The Accidental Parent Guide: Nearly New

If you have not experienced the sheer genius of a nearly new sale, then allow us to enlighten you (ooh la la, I went a bit Fifty Shades then).

A nearly new or table top sale is a bit like a car boot sale – a clean, warm, polite car boot sale without any cars. Or boots.

The sales usually take place in a community hall and are often themed, for example arts and crafts, health and beauty or our personal favourite, baby and toddler.

My Mum introduced me to nearly new sales when I was pregnant with Bella. At first I wasn’t keen on the idea – I was 19, a bit naive and not massively keen on the idea of putting second hand clothes on my new born baby. That being said, I was also 19 and surviving on a student loan (as my Mother reminded me) so I went along to have a peek.

During that hour I picked up enough baby equipment and clothing to see me through at least the first six months of Bella’s life (and then some), and barely broke £40.00.

I now go to the baby and toddler sales whenever they are on, and here’s why…

There is a ‘nearly new etiquette’ that sellers seem to follow at the sales, whereby everything sold has been cleaned, ironed and is beautifully presented. I think this is because sellers are given roughy 2-3 hours to sell as much as they possibly can, so making everything look and smell lovely helps to persuade people to buy the stuff. The sellers have usually crammed their cars full of stuff that they simply want to get rid of. Most won’t want to have to take it all home again, so sellers usually offer brilliant deals.

Children grow so quickly, meaning that often the nicest outfits are only worn a couple of times and stay in good condition. Yesterday we picked up roughly six Jasper Conran, John Lewis, Monsoon and Autograph dresses for Bella and Connie and barely broke a £10 note. Two of the John Lewis dresses were brand new with tags and we picked both up for £1. These sales really are brilliant if you like good quality clothing. Because of the nearly new sales, Bella and Connie have always been dressed in high quality, beautiful clothes. I am able to dress my children in stunning outfits that I would have never dreamt of buying brand new (they’re only going to get pooped/puked/trampled on anyway).

The sales are full of brilliantly high quality, educational baby toys. Again, all of Bella and Connie’s toys are beautiful and educational. All from Melissa and Doug, Fisher Price, The Early Learning Centre etc. Yesterday we bought Connie a brand new V-tech 3-in-1 Zebra scooter. It is currently selling on Amazon for £49.99. We paid £4.00. You really would be surprised what people sell, and for how cheap, these sales are like little gold mines.

Often sellers have only brought a fraction of the stuff that they want to sell down with them. If you meet a parent that has similar tastes to you in clothing and/or baby toys, it’s always worth exchanging numbers. They may be interested in selling more items to you without the bother of having to do another sale. Likewise, if they have a child that is older than yours, they will always have a stream of clothes to get rid of once their child has grown out of them – everyone’s a winner!

The tables usually cost around £5-£10 to hire and unlike setting up a car boot sale, you don’t have to rely on the weather. Your items don’t get dirty or dusty and you stay warm and comfortable.

There are often refreshments so even if you come away empty handed, at least there’s cake, and who doesn’t like cake? To be honest, our local nearly new sale always has such a good cake section, that Mum and I usually just go for the refreshments and a natter!

At some of the larger sales there is often entertainment such as raffles, face painting, music, puppet shows etc. People like to go to advertise their local businesses, so it’s a great place to go to do a bit of networking.

You also usually get a free goodie bag when you arrive. I blooming love free stuff. Last time they were full of Pritt sticks and washing powder. What’s not to love?!

These sales really are amazing. If you haven’t already, then google them. They take place all around the UK and are just brilliant.

They provide another way for parents to do their best for their children, without breaking the bank!