Want your child to look like a star? How about bidding on handmedowns from Angelina Jolie? The star is putting up "gently used" clothing and accessories from her kids for sale on a new website, and the money goes to charity.
Handmedowns.com was launched six months ago by two California moms, and the site's popularity is growing quickly. It's based on the concept that children go through clothing and toys in the blink of an eye. So why not make money selling gently used "hand-me-downs"? Parents can sell, buy or give away their kids' handmedowns. It's also an easy way to go green, since you're "recycling" the goods.
Michele Zipper of Manhattan said her one year old son Jayden has "an exer-saucer that..he's done with..and it's too big to store it." Instead of just tossing it, she'll put it on handmedowns.com and try to fetch $30 for it.
The site also gives parents a chance to buy items at a discount. Co-founder Jane Buckingham told us "they can buy something like a Peg/Perego stroller which is on the site now, for $75. Retail, it's $475."
You can also give away items for free, or donate them to a charity, through the site. It's all free, and works like E-Bay, with users contacting each other through the site, and arranging their own shipping. If you want your listing to appear at the top of the screen, you can pay for a "premium listing". Handmedowns.com operates in 32 cities including New York and northern New Jersey, and is hosted locally byBigCityMoms.
