According to Preloved, more would-be parents are buying used and second-hand baby stuff online in an attempt to save money.

Of the 1650 mums questioned Preloved found that a staggering 89% had purchased more than three items second hand for the impending birth.

Have a look what used baby stuff is on offer for yourself on auction and classifieds websites.

Even though the media is suggesting spending over Christmas will be drastically reduced due to the credit crunch, Auction Alfie has seen a marked increase in interest in auction websites like ebay in the build up to Christmas so far.

Could it be that buyers are indeed reducing their spending but are instead searching for bargains on auction websites in the hope of picking up new or nearly new items at discounted prices.

EBay is also claiming people could make up to £3,000 by selling unwanted items found in their home, which could offset most credit crunch effects for a while.

ePier, the online auction website, is now available to search alongside the best auction websites like eBay, eBid and uBid.

ePier only charges closing fees for sellers so no listing fees.

In an attempt to tackle the high postage and packing (P&P) fees some eBay sellers are demanding buyers to pay, eBay has added a ‘Total Cost’ sort option so buyers can now search for the cost of both the product and the shipping together.

This is a great step forward. I wonder if eBay would go as far as Amazon has gone and set a postage rate based on actual postage costs which the buyers pay and the seller gets a credit?