Used Baby Items!

There are a lot of baby items that are great to buy used and will end up saving you a lot of money.  However, there are a few baby items that a person should never buy used, or at least be very cautious when doing so.

A few things I would never buy used-

Cribs- If there's any chance that you'll put your children at risk by buying used, just buy new. Used children's furniture, especially cribs, can be a safety hazard because you can't be certain of a potential recall or if the crib was installed correctly.
Crib Mattress- Mattresses, whether for adults or babies, accumulate a lot of residue in them from dead skin cells to body secretions.  A crib mattress, or any mattress for that matter, is something you should never buy used!  Also, used crib mattresses easily lose their firmness, which is an important factor in protecting babies from SIDS.  Buy a new mattress so your baby will have a safe and clean place to sleep each night.
Car seats- Even if a used car seat looks OK, damaged car seats aren't uncommon. Considering that safety technology improves every year -- and the fact that car seats can go for as little as $50 -- buying new is usually the better option.
Bottles- I don't care how many times they've been washed or sterilized, I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of my baby drinking from bottles that have (or had) another child's saliva on them or another mom's breast milk in them. If you choose to, at least buy new nipples.
Breast pump- Not only does the idea of potentially giving my child another woman's breast milk sort of okay, really gross me out, but putting my leaky boob where another mom once put her leaky boob is not cool with me. I'm not saying it's not safe, I just don't care for the idea.
Bath tub- I've caught my son peeing/pooping in the tub on at least three occasions, so who knows how many more times it's happened. For that reason alone, you want a brand new tub that no other child has had the opportunity to christen with their urine. Plus, they're cheap.
Sippy Cups- I know, for a fact, I've seen other mothers pick a fallen sippy cup off the floor, wipe it off and give it back to their child. Heck, I'm even guilty of it myself. If you're not at the point where you're okay with germs, you definitely want to invest in a brand new sippy cup for your toddler. Make that a few new ones, actually.
Baby gym/stuffed toys- After a few months of practice, babies can grab those hanging toys and after a while they'll start making their way into baby's mouth. Soon, they'll become soaked in spit and that's why you never want someone else's baby gym. Unless, of course, you don't mind your baby swapping saliva with another baby.