Buy quality back to school gear for a fraction of the price by buying used.

Your local Used.ca local site is loaded with back to school items right now, all of them either new or gently used.

To go easy on the pocketbook this year, take a look at our recommendations.

Electronics

Used laptops and computers are easily available and make a big difference to the budget, just make sure you take a closer look at our guide to buying used laptops and computers.

Instruments

Given the nature of kids, those guitar lessons that seemed so appealing in September, may not be as much fun come July. This is why it pays to buy used instruments as opposed to new. Instruments, unless they’ve been thrown out of hotel windows in a rock ‘n’ roll frenzy, are usually easy to buy used and don’t sustain much damage with good or even fairly good care. From trumpets to pianos, to ukuleles and guitars, used instruments can be found on your local Used.ca site for a fraction of the retail price. Don’t worry too much if you are not musically inclined, damage to instruments is usually easy to spot. Missing strings can be replaced as can broken reeds and pianos can be tuned. Steer clear of dents in brass instruments, missing keys and anything that looks like it might affect the sound. Ask the seller to play it if you’re unsure.

Furniture

Source desks and chairs used. This is where your choice in style opens up as your local Used.ca site is a hub for different designs of gently used furniture. Buying used is the best way to find unique pieces for a fraction of the cost.

Best used kids’ clothes: jeans

Jeans are one of the best clothing items you can purchase when it comes to used clothes for kids. Why? Jeans are made with thicker more hardwearing fabric than other styles of pants. For younger children, especially children who do a lot of sliding and digging, etc., jeans will wear out less quickly than pants that are made out of thin cotton or polyester. For a guide to buying other kids’ clothing, read our blog feature: Back to school clothing: buying used

Backpacks

If it’s top quality, it’s going to last, which is why you will see so many top brand backpacks on our sites. Fair enough if your young ones don’t want to use the same backpack year in year out, just sell it on at year end!

Tutoring

If your child needs extra assistance in certain subjects, you can use your local Used.ca site to source a tutor. Just look under the Education Services and Tutoring category of your local site and use our map function to find people in your area. If you offer these services, remember to list your details for free on any of our sites!

Back to school season can be expensive, and children can be particular about the styles and brands they will wear. This can make your wallet feel even lighter. If your child has a favourite brand, remember to use our search function to try and find items by that label.

Read our Savvy Buyer’s Guide for more tips on using Used.

Useful links

Find back to school essentials on your local Used.ca site