eBay baby.

So you all know how much I love finding great deals online, and eBay has often been a really amazing go to for me to finding really nice stuff for less. (Last month I scored a brand new pair of chucks for under $25 for my birthday!)

So, as we've been looking for baby things, and slowly building up our supplies, I have been so happy with some of the great stuff for baby I've been able to find!

I have found that with eBay, because there is SO MUCH there, I've developed a couple of rules or tips that can be very helpful as you try to navigate the ocean of  listings, not only for baby stuff, but for anything you are wanting to find.

1. Know what you are looking for.
   
   Are you looking for clothing, toys, gift cards, bath supplies... know what you want. Don't just go to eBay and type in baby unless you are wanting to pull all your hair out.
   
2. If you are looking for something very specific, don't limit yourself by just looking in the obvious category. 
   
   eBay has categories for everything. You can look for toys, chew toys, bath toys, stuffed animals... the list is almost endless. But, if you are looking for something extremely specific, for example a Sophie The Giraffe Natural Teething Toy (which I've heard are amazing, but because junior hopefully won't have teeth right away, I still haven't been able to justify), I would avoid looking in a specific category, and instead just do a generic search for "Sophie Giraffe" in all baby stuff. If you want to get picky about price and condition after you have done that be my guest. You can drill down on that stuff on the left hand side of the page. 
   
   By NOT specifying a category, you are able to search for any listings that meet that search term among all the baby listings on eBay. This is advantageous because while most people might look for that item under the "teething" or whatever category, someone may put up a listing under "toys" or something else. Catching my drift?
   
   A quick search for a Sophie actually turned up decent results. You can get a brand new one here for under $19 with free shipping. Pretty good when they are usually at least $25 at most retailer stores.
   
   
   
3. Know when to narrow.
   
   Knowing when is a good time to narrow your search criteria is an important skill to develop if you want to find good deals on eBay. When I search, two of the main things I narrow by are price and size. Whether I'm buying for me or my baby, I usually have a pretty narrow threshold for what I am willing to spend, and as I've mentioned in previous posts, it is important to know what will fit, for you or for someone else.
   
   It is pretty straightforward to narrow by price and and size. Once you have created your basic search, there are about a billion things you can narrow by on the left hand side of the page. And the beauty about narrowing is that you can choose more than one category when you are doing it. So when I was looking for baby clothes, I was able to look through listing for a baby fitting in sizes newborn-12 months. Pretty nifty no? 

Here are some of my favorite things I've scored for our little one:

Left: Gap Onesie, $3 - The tags were still attached, but there was a teenie tiny hole I patched.
Center: Cowboy Shirt, $10 - This actually came from Kate Quinn Organics. Though pricey, their stuff is amazing and all organic cotton, but if you subscribe to their email list, you'll get notifications for when they have $10 sales!
Right: Chambray Shirt, $3 - Its Chambray, need I say more?
Shoes: all were under $7 total. And those sweet little boots in the middle? $3.50 baby. Love. 

These two were sort of for Justin. I got the Kenneth Cole one on the right for $12 total, and the Gap one on the left for $15 (I always calculate shipping into the price of an item). 

This little guy is actually my favorite. A creepy but cute hand made teddy - $12. Seriously guys. You have no idea how much I love squeezing this thing. It's borderline indecent. 

Hopefully these tips help. eBay can be a bit daunting when you first begin, and a bit addicting once you've scored your first great deals.

What would you most like to score a great deal on? What is most daunting when you're buying on a platform like eBay? I've been doing it for a while, so sometimes I forget what it is like to be new at the thing. :)

-Heather

well look at us and our crafty selves.

Meh, cool, but kinda not really my style right?

Bought from Habitat for Humanity store $50

Whamo! (yes i just said that) check out the new clothes locker! 

Yes, yes my friends. We made that. I know, we are fantastic. (pause for applause).

well we didn't so much make it, as much as smother it in a death-grip primer, followed up by some white spray paint and a glaze, but that still takes skill right? Or a least a strong pointer finger, and a significant disregard for the loss of brain cells from fume inhalation, but we got those too. :)

I thought I'd try and share a little more of the crafts that the hubs and I do around the house. This lovely piece is now sitting in our bedroom, surrounded by other pretty things we've made. I'll get more pics up when the weather isn't so gloomy and I can get some decent lighting!

anyone else love diy home-prettyfying? cause I sure as heck do!

-Heather

The truth about shopping on EBAY.

So a few days ago, I got this great question from my friend Monica that I am totally happy to address. 

Monica asked: I was at Target today trying on pants, and every blasted pair--that wasn't intentionally cropped--was out of this world too long for me. Are people getting taller? Am I shrinking? I've never had this happen before. I'm usually a 6 or 8, and I've never had to go to the petites for something that fits. And Target doesn't have any petites, as far as I could tell. How do you find stuff that fits from E-Bay? How often do you get stuff and it turns out not to fit?

One of my favorite eBay finds of all time: Clarks Indigo $22
Worn HERE

Well, I hate to be the one that tells you this Monica, but I think you are shrinking.

No, but seriously, when looking for deals on eBay, you have to remember that it still takes work to find them. You will spend about the same amount of time searching on eBay as you would going through clothes at a store, but you can do it with a lemonade in hand, and your choice of music to rock out to, both of which are major pluses in my book. The truth is, I DO sometimes get stuff that doesn’t fit, but 98.2% of the time, that is totally MY fault!

Anthropologie Dress $34 (originally 150+)  & BCBG Heels $13
Worn HERE

The key to shopping on eBay is to know yourself well. If I want to buy a pair of skinny jeans on eBay, what I SHOULD do is get out a pair of my favorite skinnies, lay those bad boys down on the ground, pull out my handy dandy measuring tape, and measure the crap out of them; across the top of the jean (the waist area) the widest part of the jean (the hips area) and the length of the jean (usually the inseam, which is the highest point of the crotch to the bottom of the leg).

Denim Shirt $5 - JCrew cords $5 - Sperry's $25
Worn HERE

I do all this, so that when I find a pair of jeans that “claim” to be my size I just LOVE, I can make sure they will fit. A lot of sellers will already include all these measurements in the item description, but if they don’t, EMAIL THEM! This is usually my downfall. Because I’m kind of lazy guys. And because I have four sisters, so chances are, if it doesn’t fit me, it’s going to fit one of them. And I LOVE that. And the thing is, if it doesn’t fit, I can usually sell it on eBay for just as much or more than I bought it for. But to save yourself the hassle, ask about the measurements, and don’t be as impulsive as me, and you will find it usually fits.

Aldo  boots $25 - Vintage Purse $3

Worn HERE

Vintage belt $3 - H&M Leopard Skirt $10
Worn HERE

That’s the other thing about eBay. Where can I take 30 bucks, and walk away with an amazing pair of Marc Jacobs pants, or Frye sandals, or an anthropologie dress, or $200 for a custom made, all lace wedding dress? (yes, I am totally serious right now. My wedding dress came from eBay). Except maybe from a really rich person’s garage sale, but let’s face it, really rich people don’t have garage sales, their butlers do.

Lace wedding dress $200

So, I hope that helps someone out there. You can find stuff that fits on eBay, you just have to be a bit more meticulous, and make sure you get all the facts about the item. So my friends, go forth and prosper the eBay way. 

-Heather

Some more gReAT eBay finds for your delight

Seychelles $25
Worn HERE

Bandilo $16
Worn HERE

Larry Levine Coat $20 (originally 100+)
Worn HERE

Anthropologie Jacket $10
Worn HERE

Dress $8
Worn HERE