Buying a used baby carrier?
- lcbabywearing
- Sep 19
- 3 min read
I'm heading to the Alliant Energy Center this morning to check over the baby carriers they have ready to sell this weekend at Half Pint Resale. Half Pint is a huge, local baby and kids consignment sale. I've been partnerering with them for the last few years to make sure there are no unsafe or recalled baby carriers on the floor. If yo
u need some stuff for your kiddo, this is a great place to find it, and you can be confident in your carrier purchase since I've given them a once over!
For my first ever blog post, I thought I'd go over my thoughts on second-hand baby carrier purchases. The majority of the carriers in my library and those I had for personal use are pre-loved!
Benefits of buying second hand baby carriers:
-*Usually* less expensive. (Watch out for highly sought after or discontinued carriers/prints will often be resold at or higher than retail).
-The carrier has been “broken in.” This can be especially helpful when purchasing ring slings and woven wraps which tend to be easier to use when the fabric is less stiff. When the webbing on a buckle carrier has been used, it can be easier to adjust.
-Environmentally friendly. Keep perfectly good baby carriers out of the landfill!
Things to watch for when buying second hand baby carriers:
-Signs of damager or wear. Holes in fabric, fraying along edges, stitching that is coming loose or broken threads on seams, elastic that no longer bounces back, webbing that seems rough and not flexible or slips and loosens.
-Plastic degrades over time. Check to make sure every buckle makes an audible click and there are no areas of discoloration or weakness.
-Stains or heavy smells. Particularly smoke.
-Are all of the pieces of the carrier present? Some carriers have removable clips for back carrying. Baby K’tan and similar style stretchy carriers have two pieces that are required for a safe carry. These often get separated or lost in bins of carriers at second hand shops.
-Counterfeit and non-safety tested carriers. Flimsy material, poor stitching, spelling or grammatical errors on tags, and too good to be true pricing can all be clues that this is not a quality carrier. If in doubt you can quickly search a brand to check their safety testing status. If there is nothing available on their website I would avoid it. Is the carrier part of a recall?
Places to buy used carriers:
-Half Pint Resale and other consignment sales. At Half Pint there is a huge selection of used baby and kid gear in great condition. Check it out this weekend! It's open to the public starting at 8am tomorrow, 9/20.
-Garage sales. This can be time consuming since you usually don’t know ahead of time if someone has any carriers for sale, but chances are good that if you see baby gear/clothes at a garage sale, there might be a used stretchy wrap. You also have the benefit of speaking in person with the former owner of the carrier.
-Thrift/consignment shops. Madison’s local Once Upon A Child stores resells baby carriers, but Goodwill and St Vinny’s do not carry them. There is the posisbility that you'll get lucky and find a woven wrap mistakenly placed in the blankets or tablecloths, but I’ve never seen this personally.
-Facebook and other online resale sites.
You aren’t able to see the carrier in person before purchase so there is a little more risk purchasing this way, but you’ll have access to a lot of carriers that won’t be available locally. Legit posts will contain photos and disclosures about any issues with the carrier. Some groups require feedback links. During or after a consultation I can help guide you through the process, give you my best scam protection advice, and translate any acronyms (so many acronyms!). If you would like to avoid currency exchange, international shipping, etc. stick with sellers in the US.
A consultation with me will help you discover your favorite carriers so you can shop with the confidence that you’ll love your purchase!
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