Who’d want to buy a used nappy on eBay? Well, the 5000 angry parents who signed a petition against the new policy which forbids the sale of used cloth nappies, for a start.
Better for the environment than landfill-stuffing disposables, cheaper and, some argue, better for the baby, cloth nappies can quite easily be cleaned and passed on to the next baby. Sarah Bennett had successfully sold some nappies on eBay last year, but when she had a listing pulled in March, she spotted a gap in the market.
The Used Nappy Company specialises in auctions for second-hand washable nappies. Fees are 5% of the sale price. There are currently nearly 200 registered users and over 150 live items: not bad for a very specialist site that’s only a month old.
Sarah told me in an email, “Clearly there’s a need for this sort of service for parents. … We have had great support from so many people, saying this is exactly what they want to see. We have tried to make it easy and clear to use and simplified the whole charging system (compared to eBay). It’s early days but interest is growing daily.”
I think it’s a brilliantly creative idea and wish them continued success. And I predict that there will be more and more specialist sites like this, focussed on things that eBay can’t or won’t do, or adding specialist knowledge alongside the marketplace.
Note for our American readers: “Nappy” is British for “diaper”. This post has nothing to do with Don Imus.
One Response
Hi – after popular demand, we have now launched our sister site in the US myuseddiapers.com offering the same service to buy and sell used cloth diapers for American parents. Hope this helps.