Five things you should buy used
March 26th, 2008 | Spending
I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time parting with my hard-earned money. I’ve spent so long working to build up my funds, why should I waste it all on consumer products that are just going to depreciate as soon as I buy them? Here are five items most people buy brand new without a second thought, that are a much better value used.
Of course, some things you’re probably better off buying new (such as underwear!), but if you buy these items slightly used, you can end up saving yourself thousands of dollars.
Books
Look at your bookshelf and count the number of books you own that you’ve read more than once. Sadly, most books are only read once and then shelved forever. When you’re paying $25 for a hardcover, that can really hurt the wallet. Used bookstores, and more importantly, libraries, carry thousands of books for next to no cost. Even that new Stephen King novel you’ve been eying. If you don’t have a library card, drop what you’re doing and run and get one right now.
Movies
The same story goes for movies. I’m a big offender of this one, since I have hundreds of DVDs just sitting on a shelf. I did the math the other day to figure out how much money I spent on DVDs at $15-$20 a pop, and it’s depressing. If you don’t have a Netflix subscription yet, sign up right away. For the price of a movie purchase a month, you get unlimited rentals. And if that’s not enough, you can rent movies at your local library as well.
Sporting goods
I learned this one the hard way. Playing sports is expensive. The other day I was pricing out new ski equipment when I went on my ski vacation, and the prices for new equipment are shocking. But if you go to used sporting goods stores such as Play It Again Sports, you can gently used equipment for significant discounts.
Timeshares
Buying a timeshare new is a can be a colossal waste of money. Most time shares lose up to 70% of their value when it comes time for your to try and sell it. But one person’s loss can be your gain. You can buy a timeshare for pennies on the dollar. Heck, people are even using eBay these days to try and get rid of their timeshares.
Tools
One of the sad stories in the downturn of the housing market is the large number of building contractors that are coming up short each month when they need to pay their bills. What does this mean? Yard sales with great tools at even better discounts.
We bought our couch slightly used for about a third of the cost of new.
Brick and mortar video stores also sell previously viewed movie cheap once they are not new releases anymore.
Be careful with the timeshares… some come with expensive monthly maintenance charges that you cannot get out of.
No Debt Plan’s last blog post..The No Debt Plan: Step Two: Achieve Free Cash Flow
Thanks for pointing that out, No Debt Plan. While I don’t recommend buying a timeshare (they rarely make sense), if you feel like you should buy one, buy it off someone desperate to unload it. In today’s market, you can buy a timeshare for next to nothing.
I agree about the books, we always buy our books used. In fact, we prefer buying used books because they’re comfortable to read. (And we do re-read a lot of our books.)
But because we don’t get cable and rely on DVDs for all our entertainment, we prefer to buy our movies new. But we are very selective about the movies we buy and we watch them to death. We’re the type of people that can enjoy a [good] movie even on the 25th viewing.
So we prefer our DVDs new so they last longer. We feel that with Netflix, a month’s rental cost is the same as 1 or 2 DVDs which are still assets, however small they may be, but money spent on rent is money you never see again.
Penelope @ Our Fourpence Worth’s last blog post..Basics for the Young, Single and Frugal
The library in our town is small, with a disproportionate number of romances. I hit every charity fund-raising event with a book stall and buy freely and I cannot believe what good book deals you can get.
When I can afford new books, I buy them, but it does add up.
And we tend to exchange DVDs with friends on a regular basis.
Mary Whitsell’s last blog post..Looking Forward
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Mom, while I have no problem with buying used, after an experience I had with bed bugs, I look and think much more carefully about used furniture than I used to.