they quality items?

We wouldn’t bother showing interest in a second-hand toy unless it looked as though it was looked after by the previous owner.

Looking back at what we’ve been able to purchase or had given to us free, I’m pleased to say that they are like new at a fraction of the cost.

Before our little man was born we purchased a Jumparoo, I think for about £25.00. We went into Symths the other day and they are retailing for about £80.00.

We also bought a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe for I think £15.00, again these retail for about £50.00

How do we clean them?

We have no doubt that the people that we buy our second-hand toys from are clean, but it is still important for us to ensure that the items are cleaned to our exacting standards.

Maybe we are clean freaks, but when needs must.

What we usually do is start off by cleaning the toys with hot soapy water.

If we are able we will then dissolve some Milton in a bowl and leave toys to soak for a few hours.

For the bulkier toys, we’ll still give them a soapy wash down and again use Milton and a wash rag to give it a once over.

As a general rule, we’ll also clean the toys regularly, with a disinfectant wipe.

Steps you should take when buying second-hand toys

1. Look at all the available options for buying the toys. Facebook, Marketplace, Local Classifieds and Charity Shops.
2. Once you have found something that you might like, ask for further photos from the seller and ask questions.
   • Why are they selling
   • Are all the parts available and in working order
   • Are any of the bits missing or loose
3. Haggle
4. When you go to collect the item give it a thorough look to see if it is in the condition as described.
5. If something doesn’t look right, don’t be afraid to walk away
6. When you get the toy home, give it a thorough clean, regardless of whether the place you are buying it looks clean. It will probably spend a lot of time in your little one’s mouth so better safe than sorry

What are we going to do once we’ve finished with them?

We’re lucky in that the toys that we have bought are going to get further use when our little girl arrives.

But once she becomes bored of them we can sell them on again.

At least this way we know that another child is going to have some fun-filled days playing with them rather than taking them to the local tip to be put into landfill.

Or we might take them to a charity shop, either way, they are going to get as much use as they possibly can out of them.

It’s safe to say that I have no problem with buying second-hand toys, I know that our little man isn’t bothered where they came from, so long as they are clean and he gets enjoyment out of them and for something that they are going to lose interest in fairly quickly, buying second hand is easily justifiable.

So do you have any reservations about buying second-hand toys?

I appreciate that buying secondhand toys isn’t for everyone.

If you don’t or won’t buy secondhand toys, I’d be interested to know the reasons behind this decision.