We're only just past the summer solstice, marking the middle of the year, but there's no better time to starting your Christmas shopping than right now!  Retailers in the high street and online are suffering poor sales - we don't have money to spend and we're not buying.  Shops are currently launching into their summer sales, many starting earlier than usual.  Now is the perfect time to bag yourself some bargains rather than waiting for Christmas.

Particularly good value at the moment are children's audio and video offerings.  Family DVD's and CD's are cheaper at the moment than they will be at Christmas.  Amazon and Play are selling many Disney DVD's for between £5 and £8 at the moment.  Come Christmas time, they will probably run the same Buy One Get One that they have for the past couple of years, but suddenly all their titles will be retailing at a much higher price - you'll feel like you're getting a bargain but in truth you'll probably end up paying more than you will for the same titles right now.

Many toy retailers are also offering discounted goods at the moment.  Grab yourself some bargains, pick up stocking fillers and stock pile gifts for friends' birthday parties now!  Every parent takes advantage of discounted toys to give at parties, shop efficiently and you can save yourself a small fortune!

As your baby grows into a toddler and on into a child, you'll eventually want to shift all the baby paraphernalia that you have amassed over the previous years.  There are clearly no hard and fast rules to state what will and what won't sell well, but anecdotal evidence from other Mum's suggest that there are techniques to help improve your earnings in second hand markets.

Online market places include services such as eBay and Amazon who allow you to sell used goods through their websites.  There are also local market places such as Gumtree, NetMums and more specialist sites focused on local communities.  Clothes and branded toys tend to sell for better returns online than they do in direct markets such as garage sales or boot sales which in turn are good for disposing lower quality items that you have - either poorer condition or from less known brands.  Clothes sell seasonally so don't sell as soon as your babies grow out of them, wait until the relevant season is about to start and then sell them.  Online, clothes sell well in bundles rather than as single items.

Car seats and buggies tend not to sell well second hand at all.  The safety requirements of car seats makes many parents wary of buying second hand.  Also most parents buy the latest buggies for the arrival of their first child, and this will often suffice for further children.  Double buggies on the other hand do hold a  premium because by the second child, no one wants to buy a new double buggy as they are more expensive and mayonly be a stop gap for a short time!

If you have equipment that you simply can't sell, why not give it away instead?  Freecycle offers the most comprehensive network for donating goods to others.