Introducing PricePeg - Buying smart and getting more for baby

When I was expecting my first baby, I wanted the best I could afford for her but didn't want to spend too much.  Obviously the first thing that came to mind was getting hand-me-downs - this is the advice that everyone gives and I maxed out my allocation I think!  But in spite of being the first to have kids in the extended family, there wasn't as much around as I'd hoped.  So my thoughts turned to the next source of saving: eBay.

It was after spending weeks repeatedly getting outbid at the last minute that I had an epiphany - buying new and then selling would save me as much money as buying second hand. I looked at this for some time, and the interesting thing was that the items that had a good resale price were also really popular, well-reviewed and well-liked by my friends with babies.

I found this so useful my husband and I decided to share this as a resource for other shoppers and thus my new website was born - PricePeg.uk.

I want to share with you some of my tips on how to buy smart and get a great deal on the essential big items for your baby (and you)!  Here are the best items I found, and some points to bear in mind - all of these items you can expect to sell for 50% of the original price after typical use:

• Prams – the obvious big expense and any saving is big. Buying new will get you the warranty.  The resale value varies widely for these, even within brands, so choose carefully - Baby Jogger (esp. Select, GTs), Bugaboo (Donkey, Buffalo), Babystyle (Oyster Max), Phil & Teds (Dot)
• Baby carriers – these retain their value well and ones my friends recommended retain the most - Manduca, Ergobaby
• Baby monitors – the technology for these surprisingly doesn't move that fast - Motorola (esp. video ones), BT (Video 1000), BabyPing
• Breast pumps – pump parts wear out and you may want to replace the parts the milk touches, so buy new and save worrying - Ardo Calypso, Philips Avent
• High chairs – the good ones last and last – and sell for more - BabyBjorn Appetite, Joie Mimzy Snacker
• TENS machines - you could rent them, but if you have more than one child buying new then selling works out cheaper. Plus it saves you hygiene worries.  If you do buy second hand, factor in new pads - Babycare Elle TENS

If you’re deciding what to buy, or are curious what your item is worth, check out PricePeg.uk for the best baby price information.  We have over 200 products listed and collected thousands of second-hand prices so you can be more confident you’ll get back what you expect.

*This is a guest blog post by Sue May, co-founder of PricePeg and new mum