New baby business idea (would love your opinions)

dermita

Hi all. Looking for your opinion on the following idea. My daughter is pregnant and as it’s her first needed absolutely everything. She’s only 20 so she doesn’t have friends she could borrow anything from.
I costed all the baby equipment and clothes etc which came to well over €3K. I wrote down what I wanted to get and set about over the last few months on various second hand sites to get what I wanted. I had time on my side so was able to wait until the right items for me came to the market. I have now bought everything on my list in mint condition for €375. A saving of almost €3k.
I bought a quinny travel system which was originally €1250 for €80. The couple in question had no room in their house and so happy to have it going to new Mom plus freeing up space in their own home.
So it put me thinking. Is there a market for this type of service? Would you work with and pay someone to do all of this for you? It would work along the lines of this...an initial meeting to discuss your needs, the “wish list” would be compiled, a budget agreed, my fee agreed and I would do the ground work for you. Sending you pics and details of items I have in mind to buy for you and keeping you informed during the whole process as nothing would be purchased without you being 100% happy.
I’ve discovered there’s incredibly beautiful items out there for sale in perfect condition as people care for their babies so well as they do their equipment and furniture.
I also got the first years supply of clothes for my daughters Baby, as well as sterilizer, electric breast pump, quinny travel system including isofix for car, sleigh cot bed, sleeping bags up to 18 months old, co-sleeper, swing, rocker, bottle warmer, changing unit etc.
she didn’t have the money to buy what she needed new but what u bought for her no one would ever know it was anything but new.
Would people use this type of service? Would you? Am I mad to think I could make a business out of this?
Would love to hear your thoughts....

DavyD_83

Hmm, in theory I can see the appeal. But in practice if was considering using your service (or more likely my wife said she was), I think I'd realise pretty quickly that I have access to all the same sources myself. It would depend how much your service cost, and if it's worth it for me to pay you that to take the hassle from me.

I think anybody wanting/willing to buy second hand is already aware of the various sources. And those who are oblivious of the existence of eg. Adverts.ie are probably people who would only buy new.

I'm not sure it's a runner that you could actually charge much for, I could be completely wrong tho, and maybe it's just that I wouldn't fit your model.

bee06

I think it’s first time parents who would get most use of a service like this but they are also the ones who would be least likely to buy second hand. I knew I could get items second hand but wanted to buy new. In hind sight I should have bought some stuff second hand but when it’s your first baby logic doesn’t always work!

Watergirl4

OSI wrote: »

Realistically, if you're the type of person to spend €80 for a second hand travel system, are you also the type to willingly pay someone to be what amounts to a personal shopper?

I would agree with this. While I knew that second hand items were available, there was no way my pfb was going to sleep in a second hand anything. All mattresses have to be purchased new anyway.

I am probably not your target market as the only thing I ever bought second hand was to replace something that I lost and was no longer available new.

I do pass on everything we are finished with to family but my eldest was the first grandchild on both sides.

I agree that there are plenty of items in great condition available second hand.

what would your fee be and can you reward yourself for time and costs involved.

Alkers

I think it could work, especially if you market the fact that you came up with the list of items yourself as many new parents wouldn't know everything they need. A more conventional angle may be if you could setup a secondhand store dealing only in baby stuff but there may be a lot more hoops to jump through in order to get this setup

Tell me how

Simona1986 wrote: »

I think it could work, especially if you market the fact that you came up with the list of items yourself as many new parents wouldn't know everything they need. A more conventional angle may be if you could setup a secondhand store dealing only in baby stuff but there may be a lot more hoops to jump through in order to get this setup

Or a leasing model where the OP essentially owns the goods and leases them rather then sells them. Thus getting them back to replenish stock.

Added issues of maintenance, storage, tracking, cleaning maybe but probably a business in there somewhere.

DavyD_83

You could just buy up all the items you believe are on the list, and then market it as an 'as new starter bundle at a fraction of the price'.
I think the key would be to buy the items and then sell on, rather than acting as middle-(wo)man in the sales.

Yoghurt87

I think you’d be looking at a very limited pool of potential customers. Many first time parents prefer to buy new or receive gifts of big ticket items. Others might have friends or family to get secondhand baby gear from. Anyone buying secondhand online can access the likes of Donedeal/ Adverts/ their local FB group fairly handily.

It also sounds like a lot of work for yourself when you factor in face-to-face meetings, trawling through ads and all the back and forths over phone and email. You’d have to charge enough to make it worth your while, but would people on a tight budget be in a position to pay you? Eg. Would your daughter have paid an extra €200 on top of what you spent for someone to do the legwork for her?

OU812

You’d probably be onto a better idea if you spent the €3k and built up a stock of “baby kit”.

You could afford just under 8 kits to start and then charge €600 for them giving you a 60% markup.

But as regular income I don’t think there’s a market in Ireland large enough. People get a lot of stuff bought for them.

Watergirl4

I would also like to see what is making up the list of items needed for €3k

Apart from a travel system/car seat/moses basket, very little is needed day 1. Most family and friends would give gifts of clothes, smaller affordable pieces of equipment.

While it appears that your daughter has any piece of baby equipment that she could possibly ever use, it is unlikely that she will need it all.

shesty

The service you're suggesting - no.But a variation on it might be to have a site/facebook page or store specifically aimed at selling on second hand stuff. Bit like Done Deal maybe, but specifically for baby/child equipment.
I wouldn't have taken much second hand for my first child, the reason being that I expected (hoped) to have more. Thankfully it has worked out that way. My third was born recently and I have taken some secondhand stuff for him alright from friends, but I have everything else, and I know what bits I do really need and where to source them otherwise. I think you would do better to operate as the source for these items, rather than as a middle man searching for the items on behalf of a pregnant woman.

FurBabyMomma

I like the idea but I think if you're talking about a consultation to find out what parents want it'll end up with you spending loads of time running around trying to find specific items that match the decor, etc, so you'll either end up undervaluing your time or being too expensive to be worth it.

I think the suggestion of putting together a take-it-or-leave-it bundle with your percentage added on is much more likely to work, although I can't see you making massive money on it. I know there are people out there who only buy new, but equally there are people who just can't afford to and might like this service.

mloc123

dermita wrote: »

Hi all. Looking for your opinion on the following idea. My daughter is pregnant and as it’s her first needed absolutely everything. She’s only 20 so she doesn’t have friends she could borrow anything from.
I costed all the baby equipment and clothes etc which came to well over €3K. I wrote down what I wanted to get and set about over the last few months on various second hand sites to get what I wanted. I had time on my side so was able to wait until the right items for me came to the market. I have now bought everything on my list in mint condition for €375. A saving of almost €3k.
I bought a quinny travel system which was originally €1250 for €80. The couple in question had no room in their house and so happy to have it going to new Mom plus freeing up space in their own home.
So it put me thinking. Is there a market for this type of service? Would you work with and pay someone to do all of this for you? It would work along the lines of this...an initial meeting to discuss your needs, the “wish list” would be compiled, a budget agreed, my fee agreed and I would do the ground work for you. Sending you pics and details of items I have in mind to buy for you and keeping you informed during the whole process as nothing would be purchased without you being 100% happy.
I’ve discovered there’s incredibly beautiful items out there for sale in perfect condition as people care for their babies so well as they do their equipment and furniture.
I also got the first years supply of clothes for my daughters Baby, as well as sterilizer, electric breast pump, quinny travel system including isofix for car, sleigh cot bed, sleeping bags up to 18 months old, co-sleeper, swing, rocker, bottle warmer, changing unit etc.
she didn’t have the money to buy what she needed new but what u bought for her no one would ever know it was anything but new.
Would people use this type of service? Would you? Am I mad to think I could make a business out of this?
Would love to hear your thoughts....

How long did it take you to piece together all that stuff between searching, driving, collecting etc..

And how much could you realistically charge somebody for the service? Now work out how much you would make for each hour spent... I suspect it would be less than minimum wage.

fits

I buy and sell a lot of stuff second hand including a lot of baby gear. (We have twins). I wouldnt use your service because we’d have to pay you for the service thereby reducing our savings.

pwurple

I think so much of the baby items are personal choice... for example, travel system's aren't my thing at all, but other people love them. It sounds like what you are offering is a personal shopper service for secondhand items.. I just don't know how you would make money off it? It sounds like a lot of hours of work, hunting for things, and I don't think it would scale well. Also, people starting new businesses tend to undervalue their own time. How many hours do you think you put in? Pay yourself 15 euro an hour, and see how much you need to charge. 

Let me run through this list though quickly as an example for my own family, so you can see how this would fit someone possibly in your target market... We are an example of two parents working full time, + running business on the side, so...  ok for money/short of time... 

Clothes - we had enough gifts / handmedowns from cousins / neighbours etc to cover this. 
Sterilizer - not everyone uses bottles. low price item anyway. 15 euro. 
Electric breast pump - No. I didn't buy one, borrowed one for a week when had sore bits.
Quinny travel system including isofix for car. - No, had a buggy, a sling and a carseat. Much lower price than systems. Buggy was a gift from parents (180 if buying new) and lasted through 4 kids (2 mine). Sling was 40 euro, carseat was around 100. I'm not going to want a secondhand carseat, I don't know what you could save me much on the sling. 
- sleigh cot bed. No, had regular cot, and old one from cousins/family. New mattress was 50. Again, wouldn't use a secondhand mattress here, no saving possible.
- sleeping bags up to 18 months old. - No. Had two of these, low cost item. Didn't need in summer. 
- co-sleeper. No
- swing - No
- rocker. This is 20 euro.
- bottle warmer. No
- changing unit etc. No, used a bed. 

My total is around 400 rather than 3k.

wyf437gn6btzue

dermita wrote: »

Hi all. Looking for your opinion on the following idea. My daughter is pregnant and as it’s her first needed absolutely everything. She’s only 20 so she doesn’t have friends she could borrow anything from.
I costed all the baby equipment and clothes etc which came to well over €3K. I wrote down what I wanted to get and set about over the last few months on various second hand sites to get what I wanted. I had time on my side so was able to wait until the right items for me came to the market. I have now bought everything on my list in mint condition for €375. A saving of almost €3k.
I bought a quinny travel system which was originally €1250 for €80. The couple in question had no room in their house and so happy to have it going to new Mom plus freeing up space in their own home.
So it put me thinking. Is there a market for this type of service? Would you work with and pay someone to do all of this for you? It would work along the lines of this...an initial meeting to discuss your needs, the “wish list” would be compiled, a budget agreed, my fee agreed and I would do the ground work for you. Sending you pics and details of items I have in mind to buy for you and keeping you informed during the whole process as nothing would be purchased without you being 100% happy.
I’ve discovered there’s incredibly beautiful items out there for sale in perfect condition as people care for their babies so well as they do their equipment and furniture.
I also got the first years supply of clothes for my daughters Baby, as well as sterilizer, electric breast pump, quinny travel system including isofix for car, sleigh cot bed, sleeping bags up to 18 months old, co-sleeper, swing, rocker, bottle warmer, changing unit etc.
she didn’t have the money to buy what she needed new but what u bought for her no one would ever know it was anything but new.
Would people use this type of service? Would you? Am I mad to think I could make a business out of this?
Would love to hear your thoughts....

I understand your motivation but I suspect that logistically it would be intensive and most probably not scalable to the extent of it being a profit making venture. Usually people with spare time would be able to do like you did and look for the deals themselves.

Instead of you doing the work for them, It may be easier to set up a Facebook group for buying and selling used baby equipment & clothes to test the water and see if its a viable idea. If so, you could look into setting a website specifically aimed at the above niche and implement a listing or success fee structure like adverts.ie or donedeal.

It may also be a lot easier for you to buy the equipment & clothes and then resell them for a profit, cutting a lot of the hassle out.

Don`t be discouraged though, if you see potential there is no harm testing the water. Best of luck

lunamoon

Jade Bald Wolverine wrote: »

Instead of you doing the work for them, It may be easier to set up a Facebook group for buying and selling used baby equipment & clothes to test the water and see if its a viable idea. If so, you could look into setting a website specifically aimed at the above niche and implement a listing or success fee structure like adverts.ie or donedeal.

I think the above is a really good idea and I'd be interested in something like that.

As a first-time mum and not getting any hand me downs, I'd love to know how it added up to 3k? I've spent around 1k so far and I have things that I'd class as 'luxury and not needed' items.

Big Bag of Chips

Simona1986 wrote: »

I think it could work, especially if you market the fact that you came up with the list of items yourself as many new parents wouldn't know everything they need.

I don't know about this OP. I've had 4 children and never owned a fraction of what you listed in your first post. Some of what you listed is unnecessary and unlikely to be used more than once, if at all. I think new parents are likely to buy new, or get gifts from relatives and friends. If I was looking for any second hand equipment I'd search it myself rather than pay someone else to do it.

Maybe if you have the space you could buy loads of stock and resell it. As others said "bundle" things together. It would probably be more likely to make you a few quid.

bee06

BBOC is right. For example: steriliser, breast pump and bottle warmer. If breastfeeding, the steriliser and bottle warmer aren’t needed as there no need to sterilise bottles etc for expressed breastmilk and it can be warmed easily in some warm water.

FYI I also hope the breast pump is a closed system. Medela tends to be the most common second hand breast pump and most of these pumps are open systems not to be used for more than one baby. I just point it out because it’s not something I knew before I started BF and a common mistake made when buying pumps.

whiskeyman

As others mentioned, I think you'd be best to buy the stuff and sell it on, but focus on refurbishment / cleaning of items and declaring any issues up front etc...
This will give buyers a good level of assurance while saving a sizeable amount.

You could look at bundling certain items or keep as individual.

mirrorwall14

I’d be cautious here too. Our list of baby stuff came nowhere near 3k, under half that and that was with some indulgences such as the perfect prep machine and it included all the disposables such as nappies/wipes bought pre birth.

In addition a lot of items for new parents are gifted, grandparents buying or contributing to car seats, cots, baby bouncer etc. Other items most people won’t consider buying second hand e.g. car seats in case they have been in a crash

It’s a nice idea but I’m not sure how much business you would get

GalwayGrrrrrl

In the UK there are regular NCT second hand baby stuff sales which are really popular. They rent out a church hall, charge per table for sellers and I think they charge a small entrance fee for buyers. It’s been running for a long time and seems successful. You could look at their model and see if it would suit your business.
I agree that people who need to budget on baby stuff probably wouldn’t pay much to a third party to source second hand things for them.

OP, I wonder what your daughter thought of your purchases? After all, it is HER baby.

GalwayGrrrrrl

Deleted User wrote: »

OP, I wonder what your daughter thought of your purchases? After all, it is HER baby.

Agree - a lot of the things in the list I never used for my children, or were gifts. Your daughter is 20- old enough to start taking responsibility for herself!

rainbowtrout

If someone is going to the trouble of buying second hand to save some money, I can't see them paying you to buy those items second hand and be a middleman in the process, and costing them more than what they would get it for if they did it themselves. If I see something on done deal (doesn't have to be baby gear), I can just ring the seller myself. What benefit would there be in letting you do that, and for you to have to come back to the buyer and say that you've found X, and the price it is and the condition it's in etc. That just creates an unnecessary layer of red tape. Also I think if I was buying baby gear second hand I'd probably want to check it myself before handing over my money.

Did your daughter have any say in this.... I notice you mention that it's 'your list' and what 'you wanted'. Does she get to decide what she wants for her baby?

Big Bag of Chips

By the way - I would say we're all a bit clueless on our first, and maybe do go overboard with what we need. So if you wanted you could sort of use new mother's inexperience to exploit a few quid out of them

I know if I ever went anywhere (town, visiting family, playcentre etc) with my first, everything but the kitchen sink had to be brought.
By the time I got to my 4th, it was a nappy and packet of babywipes in my handbag.

Babies don't need all that stuff. And they certainly don't need €3,000 worth of stuff. Not before they're even born anyway. You've bought a co-sleeper, and a sleigh cot bed. Why? The sleigh cot bed is not going to be needed for a long while yet!

I know people get excited at the expectation of the first baby, and as I said maybe that's something you could use to sell them more than they need. But I don't really know if you're going to do it as a "middle man". You'd be better off trying to set up a second hand business where people know they are coming to you to view "pre-loved" items.

lazygal

I'm expecting my third. I gave away a lot of stuff from my first two, but I had the essentials like a cot (Ikea, under 150 at the time, needed a new mattress regardless), buggy (Bugaboo, used for three years solidly and will be used for another two), clothes, nappies and wipes and various other bits. I'm in a zero waste baby swap group on Facebook and I've gotten loads of stuff free, including a changing table, sling, cot mobile, clothes ( bought a moses basket in a charity shop for a tenner and spent the same on a new mattress) - if I was savvy and more organised it would have cost virtually nothing to kit ourselves out for a newborn because there are everything from cots to buggies to toys and clothes bundles available, if you're in the right place and not too fussy. I wouldn't pay for anyone to source the stuff.

jlm29

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

In the UK there are regular NCT second hand baby stuff sales which are really popular. They rent out a church hall, charge per table for sellers and I think they charge a small entrance fee for buyers. It’s been running for a long time and seems successful. You could look at their model and see if it would suit your business.
I agree that people who need to budget on baby stuff probably wouldn’t pay much to a third party to source second hand things for them.

There is a crowd that does this. There’s different venues around Ireland where they go to. I think it’s called the baby market or something. I’ve seen it on FB. Anyone can rent a table, and the public pays an entry fee I think.

DavyD_83

jlm29 wrote: »

There is a crowd that does this. There’s different venues around Ireland where they go to. I think it’s called the baby market or something. I’ve seen it on FB. Anyone can rent a table, and the public pays an entry fee I think.

Baby Bay Market, I think.
It's something we kept meaning to go to, but never got around to.
Might be worth getting a table soon though

WoollyRedHat

A wedding planner for babies. I don't see why not, especially if you were able to source unique items. If you also tried to obtain items or objects that are ethically sourced, that would be an added appeal to the 'concious type.