Bargains, Bargains at Once Upon a Child

I fancy myself a bit of a bargain hunter. I comparison shop through flyers, I coupon and while my kid is dressed better than me, I don't pay anything remotely full price for anything she owns. Today was a great example of that.

Once Upon a Child has opened up in my city. I was super excited when I saw the ads announcing it. We have pre-owned children's clothing stores here already. But one I find quite low budget(cheapo, out of style, no name brand stuff mostly) and another is really only good prices if you can get it on sale fro kids stuff, but great prices on mat clothes. So I went down with a mental list of things that I need for 12-18 month clothing for fall.

I was pleasantly surprised. The store was bright and clean and well laid out. Sizes and type of clothes were all clearly marked and even organized somewhat by colour. The toy section was fairly orderly with prices very visible. I particularly liked how clean and new even the older toys looked. The smaller toys were neatly packaged in bags and the play kitchens even came with bags of food.

So what was my bargain? It was one of the play kitchens! I can't find my tape measure, but it doesn't even come up to my hip in terms of height, so it's perfect for my tall 10 month old to reach everything. It has a microwave, oven & stove as well as a small cupboard with four open shelves. It's in excellent shape, with all the knobs still attached and the stickers on the oven and microwave doors not peeling and still looking new. Best part? It came with approximately 50 pieces of play food and play dishes and cutlery! So cool! And the price for all of this? $16!! Amazing!

I also picked up a pair of Baby Gap jeans in 12-18 months and a Joe Fresh Hoodie for just over $10 after tax.

I'm very happy with what I've seen so far. The staff is friendly and accessible. A bathroom and changing rooms for older kids to try stuff on where available and they even had a completely blocked off play area for parents to let their kids play so they can shop in peace. They also have a loyalty card program that encourages people to shop green. You get an extra stamp for not using a plastic bag. I also very much like the fact that despite being a used children's shop, they will not sell used car seats as there is no way to totally verify that the seat has never been in a car accident. And they will not take cribs manufactured before June 2011 due to recalls, just as they won't take any other item(stroller/high chair etc) that may have been recalled. Great business practice.

Overall, I'm thrilled that we now have this store where I live and I will for sure be patronizing them in the future.