How To Save Money On Car Seats

Once you’ve adjusted to the shock and excitement of your pregnancy (whether it’s your first or your last), many families begin to shift into planning mode. It’s time to do your research and find the right baby products that will fit your lifestyle, your family’s activities and interests, and, most importantly—the items that will keep your new bundle safe, secure, and comfortable from the day they’re born.

The car seat is one of the most important items to purchase for a new baby. Not only do you need one to leave the hospital with your new arrival, but you’ll need it to go anywhere for the foreseeable future in your baby’s life! Choosing a car seat can be daunting, especially for new parents. There are so many options available, and even with helpful reviews and feedback from fellow parents, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the different models. All car seats have one thing in common— they aren’t cheap!

Fortunately, there are tricks of the trade and secret hacks that can help families save money when purchasing the best car seat for their baby. If you are stressed about the cost of a big purchase like a car seat, this post will shed some light on ways you can cut costs and get the gear you want without breaking the bank.

Use Your Registry Discount

Many retailers offer a completion discount, where you can fulfill your baby registry by purchasing the remainder of the registered items at a discounted rate, usually at 15% off. If this list includes your car seat, you can save a pretty penny on the overall cost of the car seat system. Bonus points if you use a gift card to pay for the remainder of the registry; it’s like using free money and still getting a discount.

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Plan Around Annual Sales

If you’re due in the fall, hold out for a significant car seat purchase for the major retailer’s Labor Day sales. Got a Christmas baby on the way? Black Friday or Cyber Monday is your time to shine! Are you expecting a spring or summer bundle? President’s Day sales often include major baby gear, so keep your eyes peeled for markdowns.

Amazon has a Graco sale every year around Thanksgiving, offering discounts of up to 30 percent to help families save money on big-ticket items like car seats, strollers, and other baby gear.

Related post: Car Seat Timelines (When to re-Gear up?)

Sign Up for Store Savings Programs

Retailers like Buy Buy Baby have membership programs that come with amazing perks and benefits to help families save money. With Buy Buy Baby’s program, Welcome Rewards+, customers receive 20% off purchases (including sales) and collect points for every dollar spent. You can easily keep an eye on a car seat at this retailer, wait for it to go on sale, and purchase it at a discounted rate, in addition to your 20 percent off member perk. Win-win!

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Retailer Trade-In Events

Target hosts a trade-in event twice a year where families can bring old car seats, trade them in and receive a 20% discount on a new car seat. If you have an old car seat from another baby, this is an excellent opportunity to trade it in for a shiny new one for your new baby!

Related post: 4-in-1 Car Seats

Use Online Coupon Sites

Popular sites like RetailMeNot and Honey track the best deals online and even offer some of their own special savings for their users. You can easily install the RetailMeNot and Honey plugins into your browser.

It will automatically scan the website’s coupons and lowest deals as you shop to ensure you’re using all the available discount codes to get the lowest possible price at that time.

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Sign Up for Price Drop Alerts

Retailers like Amazon allow shoppers to create a Watch list with their preferred items, designate the desired price, and receive email or push notifications when the item is discounted to the price they selected.

Google Shopping helps shoppers track prices as well. Simply type a car seat model into the Shopping search bar, select the model you want, and click on the Track Price toggle so you’ll receive email and push notifications when the price drops at a variety of stores online that carry the car seat. Let Google do the work for you!

Buy Used

Buying used is a fantastic way to save a chunk of change on baby gear. See if you have any friends with young kids looking to upgrade their old car seats that you can take off their hands. Maybe you’ll find an incredible deal on a car seat on Facebook Marketplace, Offer Up, or Craigslist.

In these scenarios, just be sure that the car seat is in great working condition, hasn’t been in any car accidents, and is not expired. Learn more about car seat expiration here.

Related Post: The Best Car Seat for Big Toddlers

Buy a Convertible Seat

While convertible seats are more expensive upfront than infant seats, they’ll last you much longer and can be passed down to several children. Convertible seats can be rear facing, but they aren’t easy to remove from a vehicle, like infant seats. You’ll want to consider the convenience of transporting an infant seat from the car to the stroller when you’re out and about without disrupting the baby at all.

With a convertible seat, you’d have to take the baby out of the seat and get them in the stroller or into another carrying device.

Related post: Princess Car Seats and Strollers

Wrap Up – How to Save Money on Car Seats

Remember that just because a car seat is expensive doesn’t mean it’s any less safe than a cheaper model. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ensures all approved car seats are held to the same safety standards, regardless of additional features. So don’t stress if you can’t afford the top-of-the-line car seat you’re seeing all over the internet. Your baby will be safe no matter what.

As you can see, when it comes to buying a car seat at a reasonable price, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to do so successfully. A little planning and strategy can go a long way!

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How To Save Money On Car Seats – Best Tips for Parents