Why I Don't Buy Second Hand Clothing

I have a confession- I don't buy any clothing second hand.

I know that I say I'm cheap and I use coupons but we all have things that we are willing to do and not due in our journeys to save money.

Now, just because I don't buy second hand doesn't mean I spend copious amounts on clothing. I shop sales and use coupons and I buy things ahead of time when they are cheap.

I buy most of my family's clothing (my husband and myself included) from Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic and believe me- we never pay anywhere close to full price for anything. My biggest reason for shopping at these stores is that I have a Gap Credit Card (yes, I know credit cards are evil and blah, blah, blah...) and along with it come some great benefits. I get free shipping on any size order because I have Silver Status (I spend $800 in a calendar year), I get $10 reward certificates for every $200 I spend which can be used in conjunction with other store coupons and I get coupons and special offers throughout the year (hello Old Navy Stuff and Save!). We also have a Gap/Gap Kids/Baby Gap Outlet and Banana Republic Outlet very close by and they are always having a great sale.

Out of all of those things I really love the free shipping. As anyone knows it is a pain to go shopping with two kids in tow so it is wonderful to be able to shop the sale sections online with coupons and Ebates and have it shipped to my house for free. I feel like going to yard sales and second hand stores can be hit or miss so my time is better spent shopping somewhere that I know I will find what I want so that even when I do go to the actual store I know they will have what I want.

When I do get to the outlets, along with going to Gap and Banana Republic, I always hit the Children's Place because sometimes they have their Monster Sale and with one of their 15% coupons you can't beat the prices. I usually gets jeans and other basics there. Gymboree seems cute and they always seems to have good sales and coupon but their clothes sometimes seem a little babyish (I know that their clothes are made for babies but I don't like baby looking clothes- yes, my mom has already told me how dumb that is). They also have Gymbucks which people seem to rave about.

I buy a lot of our shoes online too. Shoes.com is one of my favorites because they always have coupons, I get cash back through Ebates and they have free shipping both ways. If I'm not positive of a size I'll just get two and send the one that doesn't fit back.

I have another confession- I like my kids to dress nice. It sounds vain doesn't it? I like when they have on cute stuff and now that I have a daughter I really enjoy buying her clothing. The upside to the stores I shop at- especially Baby Gap- is that I know that when I go to sell the clothing when we are done having kids I will get more money for them because they are name brand and in very good condition.

Someday I may start buying second hand but right now this is what works for my family. At this point I don't like to take my kids out shopping all of the time because they want to play- not shop so whenever I can shave off a trip to the store with some good old online shopping and not having to hunt for what I want I'll do it! (I love getting stuff in the mail but my neighbors must think I have something going on with the UPS guy.)