Julia Proverbs: Pre-loved toys

I am feeling rather pleased with myself.

When our youngest celebrated her third birthday last week, I managed to score more than $300 worth of presents for a third of the price.

And despite their second-hand status, she loves every one of them.

Thanks to Trade Me I picked up a tricycle, complete with trailer and push pole, for $30 - a mere smidgen of the $200 it would have cost new - and a toy laptop for $15, valued at more than $80 new.

I also ferreted out a Teletubby Dipsy doll for $7 and an Angelina Ballerina dressing gown for $10, neither of which I would have been able to find on a shop shelf. Then off to a local second-hand children's goods store where I picked out a xylophone and a board game.

The beauty of shopping for pre-schoolers is that you can buy them second-hand goods and they have no idea that they are "pre-loved".

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking everything has to be sparkly and new but, in the same way that a car drops in value as soon as you drive it off the forecourt, new toys become used toys in the blink of an eye.

Before you know it, there is a scratch here and a scuff there, then it loses favour and is relegated to the bottom of the toy box, never to be played with again. With a bit of Jif and a few fancy trimmings, young children can easily be fooled into thinking they are first-time owners.

When Miss Three received her blue, green, yellow and red trike with sparkly streamers and the odd bit of paint missing, she soon forgot the deluxe pink number she had tried out at the bike shop earlier in the week.

And she paid no heed to the fact that, suspiciously, none of her toys came encased in plastic packaging. A fact that also sped up the process considerably, a quick rip of the paper and they were free.

If you are a savvy second-hand shopper you can get so much more for your money, or pocket the change because, goodness knows, you are going to need it. Second-hand is not going to cut it when they want the latest iPhone or whatever gadget is in vogue in 10 years. Take advantage of your pre-schooler's naivety. Exploit it while you can.