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Buyer Beware is a phrase to remember when you are looking for deals on cheap baby furniture online, but if you are handy and creative you can save a bundle. Many of our brand-new purchases were from a liquidator selling on eBay. Their overstocks, returned items, and scratch-and-dent items are available at a fraction of the retail price, though you have to check everything carefully for missing or broken items.

My handy husband is almost always able to replace small missing screws, etc. or make minor repairs. One of our best buys was a new dark wood baby change table with three drawers, retailing for $199.00, which we purchased for $30.00 (I liked it for the added storage and the fact that it was stained the same dark shade as the crib). It was advertised as a "new return", and was still in the box as it needed to be assembled.

While the instruction manual was included, the flat top of the change table was not! A quick trip to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore yielded one matching dark piece of wood for $1.00. It took five minutes to cut it down to size and it fit beautifully. Even better, when we called the liquidator to complain about the missing piece we were given a $5.00 credit. Our change table cost a grand total of $26.00 - a savings of $173.00!

I was also pleased with the crib mattress we purchased from the same liquidator. It was a Sears O'Pedic Medium-Firm Support Crib Mattress, which retails for $69.99. It was brand new, and still in the plastic, however there was a small tear in the cover. By using a small piece of fabric tape and ensuring that that side of the mattress faces down, it isn't noticeable. Our cost? $15.00...for an additional $55.00 savings.

Another great deal was on a collapsible playpen. It was brand new, but missing the sheet to cover the bottom, the carrying case, and the manual. The sales listing online said that it was difficult to fold down. We searched the make and model, found the instruction sheet which explained a trick to fold it down, and decided to bid on it. (I figured that http://www.babyscoop.co.za/category/bits-bobs