Reader Question: Have You Scored a Great Deal on a Swing Set?! Share Your Savings Tips!
Check out this reader question from Christin:
“Hi Collin, I’ve been a long time follower of your site. Thank you for saving me so much green.
I Was wondering if you would not mind doing a post on how to save on playgrounds/swing sets etc. I have recently started the search for one and boy are they expensive. Do you or your readers have any tips on where to find a great deal, which ones are the best quality, and any other feedback. Thank you so much.”
Please share any tips you have below! Thank you.
Check out Costco, sometimes they are on sale!
Sign up for nextdoor. A neighborhood site where a lot of people give away swing sets or sell them really cheap.
To me the question is more how do u put it together? Looks like a big job!
We just bought one from costco. Most pieces are assembled but it still took my mechanic husband and I 2 days and a combined 36 hours between us to assemble it. Tons of screws, and nuts and bolts. I had a blast though.
We bought ours on Black Friday at Sam’s Club. It was $100 off in addition to being on sale. I think it was $798 total and we love it!
Two years ago, I ended up getting a $350 swingset for $60 at Walmart based on a tip here (thanks Collin!). Apparently the last week in August, Walmart starts discounting their swingsets and patio sets like crazy. It did take a long time to put together though. Good luck!
We got one to on clearance from Wal-Mart now to put it up next weekend.
We got ours a couple years ago on sale from sears or Kmart plus coupons and got over $100 back in points and a ton back on Ebates
We recently purchased a Rainbow Play system, but did not pay full price. We researched the quality of many systems and found this type had very good reviews. After we decided on the Rainbow we searched for them on our local Craigslist and 5 a day would be listed. Once we reviewed the pictures posted online and contacted the seller to make sure it was available. We would set up a time to look at the quality of system in person. Some playsets were like looked brand new (but might actually be 5 yrs old) and some needed a little elbow grease! We found that people were not getting rid of them for any other reason then their kids grew out of them or they moved into a new house with the playset in the yard.
Last Spring, I mentioned to the sales person at Toys R Us that I was debating buying a swingset or a motorized car for my daughters birthday since they are about the same price. They encouraged me to go for the car and told me that they have worked there for several years and they always have a swingset on Black Friday for 50% off. Sure enough, the Black Friday ad last year listed a swingset. The crappy part is that there were only two sent to the store and we were somewhere around #15-#20 in line. We bought ours two months ago from Walmart online. They had great rollback prices. We had a little trouble with it getting lost during shipping because it ships from Walmart to another company and then that company delivers. They were nice about it and worked it out among themselves and sent us another.
Buy during winter time they will be almost half off I purchased mine last November
We bought one of the end-of-year discounted ones at Rainbow, and I have to say I regret it. The discounted ones were still crazy expensive, but come with NO warranty. Our slide cracked, the finish came off the metal ladder rungs, some of the wood has HUGE cracks. And we’re just out of luck. Either go full-price with them & get the warranty, or do a used or less-expensive option.
You can find them free on Craigslist. Some people just want to get rid of them and are happy to have someone take it off their hands. You’d just have to be prepared to disassemble, transport, and reassemble. I got a Home Depot display set a few years ago for about half the price. I also found that one on Craigslist, being sold by a 3rd party vendor.
Yep! I see them for free on Craigslist all the time when the weather is nice. They don’t go as fast as you may think either. I’ve seen some nice ones posted for free for a few days or so around me.
Agreed, usually because someone is moving in/out and doesn’t want it on the lot. It’s a lot of work to dismantle a swingset and move it. Great deal for someone who has a handy team and a truck and a bunch of tools.
Now swingsets come in composite instead of wood. A little more expensive, but lasts longer and no maintenance or splinters.
Yes .. Ive even seen realtors post them for free to get them moved off a property hitting the market.
Check to see if your area has an online garage sale group. In my area, people have been selling them for around $200 or less. Some even offered them for free if you dismantled it and moved it!
I scored a Rainbow Swing set for $200 on one of the facebook swap groups. I was extremely lucky to be the 1st of over 100 wants on it. They told me the set cost them $5,500 new. It is a few years old. Needed some boards replaced and stained, but it is sturdy enough for me and my husband to use. Good luck on finding a deal!
I must add, we did purchase a set from walmart about 3 years prior for about $500. It was a piece of junk with in its second year. The set also could not accommodate many children. It could also only hold the weight of a 10 year old. Well, my son is 8, very tall, and almost 75 pounds. It could not hold his weight, the wood bowed and cracked. We did not realize this when we purchased the set. So make sure what you are purchasing are going to fit your needs whether it be a short term set or something to last your kids childhood. 🙂
We got a NICE woodplay set for $100 on craigslist.
I just purchased a nice rollback swing set from Walmart! Saved a $100 great quality and the kids love it!
We paid $500 for the swingset pictured above at Sam’s Club. Waited until the end of the season and bought the floor model. The kids LOVE it! Plus, we get a warranty and cash back with our Sam’s Club Plus membership!
I have seen a lot of them listed for free on yard sale sites. Even if it is in poor shape, you can do a pretty inexpensive makeover. We have a playset but it was in poor shape. We just decided to do a bit of work and it turned out great. I actually just wrote a blog about it.
Step-by-step instructions on how you can easily transform your worn & tired playset.
https://greghallrealtor.wixsite.com/website/single-post/2017/06/02/Playset-Makeover
Toys r us does 15% off sometimes and that’s when I see the lowest prices. Just about a month ago they had a set that’s normally $1299 on sale for $999 and then another 15% off that would have brought it down another $150. So that would have been $450 in savings. I debated getting a new set at that time but I am waiting till my kids get a little bigger.
Wow that came out look great! Looks brand new.
Menards has good prices on them if you have one in your area!
Easy 1-2-3 A frame brackets from Amazon and assemble your own. My non-handy husband was able to assemble it and we liked that we could make it taller meaning they won’t outgrow it for years and years. I highly recommend a big round swing. All the neighbor kids were coming to our house just to sit in it and get spun around . We don’t have a slide but our kids don’t seem to mind. You can often times buy used swings and trapeze bars off nextdoor but even if not they aren’t too expensive. The round swing was a splurge but the kids love it and I have no regrets.
Omg THANK YOU!!! Never knew this existed. My daughters were just asking for a swingset!
Yes! We did this too. My husband used 12′ posts so the swing set is about 10.5′ high. It’s super fun! We wanted one that the kids would enjoy for a long time. Even adults that come over swing on it. 😉
We got a good deal (50% off) on Black Friday and stored it in the garage until we could built it in the spring!
Facebook yardsale sites. Just got a like-new one for $300! But they also give them away free sometimes- you have to disassemble and haul, but you have to be quick!!! They get hundreds of takers quickly.
We scored one on clearance at sams club around October I think. It was originally like 1000.00 and we got it for 500!
Black friday. We did toy s r us then opened a card. Got a 2000 swingset for 700. Great quality, Cedar. Took forever to put together. So worth it 2 slides kitchen on the bottom clubhouse on top. Or Buy off season. Or on the Facebook buysell trade sites
If you don’t mind used, you can score on Craig’s List. We bought new but our kids have pretty much outgrown ours. We’re handing it down to friends but I see them a lot for cheap or free if you’re willing and able to pick it up listed.
I got mine from toys r us on Black Friday. Got it pretty cheap but when they promised me free shipping they didn’t realize I was 100 miles away in Wyoming… so they offered me an extra $100 of if we picked it up. Which worked great since my husband was going back Christmas shopping anyway.
We got ours last year as Sam’s club was clearing out their summer items. We has asked if the floor model was available and they said someone had just purchased it. The manager just happened to be the one helping us and said she had one still in boxes she could sell, but one of the boxes had been damaged by a forklift. The damage wasn’t that bad, so we took it. We ended up getting a $1200 set for $375! When we got it home everything was there and not a single board was damaged!
Another vote for garage sale/Craigslist! We’ve had ours for years, was around $100 for a really nice one at a garage sale.
Bought a Lifetime swing set on Amazon. It was on sale for $974 from $1299. It has a five year warranty. It is solid and much sturdier than the thin wood ones you but at local stores.
We purchased a used Creative Playthings set off Craigslist for $300, 9 yrs ago. At the time we purchased it, it was 8 yrs old. It started rotting in some spots and needed replacing. Last year we replaced it with another Creative Playthings set. This time we expected to pay full price. The set we ended up getting was a $12k set, however, we purchased the floor model they were discontinuing and we were able to get it for $4k. Still a lot of money, however, we have 5 kids under 12, the thing gets used every day and we constantly have other kids here. It was worth it for us to know we had a quality set and they honor their lifetime warranty.
Costco has amazing swing sets. I highly recommend the ‘life time ‘ brand of swing sets. It was expensive $1400 but literally it’s the same material as most schools so even after years and years of use it looks brand new. You don’t have to cement into the ground. So if you do move it’s not bad to move with you. Ask grandparents or any gift givers to add money to your ‘swingset stash’ and your kids will get so excited as it grows closer to the goal!
If you really want to save and don’t mind it used, I’ve seen ones go for practically nothing if you go to their house and remove the set yourself and reassemble at home. I’ve seen them posted in neighborhood apps like Nextdoor, close 5, and let go.
I bought mine from toys r us in March when they first came out they were offering free delivery & set up. I also used my toys r us credit card on Thursday when you get 15% off!
If you have a handy husband …Build your own lumber and a separate hardware kit from Menards (11%off- stack with sale) or Amazon. We did this and it saved us hundreds!
look for a closing daycare – call little tikes commercial local sales rep and purchase the disassembly tool. My husband spent two hours disassembling a commercial playground- $200 and the cost of the uhaul!
So many people give swing sets away after kids grow out of them, we did. Post on social media you are looking for one and if you are willing to take it a part and move it I feel sure you may be pleasantly surprised! Good luck.