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by stevekemp·2y ago·view on hn ↗
I guess this might be a regional thing, but where I live (in Finland) there's a healthy trade amongst parents with other local families for clothing and toys.

Facebook marketplace is used for this a lot, and also the local WhatsApp groups that you seem to find yourself in with the parents of your child's friends. The kinda group that has "Hey we're going to the park, who's coming?" and similar "local" stuff.

I know from the time our child was born up until at least the age of five we only really bought new clothes once a year or so - and that was exclusively the outwear (winter clothing for the snow and subzero temperatures).

I can't imagine going out to look for a dedicated marketplace for such things. There are charity shops nearby which are packed full of used clothes for kids up to the age of 11 or so - after that I guess fashion might lead to demands of new stuff.

I guess maybe if you have no local relatives, and your kids is the biggest/fattest in the class you might need special options. But otherwise the local trade of used stuff seems to be handled quite casually and happily - and that's what I remember from being a kid in the UK; my parents would throw big bags of used clothing from cousins, neighbours, and similar people at me now and again up until I was 12 or so.

2 comments
FB Marketplace was one of the places we almost got burned, even though it was a local group. And we have traded stuff with other parents for needed items, but their kids are either too young or too way too old, but we still trade/give away what we can. And unfortunately, our extended families are mostly childless or have adult kids. I guess it's the bane of being the youngest lol.

The school thing we haven't tried yet, but we will as soon as he starts school.

As far as the app goes, I'm really just looking for more options. You did provide some options, so thank you! Much appreciated!

Yeah I agree with your point of view for clothing related things. We're also getting most of our clothes from our friends.

I think it becomes more difficult when you're looking to buy things outside of kids clothes tho. Things like strollers or baby bouncers - more expensive, short usage.

Facebook marketplace is the most popular one for those, but I generally feel that I don't usually trust those sellers and it's a bit of hassle to get through that. We're trying to see if there's an angle that we can go to address those issues.