Family & Free covers kids’ gear, clothing, event tickets, and a dedicated Free Stuff category for anything a poster just wants gone. It’s one of Marketplace’s most active groups, especially among Montréal parents and anyone furnishing a place on a budget.
What You’ll Find in Family & Free
Four subcategories make up the group: Kids & Baby (strollers, cribs, toys, clothing that gets outgrown fast), Clothing for all ages, Tickets & Events, and Free Stuff, where items are given away at no cost. It’s a category where timing matters, since free and lightly used family items tend to move quickly once posted.
Tips for Buyers
- Check Free Stuff before buying something new. Montréalers give away a genuinely wide range of usable baby and kids’ gear when their own children outgrow it.
- For baby gear like car seats and cribs, ask the age and check for any safety recalls before buying, since these items have real safety standards attached.
- Message quickly on Free Stuff listings, since the best items tend to go fast.
- For tickets, confirm the transfer method (digital transfer, printed, will call) before agreeing on a price.
Tips for Sellers and Givers
Clear photos and an honest note on wear or missing pieces (a stroller with a broken wheel, a puzzle missing a piece) save everyone time. For Free Stuff specifically, setting a pickup window in the listing itself cuts down on back-and-forth messaging.
Buying Baby Gear Secondhand
Car seats, cribs, and strollers are commonly resold, but safety standards matter more here than almost any other Marketplace category. Car seats have expiry dates and shouldn’t be used after a crash, even a minor one, and crib designs have changed over the years to meet updated safety standards. It’s worth asking the age and history of any safety-critical item before buying, not just the price.
Why This Category Moves Quickly
Kids grow out of gear fast, which means this group turns over faster than almost any other on Marketplace. A stroller or set of baby clothes might only see a few months of real use before being posted again, which is good news for buyers since it means recently posted items are often in genuinely good condition. It also means checking back regularly pays off, since the right size or item for your child’s current age won’t necessarily still be listed a few weeks from now.
Ticket Transfers and Event Listings
Tickets & Events works a little differently from the rest of the group, since there’s no physical item changing hands in the same way as a stroller or a coat. Confirm exactly how the transfer works before paying: some tickets transfer instantly through an app, others need to be printed or picked up in person, and mobile tickets tied to a specific account can be harder to transfer securely. If a deal feels rushed or the seller won’t answer basic questions about the transfer method, it’s reasonable to walk away and look for another listing instead.
Clothing Listings, From Kids to Adults
Clothing spans everything from a single outgrown snowsuit to a full seasonal wardrobe bundle, and it’s one of the easier categories to sell quickly since low prices and quick turnover are the norm rather than the exception. Bundling similar sizes or seasons into one listing (all size 4T winter items, for example) tends to attract more interest than posting each piece separately, since it saves a buyer from messaging about ten small listings individually. For buyers, checking Free Stuff alongside Clothing is worth the extra step, since gently used kids’ clothing in particular gets given away often, not just sold.
Meeting Up Safely for Family Items
Since Family & Free often involves items for children, a lot of buyers and sellers prefer meeting somewhere public and well-lit for the handoff rather than a private residence, especially for a first transaction with someone new. Local parks, shopping centre entrances, or a community centre parking lot are common, low-friction meeting spots that work well for smaller items like clothing bundles or toys. For anything larger requiring a home pickup, having a second person present is a reasonable precaution for both sides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you’re clearing out outgrown kids’ gear or looking for a good deal on tickets, Family & Free connects you directly with someone else in Montréal.