I started looking for winter coats and boots for my kids this week and honestly got a bit of a shock — most decent coats are $80 or more, and boots aren't much cheaper. With kids outgrowing things so fast, I'm tempted to buy early before the really cold weather hits and sizes sell out. Has anyone else started stocking up already? I'm also wondering whether secondhand is the smarter move this year — a good coat worn for one season seems like a perfect thrift find, but I worry about warmth and waterproofing. What are you all doing: buying new early, waiting for sales, or going secondhand?
Secondhand works well for kids' outerwear as long as you check a few things: zippers and snaps work, the cuffs and hood aren't worn thin, and the tag still shows the fill or temperature rating. Consignment shops and local parent groups usually have the best picks right now, before the first real cold snap. For boots, buying one size up with thicker socks can stretch them to a second season. New coats often go 20–30% off around Black Friday, so if you can wait a few weeks, that's another option.
We went secondhand for the most part this year, and honestly it's been fine so far — kids outgrow them so fast that paying $80+ for one season stings. I do check the zippers and the waterproofing carefully, like others mentioned, and I try to buy a little big so there's room for a sweater underneath. We did buy one new coat on sale for the coldest days, but for everyday school wear secondhand has been the better deal for us.
One more angle on secondhand: kids' snow pants and boots often get outgrown before they wear out, so end-of-season swaps and buy-nothing groups are full of nearly new gear. For warmth, layering matters more than the price tag — a thrifted shell plus a fleece underneath is usually as warm as a new $80 puffer. If you buy new, keep the receipt and tags until the first cold week in case the size or fit is off.
Secondhand makes a lot of sense to me here, especially since kids outgrow coats so fast. Paying $80+ for something that might only fit for one winter is hard to swallow. I'd probably buy early if I found a good sale, but otherwise checking zippers and waterproofing on a gently used coat seems like the smarter move.