Used Cloth Diaper Resale Tips

Used cloth diapers seem to be a growing market. In fact, you can find hundreds of listings for used diapers on the Diaper Jungle forum or DiaperSwappers. This is great news for cloth diaper users because it means you can recoup some of the money you invested in diapers. Can disposable diaper users claim that?

Below we have interviewed April Dawn of That Fat Baby, a leading cloth diaper consignment store. She gives us some insight into the world of cloth diaper resales and consignment, and gives some diaper resale tips.

Interview:

DJ: Is there a viable market for “used” cloth diapers? If so, why?

TFB: Definitely! Many mothers new to cloth diapering worry about buying a "stash" of brand new diapers only to find many don't work for their child. It's more economical to buy a variety of used diapers to find what works best with their child.

DJ: What types of diapers have the best resale value?

TFB: Fuzzi Bunz, Happy Heiny's Bumkins are always good sellers. Other guaranteed to sell quickly are SOS's from Christensen Creations, Drybees, Granny's Ark and Kissaluvs, just to name a few. Then whatever is "hyena" at the time.

DJ: Are there times during the year when sales peak or fall short?

TFB: About the end of summer moms are buying more school supplies than diapers. It picks up a little after school starts but then Christmas shopping starts and it's relatively slow until tax season.

DJ: Any ideas on how to make sure that cloth diapers stay in good enough shape to be resold after use?

TFB: Never use bleach! Wash fairly often so they don't mildew. Close all aplix, velcro and touchtape tabs so they don't stick to other diapers. But the best way to keep them in good condition...have a LARGE stash. :)

DJ: Do you have any hints or tips for selling used cloth diapers?

TFB: Pictures pictures pictures! It's hard to sell when the buyer can't view the product. Try to not list them for what they cost new. That tends to irritate possible customers. If possible, include shipping in the listed price so customers know upfront their total.

DJ: Why might someone consider consigning their used diapers, perhaps at That Fat Baby, instead of taking another route like ebay?

TFB: Consigning saves the seller so much time and headache. All the picture taking, cleaning the diapers up, describing the diapers, uploading all the information to a website, answering emails, dealing with "tough" customers, keeping track of inventory, advertising and mailing the packages are just a few things a seller deals with. One transaction can last weeks. Just hand them over to someone else, sit back and wait for the money to come in.