Black Friday good for baby stuff?

jaysgirljulie · November 2009

I've never really paid attention to black fridays before, esp things for babies. Do any of you know if things like cribs/carseats go on sale at Target/Walmart?

Is it a bad idea to buy a crib or pack & play 4-5 months before the baby comes? I probably won't buy the stroller yet b/c it seems like it has a 6month return policy so most of that time the stroller wouldn't even be in use. But a crib should be okay? Everyone is telling me to wait until my shower to buy stuff but this is driving me nuts not being prepared. I don't want to rely on our friends/family to buy our child things it needs anyway. Plus, I hear that people give a lot of clothes etc, not the really useful things. What's your opinion?

myday1708 · November 2009

When is your shower? It's not before Black Friday?

Friends *usually* get clothes and smaller things off your registry, like bouncers, swings, high chairs, things that cost $150-200 at most. Family tends to buy larger items, like cribs, rockers, strollers, car seats...

But you never know for sure. You can always buy some big ticket items if you get them on sale and then if someone buys them for you also, return them?

MrsNJSwimmer · November 2009

I don't know about those kinds of sales for Black Friday. I honestly never looked either.

Have you done a registry yet? If you find some good deals on things you already registered for, just take it off your registry. I did get a lot of useful things from my registry from my showers though. Someone told me not to even bother registering for clothes because people would buy them anyway - I was skeptical but listened - and they were right! I definitely have clothes!

Then again, we still had to go buy stuff that we needed/wanted even after the shower, so you will end up buying some stuff on your own anyway - they won't get you everything you need (well, probably not, maybe? lol).

Amy4773 · November 2009

I'd say if you find a screamin' deal on something you really love or want - get it! There is so much stuff out there during the Holidays that is priced really well that I find I buy stuff for myself that I need. If that means baby stuff, I'd totally get it.

sanae78 · November 2009

I agree that if you find a deal, buy it. We bought our crib, PnP, and carseat when Target had a sale. I didn't want to wait or rely on other people to buy us stuff. I wanted to be prepared, too. At least buy a carseat - that'll probably make you feel slightly prepared since it's probably the most important thing to have.

mrspresley · November 2009

no idea about black friday

but for baby stuff i think it depends on what you are getting. if you are getting a crib from say walmart or target you can wait until later since they are in stock most of the time. if you are ordering a crib that needs to be special ordered, i believe the recommendation is to do it before 20 wks b/c some can take 14-16 weeks to come in and you want to have it put together before baby arrives (not to mention the baby could come early). most stuff you could easily return if you keep the receipt, just keep in mind specific return policies.... for a car seat we waited a little longer but not too long, just b/c they have an expiration date of 5-6 yrs and we want to be able to use the same car seat for our 2nd baby and have no idea how close or far apart we'll have them. (btw - did you see the deal i posted on car seats a while back? most car seat sales are in the spring and fall it seems)

do you have the baby bargains book? i'd start there - and i would just wait on getting any clothes until after the shower but i think the bigger ticket items you can start at least shopping for so when you see a good deal you can take advantage of it

MrsZiz · November 2009

mrspresley:
no idea about black friday
but for baby stuff i think it depends on what you are getting. if you are getting a crib from say walmart or target you can wait until later since they are in stock most of the time. if you are ordering a crib that needs to be special ordered, i believe the recommendation is to do it before 20 wks b/c some can take 14-16 weeks to come in and you want to have it put together before baby arrives (not to mention the baby could come early). most stuff you could easily return if you keep the receipt, just keep in mind specific return policies.... for a car seat we waited a little longer but not too long, just b/c they have an expiration date of 5-6 yrs and we want to be able to use the same car seat for our 2nd baby and have no idea how close or far apart we'll have them. (btw - did you see the deal i posted on car seats a while back? most car seat sales are in the spring and fall it seems)
do you have the baby bargains book? i'd start there - and i would just wait on getting any clothes until after the shower but i think the bigger ticket items you can start at least shopping for so when you see a good deal you can take advantage of it

Jaime gave you great advice!!

Have you checked craigslist for any of that stuff? I bought our swing, bouncer, PNP all used on there for WAY cheaper than I would've gotten them on sale at a store. I got the PNP and swing for $25 TOTAL! The bouncer was bought at a garage sale.

I'd start looking on CL now and buy stuff you like and then return the new stuff and get store credit. You could always use the store credit to buy something else that you wanted but didn't get... just a thought!

jaysgirljulie · November 2009

Thanks for the good advice ladies. I don't feel so bad now about waiting until my shower to buy the big stuff.

Mrspresely- I missed that post but I'm going to go back and see if I can find it :-)

Black Friday good for baby stuff?

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