How to find the best deals on daycare furniture














One of the services of The Learning Bean is helping child care providers to get their businesses up and running. I have worked with corporate and small business, non-profit organizations and individuals, one thing they all have in common is the startup process is the same.  The one thing that separates the two is the budget! People often assume that a low budget means low quality, and that is simply not true. I want to share with you how I used Amazon to purchase quality materials furnish a childcare center!


In our post about How to start a childcare business, there are 10 simple steps that every startup needs to take, (although it was listed at 8 you can start right away ) purchasing classroom materials.  
“Purchase classroom materials. You will need to have tables, cots, toys, learning materials, and so much more. Sign up for our FREE Childcare Startup Checklist, and we will be sending you great tips and tricks to save on classroom material cost! “


First, you need to get an Amazon account. Sign up for an Amazon account individual or Business account. Which you need depends on your business needs. The business accounts offer some additional discounts on certain products and you have the option to add purchase orders numbers to each order. As an individual you get tons perks with Amazon Prime, Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial including free shipping, music, ebooks, and more.





I had a small budget, to furnish a center for approximately 50 children. My first thought was to go to the big childcare furniture retails, but for most of their products the cost was really high, or if it was priced low and the shipping cost was twice that of the product. I searched the internet high and low for the best value on daycare furniture. (Amazon did not pay me to write this post), but the best value that I found was really on Amazon.  Here are the big daycare furniture purchases that I made from Amazon.  


Preschool Classroom shelves.  Wooden preschool shelves were the next stable item on my list. Much like the table and chairs, these shelves were essential to the preschool classroom layout. I found that real birch wooden shelves could be extremely expensive, I was so excited to find these. Birch 2 Shelf Storage Cabinet. There are several different cubbies unit options. To save on cost I just went with the two shelf options and will use baskets or bins to separate items.



Classroom tables and chair sets.  I wanted to find a durable table and chair set. This is one item that could have low depreciation and can last for a long time. This was the first item that I set out to find because it would take up the most space in the daycare classroom and would determine the layout of each preschool room. It was surprising to find so many different preschool table options. I narrowed my search by size, cost, and color.






Daycare cots. Daycare costs were pretty easy to find. There was a $5-50 differentiation from different sellers. To find the best deal on cots I looked for quantity bundles, I looked for 6 cots per unit versus the usual 4 to 5.  I purchased Sprogs Stackable Daycare Cot Toddler, 40" W x 23" D, Blue, SPG-0232-5 (Pack of 6)

Sensory sand table. I was so excited to find these great sensory tables. They were exactly what I wanted. On average they were about $10 cheaper on Amazon.


Dramatic play furniture. Dramatic play center needs to be able to be transformed, but the main items every area needs is a play kitchen set. The price ranged greatly for this item and quality was hard to determine just from the descriptions. So, I heavily relied on customer reviews. Below were my choices.





Amazon has everything you need to get your business started. They have furniture, math, science, art, technology, janitorial, and even health and safety supplies. Check this page out and everything is even categorized to make searching easy. Shop Amazon - Introducing Education Supplies for Teachers

 I wanted to share a just few of the big purchases I made on Amazon for a childcare center.  But there are more items and things to do to get your childcare business up and running.  Get our Free Childcare Inventory Checklist to guide your shopping.