Once Upon a Child Kitchener, ON

I have been a loyal OUAC shopper since moving to Kitchener in 2019. It’s so nice to be able to outfit growing kids for a fraction of the cost. I’ve always found so many treasures for both my kids and have been able to sell their gently used but outgrown items for some cash back as well. Their new location at the Boardwalk on Ira Needles is spacious, clean and easy to get to. Everyone is always helpful and friendly, offering shopping carts when my hands get full and stickers to my young daughter to keep her entertained. Highly recommend as a place to shop for kids of any age.

I want to like this store but it's frustrating when you bring in clean, current items (Adidas, Quiksilver, Hurley etc.sometimes even brand new and they don't take it. Then you check the racks and the clothes they're selling has stains and holes. It's hard to understand what their standard is.

Unlike the Cambridge store this store is organized, makes you feel like you're getting brand new items. Almost everything looks barley used. The pricing is also better than Cambridge. It shows that these workers care, the quality matters, and customers matter.

Alot of selection, we'll organized and easy to find sizes. If you are looking for lightly worn children's clothing give them a try.

Great place to buy second hand baby and kids items I purchase things sometimes for my niece and other times to send to the organization one plane away.

Wonderful place for me (gramma of 2 wee ones 1 & 3) to purchase second-hand clothes for my grand-children! Not too expensive and the clothing are clean, in good shape and very well organized in the Store (Kitchener location)! I appreciate this store!

Once Upon a Child is a godsend for parents! Even though the sizes are sometimes mixed up, they still do an amazing job of keeping this place organized and full to the brim with clothing for amazing prices. If you join their messaging system you'll get informed of awesome deals too.
Friendly staff, large aisles for strollers and an eco-friendly option! Go!

Getting really disappointed with each and every visit here. The prices are getting out of hand - $15 for dirty sandals that clearly look very worn. They weren’t even a great brand. A lot of the sandals had loose strings, caked mud, literally broken off Velcro and yet I found nothing affordable (only the flip flop ones were under $5 for most). I think you guys need a reality check. Between that, and how much it costs for pants and shorts, it truly isn’t worth the drive. I resorted to returning to Walmart to buy the sandals, shorts and pants and after comparing prices, I only payed about $8 more (in total!) at Walmart but everything was brand new. I was able to get new sandals for $17 and new jeans for $7. People aren’t thrift shopping cause it’s fun, it’s cause it used to be cheaper than stores. I browsed through the pajamas and a lot of them look so washed of colour, have a lot of pilling and look very worn and yet the price was $7 on many of them. It doesn’t make sense, which reminds me - when I brought in items that had brand new tags on them and in perfect condition they didn’t buy them, yet there’s a lot of worn out items in store. I’ve bought several things that had holes in them only to be discovered after bringing items home, elastic waist bands that had no stretch- tip: check thoroughly in store. Sure I could come back but I’m not wasting my gas on that. I’m going to start looking elsewhere for second hand. There’s a lot of gems in kw.

This is one of the BEST places to get good quality children's clothing at affordable prices. There is always a large variety of season / age appropriate items available (I currently shop for ages 3,5 & 7. And I've never left empty handed.

They also have books and toys (which we haven't purchased but always look through).

I recently sold some items and was amazed at the same day cash service. They gave me a great rate for what I sold and I will definitely be back to sell more in the future!

Guelph and Cambridge locations are much nicer. I don’t recommend selling to this place in Kitchener. They have baby clothes that are priced higher than Oshkosh that’s in the same parking lot.

They have the 10 piece baby for $10 sale but the items are largely newborn onesies (wrinkled and very used looking). Again this feedback is only the Kitchener location.

I do love the Guelph and Cambridge locations- both Guelph and Cambridge are very friendly, clean stores with fantastic options!

This store is such a money saving place to shop, for your growing family.there are so many items to choose from.take your time & you will surely find some nice things.

Loved this place since it opened, so sad to see it move to the Boardwalk! But happy they'll have more space!

Updating to 5 stars because I’ve noticed a big improvement over the last year or so, I’ve been coming here for 4 years and it’s my go to place whenever I need anything for the kids. I’ve also sold to them a few times and I like that it is almost always same day. I do find pants to be a bit too expensive, about $10 a piece. At that price I’d rather buy new since that’s the average price at a lot of mid-price-range stores. The problem with the pants is a lot of them are shrunken from improper washing, faded, stretched out elastic bands, and a few times I’ve bought them and once I got home find them with a hole here or there. One other funny thing is I bought kids shoes that turned out to be too small, had the sticker tag still on it from OUAC and when I brought stuff to sell, they said they were “too loved” so that’s a bit odd lol
All in all this is a really great affordable place to stock up your kids wardrobe. I can’t wait to see the new bigger store when they move!

Good store with a decent selection. Very clean and staff are helpful and friendly. Narrow aisles.

Once upon a child is my favourite children’s store. They are affordable for one, and the employees are incredibly friendly and helpful. I go there atleast once a month! Amazing

Really helpful, welcoming and respectful staff. Store is well organized (which I’m sure would be really challenging given the massive amount of inventory). Them purchasing my clothes was very easy and fair. Wish I would have started with this sooner!

They have a lot of children's clothes and other items of course. If you saw something on Facebook, instagram etc. Be sure to message them on there to request the item. That's what we found out. But everyone is very nice and helpful there

I'm glad they're back in business. It was hard to find clothes for children in general during the pandemic. So it's a relief I can get what I need for a fair price. This chain is amazing and a staple in the area.

Large selection of baby and kids clothing for super reasonable prices. Lots of other used items as well such as books, strollers, diaper bags, high chairs, bath tubs, blankets, toys, baby gates, and other things. The staff is really nice and helpful. You can also sell your baby items here. There are also these large bins at the end of the store near the shoes where it is 10 for $10 (onesies basically from newborn to 12 months).

Very helpful staff while cvid-19 is going one got tons of stuff at amazing price. This store is amazing if you have a kid. Recommend this place every with a kid.

Fully stocked rows made my trip worth it. Found exactly what I was searching for. Check out was easy and signed up for their newer points plan.

Great second hand store for small children. Ive bought so many cute outfits here. The store is packed tight in the aisles making the shopping experience a bit tough

Came to sell. Wait time was three hours for them to go through things I brought in. I had to go home and come back to pick up again. They only took 7 piece and paid me little more than 8 dollars. What they are selling in store are expensive for used cloth. I’d say not worth coming.

Won’t look at your items unless you buy a bag from them. And the attitude is unreal. Editing my review to reply to you. Right after you guys accepted other items in a cardboard box. Literally 10 mins after us. Definitely some discrimination going on here. Second edit: There was more than 1 thing brought in a cardboard box. (Even though you wouldn’t take ours) And the playpen was not brand new as I heard the customer mention it was used. Stop lying. Also going by your logic, how is it safe for you guys to sell the play pen if you can’t sanitize the cardboard box it came in?

I went to pick up winter clothes for my kids and found tons of options as well as halloween costumes. The store is so crowded that it takes time and patience to find what you're looking for.

If their not as busy staff is great, when they are busier you see the stress and not as friendly

Not worth your time. They say they will buy your items but don't bother to look through all the items given to them. On top of all that, their items are expensive and not worth it!

Quite frankly I think they're charging too much for gently used items. Be better off going to Goodwill as you'll get better deals with the same quality.

Great place to pick up excellent children's clothes, slightly used. Pleasant staff. Very helpful.

The staff is not very friendly. I tried to sell some things and most was discarded even though they were in reasonable shape, no tears or stains. But the things in the store are well worn. I bought a costume that upon better inspection at home it had several tears and one sneaker had the velcro all worn and wouldnt stick proporly. Had to return it, thankfully they accepted it with out a problem

Always love coming here.

Staff if ALWAYS friendly.
They usually have some kind of deal on.

Friendly staff who always follow all covid guidelines

Products at a great price with amazing seasonal sales that can not be beat

I like the idea of this store. And I have shopped here many times.
However there are improvements that are needed. For example, a stool to be able to reach the top row of pajamas. I had an extremely hard time at 8 months pregnant trying to reach the top. Also there is next to nothing there for newborn clothes for some time now. Also looked for clothes for my 3T/4T toddler and the prices being asked of visibly used items is crazy- I can buy the same brand on a good sale for the same price from the store it came from. Or just go to Walmart to buy new if I’m paying $8-$10 for pants.

Another outrageous price - a skip hop diaper bag that had makeup stains on the inside and crumbs in the pockets- visibly in used condition asking for $45! That’s insanity! I can buy an awesome brand new diaper bag on amazon at that price! You need to inspect the items better and price accordingly.

Some staff are friendly and others scowl at you whenever asked any questions.
Overall a good place to check in for items before buying new, it helped us a lot for our first child (2 years ago there was a lot of newborn clothes, now not much at all).

Very well organized store with helpful and super friendly staff.
They always keep the place clean, not only during the pandemia time.

Unreasonable with regards to the items that are not taken. Am astounded. I suspect they are over loaded with items just now and dismiss a great deal with very minor flaw or stain as they do not need them.

I find this location the best for Once upon a child vs, Cambridge and Guelph. It seems to always have a good variety, friendly staff & it's priced better than that of Cambridge or Guelph. They also almost always have a huge clearance section.

I’ve been there several times, sometimes to sell, sometimes to buy. I like that they pay you cash, and their selection of things to buy are generally good. However, the last couple of times I have gone to sell, their estimated wait times have been way off. For example, I went their a month ago and she said it would take about 30 min. No problem, I walked around the plaza and came back and after 45 min they hadn’t even gotten to my bin. It ended taking over an hour. Today and I went and same thing, she said it would take 20 min and it ended up taking about 1.5 hrs! I live in North Waterloo so it is a hassle to come back and forth twice. Plus, I had my two little ones with me so it was quite stressful trying to wait for them to go through my one bin.
I also find the store itself to be small. It isn’t stroller friendly, which is ironic because it’s a children’s clothing store. If someone is in the aisle with a stroller or shopping cart, you cannot go down.
Lastly, I like the price of their clothing but their shoe pricing is way off. I can go to carters on a sale day and get a pair of shoes for only a few dollars more.

Oh I love this place. If you are a parent or expecting a child and are sensible enough to undergo that kids outgrow everything in minutes this is the place for you. They sell new or gently used items and everything is in a great shape and very clean. I got some onesies on clearance for a dollar each and diaper genie for 15$. There's clothes for every age and a lot of winter wear and foot wear at reasonable price. Not sure if I would buy foot wear or bedding or nursing pillow and hygiene would be of concern but that's just me. Like I said their items all look clean and we'll maintained. Also if you are looking for this baby bouncy chairs they have many on sale. Jolly jumper items were in great shape too. I think you can sell your stuff back here too. I am looking forward to buying and selling a lot!

I love this place. Great prices and good quality stuff. This has become my favorite baby store.

Really good prices on the clothing, its so nice to have places like this as its pointless buying new when children grow like weeds. Not to mention the environmental adepts that come with reusing clothing! Thanks for making this store guys! ️

Great staff, good prices (especially sale days), quality used clothing. Store is to full and you don't always know what your looking at. It's jam packed and very narrow aisles. Still love going in!

So many good finds! Although for a baby and kids store I was suprised there was nowhere to breast feed. The store is often busy so Im not going to occupy the only washroom or changeroom for twenty minutes.

Very nice second hand store for all your child's needs without paying big box store prices. I've found lots of useful items here for my daughter from clothes to toys, they have lots for tots! The staff are super friendly and very helpful too!

So happy I discovered this place! From buying baby swings to my kid's dance clothes, they have everything and it's all very well taken care of! Highly recommend shopping here for any parent!

The staff treated me very poorly and I was bullied when I worked there. It was my first job ever and it made me scared to work in general. I was 16.

They dont buy a lot of stuff we bring even if they are in great shape not stained or anything the stuff they buy and price is like $10 of more which is ok but why dont you buy most of the goodies people bring for like say $4 and sell it for $6 or $7 you still make money.try not to be picky because you will get more customers.but i still love to go there and love morning people they are lovely 5 star is for them only.

I love the concept of this store! What a great idea! Swap out your child’s gently used, high quality, outgrown clothes for high quality, second hand items that actually fit at an amazing price! I’ve been shopping at this store since my son was born and I always find the cutest clothes and accessories! I have sold many items to this store and have never had a problem with my selling experience! I understand the importance of buying quality clothing for your store and I appreciate that because that means I can shop many quality items at an incredible price.at leat I thought. Recently every time I make a purchase at this store and bring my items home I take a closer look at what I bought and realize that shirts are missing buttons, pants don’t zip up, stains, lose threads, missing hoods on jackets.it’s very upsetting as I loved this store and when I started shopping here I thought they did an awesome job sifiting through clothing and finding good quality items. I expect this sort of mishap at second hand stores like value village where items are donated but not at a consignment store. On several occasions I’ve tried to return my items with the receipt but because I had take off a tag to wash the clothing before noticing some of these issues I was not able to return these clothes.understandably. It’s just frustrating purchasing something and getting it home and realizing that it is literal garbage! Guess I should pay more attention to the details when I shop there.after all it is a second hand store so I understand it won’t be perfect! I still love the concept of this store but please try and be more thourogh when purchasing clothes to sell to the public! I understand it’s time consuming and things fall through the cracks but this has been an ongoing issue for my last few purchases. Also a few of the girls who work here are rude and stand-offish (if that’s a word) should you ask for help. All and all a great concept for a store but needs more attention to detail and friendlier more helpful staff!:)

I don't even know why I bother to continue to bring things to this place. They offer you next to nothing for great items and then sell it for double to Triple the price. I'll never go back

Used to really love this place however their prices are getting high. If anything even remotely has a brand name its marked way up. Only clothes that seemed to be okay priced is Walmart brand. I would rather dig through a thrift store and pay actual decent second hand prices. Also the store is extremely tight and layout doesnt make that much sense.

Was told they may buy new clothing but probably won’t. Same issues with Cambridge overstocked. False advertising on website saying “we buy all seasons, all day, everyday. ” Wasted my personal time for nothing.

Neat and tidy. I think it would be a good idea to have some stools around. I am unable to lift my arms above my head for any length of time so looking for clothing on the top shelves is very difficult. It would have been easy if I could stand on a stool.

They don't check 100% like they say purchased a toy set pieces missing and pieces are missing in others too! You were warned! Check it cut it what ever you need dont pay before you inspect fully! Some things are overpriced. Might as well go to Value Village some items seen half the price there.