Thrifty Baby

This store is now called New to Me. It has new owners and has improved drastically… See New to Me for my review. «New to Me» gets 5 stars.

This business changed owners and names. It is now All New To Me.

This business may be closed

Wow. I am amazed that people give this place more than 1 or 2 stars. I have now been there four times since they opened. Apparently I am a glutton for punishment. Their clothes are frequently stained or dirty, many of the items don’t have prices on them, and the lighting is TERRIBLE (maybe on purpose, so we don’t notice stains??). Twice I’ve gone there at 10:15 (they’re supposed to be open at 10:00) and the store was still dark. On one occasion, the women working there were talking about another employee RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME (um, I don’t need to hear you bitching about your co-​workers, thanks!).
I am a children’s resale junkie (have been to about a dozen resale shops here and in Wisconsin… plus all the thrift store (Unique, Village)). I can say without doubt that this is the WORST one I’ve ever been to (and I’ve given them several «chances» to improve). Honestly, folks: you can get BETTER stuff, at better prices, at Unique Thrift (Elston or Sheridan locations are best). You can get MUCH better stuff, at about the same prices, at Hand Me Downs in Evanston, Bearly Used in Wilmette, or My Sister’s Closet on Devon Avenue. Don’t waste your time or money here!
*Edit to say: I am talking mostly about sizes 2T and up, not baby stuff. It’s quite possible that they have better, cleaner stuff for babies — I don’t know (my kids are older). But compared to all the other options out there for kids resale, this one blows, at least for toddlers on up.

This store kicks all kinds of ass. My husband and I are artists so we have less than no $ for our awesome kid who is growing like a frickin weed. The hubby saw this place and even though Thrift Stores kinda freak me out, we decided to give it a go. Thank God we did. This place is amazing — clean, organized, chock full of great clothes and pretty much anything you need for your kiddo. I thank the universe for this place’s existence daily. Plus they are always having insane sales to make way for new stuff. Get on their mailing list. And talk to the people who work there. They’re very cool.

This mornign I stopped into the Thrifty Baby with a friend who is fostering a 9 month old baby boy (who basically needs everything). The owner was fabulous — she offered helpful suggestions and gave my friend a generous discount to help her out. It’s a great place with lots of selection and good prices. I’ll definately be back to shop for my nieces and nephews.

The store has a lot considering the size of the place. Jennifer is cool and was quick to make me an offer for my baby’s stuff. Some things are like new, some are fairly used so the prices vary.

Such a great addition to the neighborhood
I don’t have kids But My girlfriends do and they love it.
I think that the success of this shop proves that Lincoln Square is not as stuck up as people think.

I love this store!! I love everything about it! the selection is fab, the display is great, the ambiance is kid friendly and the prices are dirt-​cheap! the store is staffed by REALLY nice people and it is just a pleasure to shop there! great curb appeal, too!

ok so i went to thrifty baby thinking, this is a really good idea, considering kids grow so fast that they barely wear their clothes. i like to make my dollar stretch and this location is great. when i went inside all my expectations were met. there was a great selection and the environment was really nice and kid friendly which is much different than most thrift stores. the prices were very reasonable and i was very happy with my experience. it is in a prime location in the hot lincoln square neighborhood, right next door to queen of angels grammar school. the owners grew up and currently reside in the neighborhood and i like to spend my money with the small business owner rather than a walmart or target. i recommend thrifty baby, its about as good as it gets!

I really like this place. I know people who don’t because they want everything for free or next to it. This place is clean, the owner is awesomely nice and I always find great stuff here. I think my only complaint is that there is way more girl stuff here and I have a boy. I still always manage to buy the place up! I have gotten everything from Carters to Ralph Lauren stuff here. They have great sales all the time, which also helps me save a bundle! Love it!

I needed to find a little outfit for my nephew a few months back and this place had just opened up so i thought, «why not»? It was close and conveinent so i gave it a shot.
The gals that worked there were awesome. they could completely tell i was ‘out of my element’, so they walked me around and help me find a few great outfits for my neph. The prices seems ridiculously low and i thought i was getting great value for everything i bought.
I would defintely recommend this place to anyone in the neighborhood with some child clothing needs. Two big thumbs up…
My girlfriend was so impressed that I did all this by my own that she now expects me to do it all the time. Not happeneing babe…

I just found out about this store and I really like it. The ladies who work there is friendly and even held my clothes for me until I had the money. What type of store will do that for you? I’m very pickey when it comes to thrifty stores, but this one is good so far. No problems from me.
Adrienne

Great potential, good location, good space, nice staff. As other reviewers said, they need to be pickier in purchasing, bigger selection.
UPDATE: This store has really hit it’s stride! The selection is better, now, more focused, less stuff but more relevant stuff = an easier shopping experience for me as a customer without a lot of time and usually with a kid in tow. Toys and stuff seem like a good idea in theory, in practice it was just too much distracting clutter; that’s apparently being phased out.
What’s left after the extraneous stuff is gone is a great core concept — moms selling good used kids clothing. Good concept! To mix things up they still have a small but nice selection of cute handmade accessories. They always did a great job with the cute factor, the windows always look nice and still do, the store still has that friendly and fun vibe.
(Before shopping with a child the creepiness factor of the average thrift store never really hit home with me, as a younger person, armed & exuding genial hostility, I guess I presented a less than appealing target to wandering weirdos; I honestly never noticed how packed with ick-​oids most thrift stores are. Yikes. Who knew? But not Thrifty Baby, it’s creep-​free! I can’t over-​state what a huge bonus that is. I still have to mind my toddler, but if I get momentarily distracted there is a chance she’ll get into mischief in here, but just the normal kind of mischief I can handle: it won’t involve crystal meth or Cthluhu cultists at THIS thrift store, unlike some other thrifts — like for instance Village Discount on Kedzie at Irving, which is probably the best place on the north side to be abducted by tentacled horrors, if you’re in the market for that. Oh! And if you’re shopping for hepatitis infested wigs you will find an awesome bargain on those at the Village on Lawrence.)
Anyway… Thanks Thrifty Baby! Stopped by hoping to grab a jacket after baby lost hers, got a good one at a good price, paid for and out the door in under 5 minutes, no stress no drama, so we could continue with our day. Good selection, good layout, good prices; as just-​right as baby bear’s porridge.

This is my first baby resale shop experience, but it was great. I bought three zip up onesies for $ 4 a pop. I’m pretty sure two of them have never been worn before. The store was packed with clean, lightly used (if used at all) outfits. There were also some auxiliary items, like bassinets, baby seats and crib sheet sets.
New stuff is set out on Wednesdays and they’ll buy back stuff as well (I think he said at the end of the month.) The guy at the counter said he’s the brother of the sisters who own the place; I was happy to support a family business.
One word if you’re planning on bringing in your little ones: The store is not air conditioned and though there were plenty of fans going, it was pretty steamy in there at noon.
It’s just a short ways south of the Western Brown line, just south of Wilson, on the west side of the street.

Wow! Finally an affordable resale shop for babies! Yes there are other great baby stores but thrifty baby was by far the cheapest AND cutest (see the photos i uploaded).
I was distracted by the store front this morning as I was driving back home up western and couldn’t help but notice how cute it looked. See I’m all for thrift but when it comes to buying it for kids, it can get iffy ya know?
But at thrifty baby, everything is in great condition, ironed and priced ready to get bought and bagged up for the next kid.
Kind of like a crossroads trading company for kid clothes, the shop has sets times for people to come in and sell items for cash or store credit!
love it!