Passing Baby Gear Down — What Should You Charge For?

Pushchairs, car seats, cots, textbooks, school uniform. Anything used for a short window makes sense to pass around between friends and siblings.

Treat a hand-me-down as simply free, though, and you get a situation where somebody is paying for it and that somebody says nothing.

A hand-me-down is not free

Start with the costs that actually arise. Some of them never occur to the person receiving.

Notice how much sits with the giver — who, having offered it as a kindness, will never invoice for any of it. The receiver assumed it was free and isn’t expecting a bill either. Nobody means any harm, and one side pays for all of it.

The receiver covers moving it

The line that works: the item is free, moving it isn’t.

Postage goes to the receiver. Couriering a large piece of baby equipment is not a trivial sum. Agree on cash-on-delivery or a transfer beforehand and the giver never has to front it.

Cleaning can stay with the giver if they’re doing it anyway. For anything needing specialist treatment — car seat covers, say — the receiver offering to cover it closes the whole question neatly.

Missing parts are the receiver’s to replace. Don’t send the giver hunting for an accessory from three years ago; the effort is a far heavier imposition than the money.

Lending and giving away need different rules

Receive something without settling this and it comes back later.

If it’s coming back, it’s a loan. You need to agree what wear is acceptable, when it returns, and what happens if it breaks. The reasoning is the same as in owning hobby gear together: saying out loud how damage is treated changes the atmosphere entirely.

If it’s being passed on for good, ownership has moved. The receiver can pass it on again, sell it, or dispose of it as they see fit. Just confirm the selling question up front. Selling without mentioning it, and having the original owner find out later, is a needlessly awkward outcome. The principle matches selling something you bought together: where ownership has fully transferred, the proceeds belong to whoever holds it.

The month at which buying beats renting

Whether to buy at all comes down to how long you’ll use it.

Compare a $360 car seat against renting at $25 a month.

$360 ÷ $25 = 14.4 months.

Past 14.4 months, buying is cheaper. Most families use one for around 18, which tips it towards buying. Pass it through three households afterwards and the real cost per family falls to $120.

When passing it on is realistic, buying wins comfortably. But that calculation assumes the next household actually materialises. If it doesn’t, all you’re left with is storage and disposal.

Common questions

Q. Taking money makes it feel less like a favour. Separate costs from payment. Accepting postage or cleaning money isn’t payment for the item, it’s reimbursement. As long as you charge nothing for the thing itself, it remains a favour.

Q. What I was given is in poor condition. Ask for photographs before it arrives. Once you accept it, disposal becomes your cost. Declining is not rude.

Q. Doesn’t the last household lose out? It does, so either agree who covers disposal before the item starts moving, or divide it by the number of households it passed through. For small amounts, letting the last household sell it and keep the proceeds is fine.

Q. Between siblings, do we really need rules? The closer the relationship, the more accumulates unsaid. Recording the postage alone gives you a basis for the next time it moves.