Deal of The Day Addiction Pays Off

First, let me start by apologizing...I promise to tell my planned homebirth story soon but this deal came up I had to share.  

I check my email in the mornings and see a host of messages of great deals being offered out in cyberspace.  Some I buy, some I just pass along and most I just pass up altogether.  My go-to sites are www.babyhalfoff.com, www.kidsteals.com, www.babysteals.com, and www.ecobabybuys.com in case you were wondering.  (I have gotten some great bargains on cloth diapers through these sites.)  A friend posted another site on her Facebook page called DealPulp and that particular day they were running a very "green" deal...a credit to thredUP, a clothing exchange.  So naturally, I wanted to learn more.  This is the information I found on their website: 

How does this work, exactly?

Very simply put, it works like this: pick a box you like, pay $5 plus shipping, prepare a box of items that no longer fit your child, when someone picks your box, send it for free. Here is the step-by-step version:

PICK - Browse boxes listed in the thredUP community and select one you'd like to receive. Hopefully, by now, you have your friends on thredUP so you can just pick their boxes. If you're busy, tell us your clothing preferences and the experts at thredUP can choose a box for you.

PAY - Once you've picked your box, all you pay is $5 plus shipping to have it delivered.

PREPARE - As part of this process, you are required (this is a swap after all!) to list a box of clothes that your child no longer wears. We'll ask for basic details such as types of clothing, number of items, colors, brands, season and sizes. Don't worry, the USPS will mail you empty boxes for your gently used clothes.

SEND - When someone picks your box, thredUP will alert you and ask you to send this box. It is free to send boxes on thredUP because the recipient pays the shipping. You'll be able to print the shipping label and schedule the pickup all in one click. Would you rather drop it off at the Post Office? No problem! Just cancel the pickup and leave a note for your postal carrier. As soon as your box is tracked by the USPS, you will see your box status has been changed to "shipped" in your thredUP closet.

I scooped up the deal and immediately signed up for an account on thredUP.  Upon signing up, I got a nice surprise...I had a $5 credit posted to my account for being new and it said my first box would be 50% off!  I decided to scout out boxes and found one loaded with spring, Gymboree and Gap clothes for my daughter.  (I promise, son, the next box will be for you!)  It cost me $2.98!   My next box will be free because I paid $6 on Deal Pulp using credits I received when others joined the site at my suggestion.

I received 7 outfits (dresses and bloomers, one with a matching sweater and one onesie with shorts), 3 onesies, and 2 shorts onesies.  All in all, I received 21 stain-free pieces of clothing!  Even at the $5 price plus shipping it would have been a great deal, but at $2.98 is was a downright steal!  Now I have 4 jobs:  review the sender (positively of course!), build a box to post on the website, order a box for my neglected son, and spread the word!  

This is a great way to be green (see my post about buying organic vs. buying used) and save money.  

If you would like to join either site, here are my links: 

http://www.thredup.com/134445 

and 

http://dealpulp.com/i/292kjrxy

UPDATE 2/12/2010

So, since my last post I have officially become addicted.  I have 

received two more boxes (and sent out 4).  These boxes were 

actually for me and not the kids, though.  I found I was in need 

of some items that I just didn't want to put a lot of money into, 

like larger clothes, since I am still losing the baby weight.  I found

some ladies kind enough to put together boxes filled with all the 

items a postpartum mommy needs: nursing tops, a sling, a brand 

new nursing bra, and jeans a size bigger than what I currently own. 

These boxes were STUFFED, like sit-on-the-box-to-get-it-to-close

stuffed!  Each sender added some extra items for me or the kids 

and each box warmed my heart by the obvious amount of thought

put into each.  I now call ThredUP the "good karma" exchange.