Wednesday, March 4, 2009

New vs Used

Okay, now I know as much as the next person that you can't get everything used, like underwear for example. Haha. I don't care how much you boil it, if it's been on your unmentionables, I don't want it anywhere near my unmentionables;) And I personally prefer my shoes new, unless they're given to me by someone I know (and they don't have really stinky feet), and they're still in good shape. The shape is important because, let's face it, they're only comfortable after we've worn our foot print into them, and unless someone has your same footprint, it's just not likely to work right the second time around. Also, I've got a phobia against foot fungus.

But actually, there are a lot of things I don't mind getting used. I love hand-me-downs for my kids, so long as they're in decent shape (so they don't become targets for the lucky kids who have never even had to think of hand-me-downs). It's pretty cool when my friends have been able to pass things on to me, too and vice versa.

I also like getting good deals on other used things, and I've listed a few places to get great used things for a fraction of what you'd pay new.

You can find just about everything you want, that someone else no longer needs at thrift stores. I've actually found clothing in there with the tags still on--no kidding. But they also carry furniture, electronics, books, games, movies.....you name it. Sometimes you just get lucky and hit the motherload.

A friend of mine got a baby exersaucer in nearly new condition (because really, how long do they actually use it?) along with some other baby goodies for free just because she happened by when someone was waiting in line to drop off some things at a thrift store, and she asked if she could have it. I'm probably not that brave...but I'm sure it would have still been a great deal once it made its way inside the store.

Yard sales and swap meets are other good places to get things, and more often than not, the price is negotiable. I've actually made money doing both of these things, and I have to tell you that I never refused an offer that I felt was good enough, simply because I didn't want to pack those things back up again. I wanted them gone.

If you don't want to go outside looking for your deals, you can find plenty of them online. We got a killer deal on a bunkbed set that had the attached dresser and desk with it. We'd priced the same set new for about $800 and then bought one in great shape from KSL Classifieds for $300. Check out the classifieds for your area, you'll be surprised what people are willing to settle for.

You can also find Used Items on Amazon and Ebay. With Ebay, you can either bid for your deal, or you can find one for a set price. On Amazon, the price you see is the price you get, but you have several vendors competing so the pricing is competitive.

So I'll leave you on this note. New is not always better (unless it involves the unmentionables or old stinky feet). Happy hunting!



2 comments:

  1. Have you checked out Elance yet?

    They have a writing category and there are lots of writing tasks available. People bid on the tasks and with the system they have in place you can't get scammed by the "work providers".

    There is a free sign up which you can use to sign up for three jobs in a month (every month).

    To be able to sign up for more work you can pay a monthly fee, which isn't too expensive.

    The good thing is that as a free member you can still get work. There is nothing to lose in trying it out.

    Good luck!

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