Ecofrugal Friday: How To Save $$$ on Strollers and Baby Carriers

Keep reading EcoFrugal Friday posts to learn how to save up to 70% off baby's first year!

When I was pregnant, the doctors told me the sudden pain that caused me to involuntarily yell and my leg to collapse under me at random intervals was probably just normal round ligament stretching (read: “You’re a wimp at this pregnancy thing.”). Um, no. It wasn’t. It was my round ligament tearing away from my sacrum. Suffice it to say, tearing a ligament 20-30 times in one year gives you some mobility issues to work through when you have a new baby to carry around all day. So when I went looking for baby carriers and strollers, I knew that this was one area where I would have to put my own comfort and convenience ahead of my crazy obsession with saving money.

But that doesn’t mean I paid full price! Oh no, dear reader, never that! Even if you have special considerations like I did, you should be able to find safe, high-quality baby gear for significantly less than retail. You just have to know where to look.

If you are looking for mobility gear, here is how to get what you want without paying full price:

• First, you need to make sure the stroller you’re getting is safe, whether it’s new or used. You should kick the tires on whatever you buy to make sure it seems sturdy, but also check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database for product recalls and safety notices. These stay active for many years, so even if you buy a 10-year-old stroller, you should be able to make sure it has never been recalled by plugging in the brand and stroller model name or number. MacLaren recalled ALL its umbrella strollers in 2009 (1 million strollers) because the hinge mechanism could cause fingertip amputations and lacerations. This recall affected many strollers that were several years old, so you might also want to sign up for the CPSC email advisory to be notified of all baby product recalls, so if your stroller is recalled several years after you buy it, you find out right away.

Ergo soft structured baby carriers are a popular choice, but make sure it fits before you buy it!

• Plan ahead. This seems obvious, but when you’re a new sleep-deprived parent, the last thing you are thinking about is comparison shopping. I lucked out when I ran into this problem one week before a surprise trip to California: I found a nice Combi Flare stroller on clearance that folded up beautifully for the plane ride, but I don’t like to rely on luck to get me 40% off. If you research your strollers and baby carriers ahead of time, you will know a good deal when you see it. One way to research baby gear is to read the book Baby Bargains, which teaches you how to evaluate and purchase baby gear, so you know your baby brands and how to tell if you’re getting a quality piece of gear.
• That brings us to seasonal sales, which can often net you at least 20% off an item you’ve been jonesing for. We decided we would splurge on a B.O.B. all-terrain stroller, since we needed air-filled tires to comfortably walk with baby on our country dirt roads, and all the other all-terrain strollers we looked at seemed wobbly by comparison. I think this was the most fun my husband had buying baby gear, because we found the best deal by waiting for the seasonal 20% off sale at REI! What dad isn’t going to love shopping for baby between kayaks and mountain bikes? Thankfully we got out of there ONLY having bought the stroller. There was a moment there when I thought we might also be picking up a collapsible bike and some camping gear. The best way to find seasonal sales is to hunt for stores that carry products you like and sign up for their newsletters or mailings, so you won’t miss a sale or coupon. And 20% off is only a good deal when you’re shopping for a very specific item and can’t find it used.

If you just have to have that double-layer linen Sakura Bloom ring sling, look for boutique clearance sales.

• Baby boutique clearance sales are the best, especially for baby carriers and strollers because they don’t expire after a certain number of years like car seats do (more on that in a future post). Baby carrier manufacturers are always coming up with cooler designs, but the year-to-year differences in the carrier models may not make that much difference to you. What will probably make the most difference to you is the style of carrier or the fit. I absolutely love my Baby Hawk carrier that ties around my back like an apron because it has a customizable fit and is very supportive (including a neck rest for my baby who was always arching her back), but the ties dragging on the ground when you put it on can be inconvenient if you’re on the go, so some people may prefer Baby Hawk’s new “Oh Snap!” soft structured carrier with buckles. Other people like adjustable ring slings, that hold baby in a pouch that slings over one shoulder, but these can hurt your back after a while if you wear baby all day long. One-piece cloth Moby Wraps can make baby feel like a part of you they’re wrapped so close and tight, but you have to be willing to re-adjust the fabric every time you take baby out of the carrier. So many choices! If you have a local baby boutique, go in and try on various carriers to see what you like best. Some carriers, such as the Ergo, seem like they have it all but just don’t fit certain body types, so if you can’t try on carriers somewhere–or you’re too pregnant to tell what will fit you when baby is born–buy your carrier from a website that offers a money-back guarantee or a trial program. Strollers go on clearance maybe once or twice a year to clear out floor models and make way for updated stroller models on the shelves. Baby carriers go on clearance more frequently.

Some strollers allow you to use an adapter to snap in a limited number of infant car seat models, so make sure your stroller and car seat are compatible before you buy.

• Giveaways, my favorite! I won nearly $600 worth of baby gear in online giveaways, including a Rockin’ Baby pouch sling, so don’t overlook this option if you have the time to enter these. The best way to find new giveaways is to
  

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Continue reading more in Ecofrugal Baby: How To Save 70% Off Baby’s First Year, available in paperback and e-book versions for $19.96 or $5.99.