The Best Places in Hobart to Buy Secondhand Baby & Children's Clothes

Hobart is particularly well suited to parents who enjoy traditional op-shopping.

Rather than having one obvious specialist destination for preloved children's clothing, Greater Hobart has a surprisingly large network of charity and secondhand shops, with particularly useful concentrations in the city, North Hobart and the northern suburbs around New Town, Moonah and Glenorchy.

That means the best strategy isn't necessarily to drive across Hobart for one particular store. Children's stock changes constantly, so it often makes more sense to choose an area where you can check several shops in the same outing.

Add Marketplace, occasional preloved markets and online secondhand retailers, and Hobart families have several quite different ways to find children's clothes for less.

1. Hobart CBD and North Hobart

Central Hobart is a good starting point if you want to combine several op shops in one trip.

Within the city you'll find Salvos Stores Hobart, Lifeline Shop Hobart, Australian Red Cross Shop Hobart and other secondhand stores within a relatively compact area. Heading into North Hobart adds further options.

That's more useful for children's clothing than relying on any one shop. An individual op shop may have an excellent children's rack one week and relatively little the next, but checking several stores improves your chances without requiring several separate trips.

This is traditional op-shopping, so it's best approached with some flexibility. If you specifically need a size 5 raincoat tomorrow, it may not be the most efficient method. If you're happy to browse ahead for clothes your child will need over the next few months, it becomes much more useful.

Best for: Parents who enjoy browsing and want to combine several secondhand stores in one trip.

2. New Town, Moonah and Glenorchy

If we had to identify Hobart's strongest op-shopping area rather than an individual store, the northern-suburbs corridor would have a strong claim.

There are numerous op shops across Glenorchy, Moonah and New Town, with several positioned along or close to the Main Road corridor.

One of the most substantial is Hobart City Mission's Moonah store. Further along the corridor are other charity stores in Moonah and New Town, while Glenorchy has another concentration of secondhand shops.

For families, the advantage of an area like this is simple: you don't have to bet the whole trip on one shop having the right stock.

If the first children's section doesn't produce anything useful, move on to the next store.

That's particularly helpful for inexpensive everyday clothes. Driving a long distance to save a few dollars on one T-shirt makes little sense; checking several stores while you're already in the area is a much better use of the bargain.

Best for: A dedicated op-shopping trip where variety matters more than finding one particular garment.

3. Rosny Park, Howrah and the Eastern Shore

Families on the Eastern Shore have plenty of reason to stay local rather than automatically heading across the Tasman Bridge.

Hobart City Mission operates stores at Rosny and Howrah, while other secondhand shops provide further options around the Eastern Shore.

As elsewhere in Hobart, these are general op shops rather than specialist children's clothing retailers. The children's selection will therefore vary.

But that doesn't necessarily make them less useful. If you're regularly passing through Rosny, Howrah or surrounding suburbs, checking local stores periodically can be more productive than making a special journey elsewhere whenever your child needs clothes.

Best for: Eastern Shore families who want convenient local secondhand shopping.

4. Kingston and Hobart's Southern Suburbs

There are secondhand options south of the city too.

Hobart City Mission operates a store at Kingston Beach, while other charity and secondhand stores can be found around Kingston and through Hobart's southern suburbs.

Again, we wouldn't suggest travelling from the other side of Hobart specifically because one of these stores is guaranteed to have children's clothing in the size you need. It isn't.

The more useful approach is to build local op shops into journeys you're already making and take advantage of good finds when they appear.

Best for: Families in Kingston and Hobart's southern suburbs who prefer to shop close to home.

5. Preloved and Secondhand Markets

Markets can offer something that individual op shops can't: a large number of sellers appearing in one place at the same time.

Hobart and surrounding areas have various preloved, clothing and community markets, but it's worth checking what a particular event actually sells before making a special trip. Unlike dedicated baby and children's markets elsewhere in Australia, a general preloved or vintage market may contain plenty of adult fashion but relatively little children's clothing.

For that reason, we'd treat markets as an additional opportunity rather than Hobart's primary source of preloved kidswear.

When an event is coming up, check its current stallholder information or social pages. If children's clothing is specifically mentioned, it may be worth adding to the weekend's plans.

Best for: Occasional treasure hunting rather than reliably finding a particular child's size.

6. Facebook Marketplace and Local Buy, Swap & Sell Groups

Facebook Marketplace changes the equation because you can search specifically for children's clothes rather than waiting to discover them on a rack.

Parents often sell clothes after a child moves into the next size, which means Marketplace can be particularly useful for bundles.

A bundle of size 2 winter clothes, for example, might contain pants, jumpers, long-sleeved tops and jackets from one household. Buying them together can be considerably easier than sourcing every garment separately.

But the number of items isn't what determines whether the bundle is good value. Look carefully at the photographs and consider how many pieces you would actually use. Ask about stains, holes, worn knees, pilling or damaged elastic when the photographs don't make condition clear.

Location matters too. A cheap bundle becomes less attractive if collecting it involves a lengthy return journey across Greater Hobart.

Best for: Clothing bundles, local pickups and parents willing to deal directly with individual sellers.

7. Buying Secondhand Kids' Clothes Online

Op shops and markets are excellent when you can be flexible about what you find. They're much less efficient when you're looking for something specific.

If you need a particular size, garment type or brand, shopping secondhand online allows you to reverse the process: search for the clothing rather than search through the clothing.

At Daisy Chain Clothing, for example, parents can browse thousands of preloved baby and children's garments by size, brand and clothing type, then combine multiple garments into the same order for delivery.

That can be particularly useful in Tasmania because your choice isn't limited to secondhand stock currently available in Hobart. It can also avoid the multiple-postage problem that sometimes occurs when buying individual garments from several different marketplace sellers.

The trade-off is the same as elsewhere: you lose some of the unpredictability that makes op-shopping fun, including the chance of discovering an exceptionally cheap item sitting unnoticed on a rack.

Best for: Finding particular sizes, brands and garment types or assembling several items in one order.

Which Hobart Secondhand Option Makes Sense?

There isn't a single best way to buy preloved children's clothing because each source solves a slightly different problem.

A family building up the next size before their child needs it can afford to browse op shops and buy useful pieces as they appear. Someone who suddenly discovers their child has outgrown every pair of winter pants may prefer Marketplace or an online retailer where they can search for exactly what they need.

What Should You Check Before Buying?

A low price doesn't automatically make a secondhand garment good value.

Look at the parts of children's clothes that usually receive the most punishment: knees, cuffs, elbows and seats. Check whether elastic still stretches and recovers, whether zippers work smoothly and whether press studs and buttons are secure.

Some signs of previous use are mainly cosmetic. Mild fading or surface pilling may be perfectly acceptable on inexpensive daycare or play clothes.

Other problems affect how much useful life remains. Thinning knees, stretched elastic, holes, damaged zippers and seams beginning to separate deserve more attention.

Our guide to How to Check the Condition of Secondhand Kids' Clothes Before You Buy goes through these issues in more detail, including knitwear, swimwear, labels and the difference between cosmetic and functional wear.

Hobart Is Particularly Good for the Traditional Op-Shop Approach

Hobart's strength isn't necessarily a single children's resale destination. It's the number of secondhand shops spread throughout a relatively compact metropolitan area.

That makes a mixed approach particularly sensible.

Browse the stores near home when you're passing. Make a trip through Moonah and Glenorchy when you feel like serious op-shopping. Check Marketplace when someone is clearing out the size your child needs. Keep an eye on suitable preloved markets. And use online secondhand retailers when you need something specific rather than whatever happens to be available that day.

Some garments are especially interesting to look for secondhand. Jackets and coats, baby sleeping bags, premium knitwear, occasionwear and clothing needed only briefly can all offer particularly good opportunities. We explore those in What Kids' Clothes Are Best to Buy Secondhand?

And if you're looking elsewhere in Australia, our guide to the best places in Australia to buy preloved baby and children's clothes brings together the different ways to shop secondhand and our local guides.

You can also find broader advice in our Ultimate Guide to Buying Preloved Children's Clothing in Australia.

Ultimately, the best secondhand source depends on what matters for that particular purchase: the lowest possible price, the thrill of finding something unexpected, the ability to search for exactly what you need, or simply convenience.

Hobart gives parents enough options to choose between them.