Baby and Kids Gear Deals on Craigslist and eBay: What to Buy Used and What to Skip

Babies go through gear fast. A stroller used for eight months, a swing that stopped working its magic by month three, a high chair that lasted until the kid decided they'd rather eat standing up. The result is a constant churn of nearly-new items hitting Craigslist and eBay at prices well below retail, listed by parents who simply need them gone.

For anyone expecting a baby or shopping for a growing kid, the used market can save hundreds of dollars. But not everything is safe to buy secondhand, and the best deals move fast. Here's how to shop smart.

What's Worth Buying Used

The general rule is simple: buy used if the item has no safety-critical components that degrade invisibly, and skip it if there's any chance of hidden damage or a recall.

Great used buys:

• Strollers and joggers. A $600 UPPAbaby or BOB jogger used for one baby and sold in good condition is an excellent deal at $150. Inspect the frame for cracks, check that the buckles click securely, and verify the model isn't under recall (CPSC.gov is free to check). Otherwise, strollers hold up well and resale value is strong precisely because they do.
• High chairs. Easy to wipe down, simple mechanical parts, no hidden wear. A Stokke Tripp Trapp or IKEA Antilop can be had for a fraction of retail. Just verify all the hardware is present and the straps are intact.
• Baby swings and bouncers. These are used for a few months and then sit in a corner. Many are listed in essentially new condition. Check that the motor works (ask the seller to confirm before you go).
• Baby monitors. Video monitors especially. Parents upgrade or stop needing them, so lightly used units show up constantly. Test that the camera and receiver pair before leaving.
• Cribs and bassinets, with caution. Avoid drop-side cribs (banned since 2011) and anything that can't be verified against the current CPSC recall list. A modern, non-recalled crib in good shape with all its hardware is fine. Just buy a new mattress, always.
• Toys, games, and outdoor play equipment. Ride-ons, play kitchens, Little Tikes playsets, LEGO sets, board games, kids' bikes. These are consistently some of the best deals on Craigslist, often barely used and priced low just to clear space. Check out our guide to LEGO and toy deals for more on that specific category.
• Clothing and shoes. Kids outgrow clothes before they wear them out. You can outfit a child entirely in name-brand secondhand clothing for almost nothing. eBay lots by size are especially efficient, a lot of 20 items in size 2T for $30 is common.

What to Avoid Buying Used

Car seats: skip them. This one is firm. A car seat involved in even a minor accident can have invisible structural damage that makes it unsafe in a future crash. Sellers may not know or may not disclose the history. Car seats also expire (typically six years from manufacture), and replacement parts are often unavailable. New or certified refurbished only.

Breast pumps: Closed-system pumps (where the motor is fully sealed from milk contact) are generally considered safe used. Open-system pumps, where internal tubing can become contaminated, are not. Check the manufacturer specs if you're unsure.

Helmets: Like car seats, helmets should never be bought used. Impacts that aren't visible to the eye can compromise the foam lining.

Where the Best Listings Come From

On Craigslist, the highest-quality used baby gear tends to come from:

• Parents who bought premium brands and are now done having kids
• Estate sales and downsizing grandparents
• People who received duplicate gifts and never opened the second one

Look for listings with clear, well-lit photos, a specific reason for selling, and a price that reflects the seller knows roughly what the item is worth (not someone guessing wildly). The best deals aren't usually the suspiciously vague ones, they're from parents who priced fairly and want a quick, easy transaction.

On eBay, search for completed sales first to calibrate what things actually sell for. Premium stroller brands (UPPAbaby, Bugaboo, Nuna, Baby Jogger) hold value well and are worth buying in good condition. Generic brands are often not worth the trouble.

The Speed Problem

Good baby gear listings don't last. A gently used UPPAbaby Vista listed at $200 in a major metro will have messages within the hour. The parents who win these deals aren't checking Craigslist once a day, they're getting notified the moment something appears.

This is exactly the use case LurkMor was built for. Set an alert for the specific gear you're looking for, choose your location, and get an email within minutes of a matching listing going live. You're not competing with everyone who checked that morning, you're one of the first to see it. Responding fast is the single biggest factor in landing Craigslist deals, and alerts are the only reliable way to do it.

Tips for a Smooth Pickup

• Know your measurements before you go. Will the stroller fold to fit in your car? Will the high chair fit at your table? Arriving and discovering it doesn't work wastes everyone's time.
• Bring cash. Most Craigslist sellers prefer it, and it makes the transaction faster.
• Test everything on-site. Unfold it, fold it, buckle it, plug it in, make sure buttons respond. A seller who won't let you test it is a red flag.
• Ask directly: any recalls, damage, or missing parts? Most honest sellers will tell you. And if they dodge the question, that tells you something too.

Baby gear is one of the most reliable categories for finding deals on used markets. The turnover is constant, the quality is often excellent, and motivated sellers are everywhere. You just have to be there first.