By Aine Kenny

Copyright rsvplive

While being a parent is one of the most joyful experiences in life, it’s also one of the most expensive. There’s a mountain of baby clothes, buggies, baskets and various other devices that are accumulated over the years, and it can be hard to find a place for them as the kids grow older.

Most of these items are incredibly dear, so it’s only natural parents would want to make a few bob from products they no longer use.

And now you can thanks to Bears Club, which is an online marketplace for pre-loved kids’ clothes, gear and gadgets, as well as a community for parents.

The platform has already gained enthusiastic support from the likes of rugby ace Cian Healy, and influencers Jessica O’Mahony, Jess Redden and Niamh O’Sullivan.

Bears Club was created by friends Ashley Doyle and Katherine McCalmont, two mums from Dublin with a vision of making parenting more affordable, accessible and sustainable.

“We met about 15 years ago through mutual friends. We became closer over the past few years because our eldest children are the same age,” mum of three Ashley says. “Katherine lived abroad for a while then came home and moved up the road from me.”

Idea sparked

The idea for Bears Club came about when the pair were on holidays together. They had both found out they were pregnant at the same time, and they got chatting about the amount of kids’ gear they’d accumulated from their previous children. “We were just saying we have no space for this stuff,” says Ashley. “Kids grow out of things so quickly.”

Ashley explains that they had been selling and buying their baby items from places like Facebook Marketplace, but safety concerns meant that they didn’t feel comfortable meeting the buyers at their home. “We had our husbands going to our local parks at 10pm to sell these buggies for cash. We always said if you were a single mum, you wouldn’t have anyone to help you with the sell. We thought there should be a safe platform for selling and buying baby stuff that mums and caregivers can use.”

Ashley and Katherine discovered a gap in the market and, after much deliberation, they decided to set up their own babyware buying and selling website. The pair had excellent previous experience, as Ashley is a former fashion buyer and Katherine works in finance and has experience in start-ups.

“I was pregnant with my second child, and Ashley was pregnant with her third,” mum of two Katherine says. “We had the idea and kept talking about it, but we didn’t get time to do anything about it until after we gave birth. Our older kids were in creche and our newborns were sleeping. I rang Ashley one day and said ‘okay, let’s just do it’.”

Starting out

And so, Bears Club was born. The two women began developing a website in May last year, and by October they were live.

The name Bears Club holds a special significance: it was inspired by the initials of the founders’ five children, Bay, Ella, Amelie, Riley, and Scottie.

Originally, Katherine and Ashley only planned for a soft launch, but one of their videos went viral on social media, which meant the website gained a lot of traction very quickly.

One key component of the site is home-to-home collection and delivery. This way, people minding a newborn at home or those doing school runs don’t have to find time to go to the post office. “At the beginning, we encountered a bit of a logistics issue. An Post reached out to us a few weeks after launching, and we partnered with them. They come to your home to collect the parcel and then they deliver that directly to the seller,” Katherine explains.

The site also has very strict quality checks in place, accepting pre-loved, gently-used premium products.

To buy from or sell on the website, shoppers create an account. Parents can easily upload photos and videos of items and, after approval, they’re listed on the site for sale.

Shoppers can also access curated shopping lists, such as essentials for a hospital bag or travelling with toddlers.

Popular items

Before launching, the duo assumed clothing would be the most popular item on the site. However, higher-priced products are actually the best sellers. One of the most sought after items are Artipoppe baby carriers, which usually retail from €400 and upwards when bought brand new. On Bears Club, they are sold for €295, depending on the model, and they’re usually snapped up very quickly, Ashley explains. “One was bought within 30 seconds,” Katherine adds.

Buggies are another best-seller and it’s easy to see why, with some models retailing for €1,000 new. Meanwhile on Bears Club, they are just €500-€600. “We also sell a lot of DockATots, which are like a pod you keep your newborn in. They sell for €150 and there’s some on our website for €80 and €90,” Katherine adds.

Items priced under €25 can be listed in the ‘donation’ section, offering essential items to families in need with only shipping costs applied.

Ashley and Katherine have also developed a community of like-minded parents, something which they both really enjoy. “We realised it can be hard for parents to find advice. We have blog posts written by industry experts on various topics. We also have an Instagram page where we can interact with other parents,” Katherine says.

Ashley says being able to share industry experts’ advice is one of her favourite parts of the business. “They are all people we have used, mostly ourselves. It’s so expensive nowadays to engage with experts like sleep consultants or speech therapists, so that’s why we reached out to them to write blog posts for us. This free, basic advice for parents can be really helpful.”

Work life balance

Katherine has two young children at home while Ashley has three. “That has been difficult, trying to juggle everything,” Ashley admits. “Kathy went back to her full-time job in finance three months after having her second baby. She’s very efficient and does a lot of work for Bears Club, but she found it hard to balance it all. I, at one stage, had three under three, I had two of the babies at home with me and one at creche, so that was also tough, but we are finding our feet.”

The pair work early mornings and late evenings for Bears Club, fitting it in around their work and family commitments. Their partners have been extremely supportive, encouraging them from the get-go. “If we are having a particularly busy day with Bears Club they’ll take over and do bed time and help us in any way they can,” Katherine adds.

The pair encourage anyone who has an idea for a business to go for it. “When we get amazing feedback from customers, it’s so exciting and such a thrill. We love being able to help new mums, we both know what it’s like to be in the trenches. It’s so rewarding.”

bears-club.com IG: @bearsclubltd

This article first appeared in the August issue of RSVP.