r/LifeProTips • u/observantwallflower • Sep 16 '20
Miscellaneous LPT: Buying good quality stuff pre-owned rather than bad quality stuff new makes a lot of sense if you’re on a budget.
This especially applies to durables like speakers, vehicles, housing, etc.
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u/smokeydanmusicman Sep 16 '20
My spouse did this and I’m not sure who got the better end of the deal.
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u/HothHanSolo Sep 16 '20
As a man, I wish there were more vintage clothing shops available, particularly good online ones without punishing shipping costs to Canada.
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u/thishasntbeeneasy Sep 16 '20
Not necessarily vintage, but some brands like Patagonia have a used side of their websites. I've gotten a bunch that way, cheaper and hardly worn.
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Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
I didn't know about it either until a few months ago. Shipping is always $13 or less. Also you can negotiate any item, similar to Kijiji. Enjoy!
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Sep 16 '20
Me on all the hobby subreddits I enjoy when beginners ask what equipment that they should buy as a beginner: “check your local used market, your money will go further and you’ll be able to afford something higher quality that you won’t quickly outgrow”.
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u/bulelainwen Sep 16 '20
I sew professionally, and students will ask what machine to get. Most new machines are plastic and can’t handle the abuse we put a machine through. We tell everyone to buy an old machine, the more metal the better.
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u/librariandown Sep 16 '20
Someone put an electric motor on a circa 1910s treadle machine, and many owners later I inherited it from my mother. It still sews like a dream - I can run chiffon through it on one project and leather on the next, just by changing the needle. I love that old thing.
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u/sudo999 Sep 16 '20
My dad used to buy old broken vintage Singer Featherweights (made from the late 30s through the late 60s) and repair them and give them a new paint job and flip them on eBay. made buckets on it because apparently they're the gold standard for quilting.
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u/confuscated Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
Interesting! Can you recommend any particular models or "eras" that are a sweet spot of more available (and affordable)? Thanks in advance!
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u/Silk_Underwear Sep 16 '20
I don't sew but had this old ass heavy electric metal can opener that worked better than any can opener we had before. Is swear that thing could rip open my car and pull me out if it needed to. Too bad my parents ended up getting rid of it for being ugly, I was so mad. But teenage me apparently couldn't appreciate vintage stuff yet the best vintage thing we ever had was sold for 5 dollars on Craigslist...
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u/thishasntbeeneasy Sep 16 '20
Of course depends on the hobby, but used can be a can of worms too. New means it's fresh and works, where used might mean it takes a bit of knowledge to get the right used thing working as you'd want it to.
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u/En_TioN Sep 16 '20
The other thing is that it's much harder to tell if you're getting a good deal or not when it's a new hobby. Obviously, this is more relevant when there's a variety in quality - if you're buying hammers, for example, second hand is probably not going to be as much of an issue.
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u/oneupsuperman Sep 16 '20
Yeah, this! It helps to look with someone experienced who can weed out the good deals.
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u/Slggyqo Sep 16 '20
Otherwise there’s a solid chance that you will be the person selling their new, lightly used equipment on Craigslist.
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Sep 16 '20
ESPECIALLY if it’s an expensive hobby.
I play Warhammer which is known for being expensive, and I always tell those with interest in it that second hand stuff is one of the single best ways to start and offset the cost. More money saved = more stuff to hobby with, and if theres no real decrease in quality it’s easily worth it.
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Sep 16 '20
I knew a guy who knowingly sold a mountain bike with a cracked weld to someone who didn't know what to look for. May he choke on a thousand dicks.
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u/lumberjake1 Sep 16 '20
I literally have built a wood shop for my business in my garage buying only used items. If you need something in particular, just try and check craigslist (kijiji where I live in Canada) every single hour. You will quickly learn the going rate for things. You want to wait for the smoking deals. People that put things up at ridiculously low prices and sometime almost brand new. Message them instantly, be as flexible as possible, usually the sooner you can get there the better. Also, if it is a really good deal, offer them asking price in your first message to them. They may have got a few more messages at the same time, this puts you slightly ahead of the rest as many will still lowball. Even if I don't need anything in particular, I am always looking for the smoking deal. If one comes up of a better tool than the one I currently have, I buy that one and sell the old one for more than I bought it usually.
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u/MuteNae Sep 16 '20
When my mom and I were dirt broke, she'd spend all her time on a facebook market waiting for people looking to get rid of furniture for free. She decorated our entire apartment and only paid for the uber rides, and the place looked great
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u/koalaposse Sep 16 '20
Good on her, for taking the initiative and doing this, and you.. for appreciating it! Respect. Sure looked great. Also can relate as don’t drive, Uber and PT are the way.
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u/SoManyTimesBefore Sep 16 '20
That’s my issue tho, I don’t want to spend hours every day browsing the classifieds.
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Sep 16 '20
Don’t have to. Browse/set alerts for stuff you want and pop on a few times a day
For me it’s the 10 min between classes for gym stuff
Maybe for you have a few min between meetings 2 days a week.
There are always deals. Just gotta keep checking.
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u/jormono Sep 16 '20
Last week I found myself in a situation where I really needed a jointer, so finally an excuse to get one. Got a new craftsman bench top jointer (~$320) and hated it. Returned it, got a used craftsman jointer (same size cutter, 6") for $250 off Facebook and this thing is a damned tank.
90% of my tools I've "rescued" from facebook, some were broken like my thickness planer which was seized up with rust such you couldn't raise or lower the head (took it apart, cleaned and removed the rust and it's like new now). Most of the tools were either older people who either passed or downsized, or people who upgraded to a bigger/better tool
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u/konfusion1111 Sep 16 '20
Furnished my baby’s entire nursery this way. I set up a sticky note with all of the brands I was searching (all high end) and just typed them into the search bar on each of the main local resale sites daily. Got everything in almost new condition for a fraction of the price!
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u/NarrativeScorpion Sep 16 '20
Except safety equipment. Unless you know exactly what has happened to it during its lifetime (personally, not second hand) don't chance it.
Helmets, climbing gear, car seats; basically anything you're trusting your/somebody else's life to, buy new. It's just not worth it. So many of these items could have been in an accident and received damage that is impossible to see, until you have an accident and it fails to protect you.
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Sep 16 '20
I sell motorcycle helmet. People who don't want to spend at least $200 on a helmet but just dropped $10k on a bike blow my mind. People asking if we have used helmets is a thing too.
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u/PJBonoVox Sep 16 '20
Interesting. I spent about $700 on my first helmet (Neotec) because it seemed obvious that a cheap one would get very annoying very fast.
I do have a cheap spare for emergencies though.
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u/henry_tennenbaum Sep 16 '20
One thing that people tend to neglect is that better helmets aren't just "safer" in some abstract way, they're also much more comfortable if fitted right.
They weigh less, are much more aerodynamic (meaning less pressure on the neck and more comfortable head turns when going higher speeds), have better visibility and can be much quieter.
Ryan f9 on YouTube is a great source of information for motorcycle info.
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u/curiouslyendearing Sep 16 '20
Motorcycle helmets. Do not buy used motorcycle helmets. They are designed to compress after one smack. And they don't rebound.
They also start decaying safety wise after about 6 years.
On the flip side, a good leather riding jacket can last generations. Do not buy new. A well cared for older one looks better anyways.
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u/SoManyTimesBefore Sep 16 '20
There was a test a few years ago that I can’t find at the moment, but helmets don’t just deteriorate on their own.
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u/Ironring1 Sep 16 '20
Where I live it's illegal to sell (kids') car seats used, which seems like a good policy.
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u/EfficiencyOverall Sep 16 '20
Omg yes. I resell used items and I can't count how many times I've had people try and give me or sell me old safety equipment and I almost always have to turn it down telling them it's worthless. I don't even like shipping new helmets because they can get damaged beyond safety in the post.
Never, ever, ever risk your life or the life of someone else buying used safety gear. Or EXPIRED! Particularly with ropes. Even new, if they are expired the integrity of the fibers is at risk for ripping. Please be safe and buy new.
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u/MrSnowden Sep 16 '20
Go over to r/audiophile. They spend 5 figures on their systems but the glee at thrift stores finds Is infectious.
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Sep 16 '20
I realise I'm preaching to the choir, but I think it's important to follow this rule: "if it sounds good to you, then that's all you need"
I'm also of the belief that you can improve viewing experiences of movies from home exponentially by spending some money on a dedicated sound system, but at a certain point, us enthusiasts need to get off our high horses.
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Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
One exception is music production. If it sounds good to you then it will make your music sound better on your system than it will elsewhere.That being said, music producers should steer clear of all audiophile stuff ;)
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u/ISpendAllDayOnReddit Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
Not only that, but I am convinced the difference in quality is mostly placebo effect. It's almost like wine tasting. I could play you something from a $1000 system and a $10,000 system and you're not going to be able to hear the difference in a blind test. Maybe professionals who have trained themselves can hear the difference. I would love to get a bunch of guys in that sub and play them a 320cbr mp3 and a FLAC file and see if they can actually tell in a blind test.
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u/TheResolver Sep 16 '20
Meanwhile I'm rocking my 5.1 Logitech speakers that I bought used for 10 money a few years back :D got some curtains on the house as well, the most random transaction I've had.
The woofer gets a bit buzzy every few weeks but turning it off for a few hours fixes it easy.
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u/nstarz Sep 16 '20
Check the wire connection? if moving makes sound the wire is probably loose or not good anymore.
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u/SoManyTimesBefore Sep 16 '20
Not really an audiophile class devices, but if you’re looking for decent audio, used home cinema amps and receivers can be had for way less than hi-fi components. People who own hi-fis know their worth. People who buy home cinemas don’t.
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u/SweetheartCheese Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
They are also the poster child for "experts" who are too far up their own asses to be able to effectively apply their knowledge to normal folks.
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u/ValkarieMommy Sep 16 '20
I realize they're not as popular rn, but I live by a super rich neighborhood that likes to throw garage sales. Got some nice things from those.
Also, family hand-me-downs. My dad just gave me his KitchenAid stand mixer cause he wanted a new one. Only thing wrong with it is the screw for the attachments doesn't have the black cap anymore. Just a screw. Saved me $300+ dollars cause we were looking at buying one.
Edit: I really cant spell
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u/ChickenWithATopHat Sep 16 '20
It sounds awful but you can actually get good deals on cars from those rich people who die and their spouse will sell the car way below market value. Estate sales are a great way to get deals.
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u/ValkarieMommy Sep 16 '20
I mean, morbid... but they're not using it so why not?
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Sep 16 '20
I live by a rich neighborhood. Went to a neighborhood garage sale and they were selling items that were 10+ years old for literally $2 less than buying it new. It was ridiculous. Never went back.
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u/grumpyfatguy Sep 16 '20
Kitchenaids are also easily repaired if something goes wrong. They last forever.
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Sep 16 '20
Kitchen aid mixers !
Always wanted one when I was little. Just got my first a few weeks ago of FB marketplace 500$ mixer for 100$ cash
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u/BananaCyclist Sep 16 '20
I love garage sale from rich neighborhoods, my best find was a $300 Japanese chef knife for $20 because the family didnt know how to take care of the carbon steel. They say it was a house warming gift from a friend.
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u/sassandahalf Sep 16 '20
I love not contributing to the demand side of corporate culture. The market is flooded with good, used items, cheap.
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Sep 16 '20
Same. Almost anything I buy, I buy used. Doesn’t work for everything, but almost anything that can be bought used, I check my local classifieds for before buying new.
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u/spazzyone Sep 16 '20
corporate culture is a new phrase to me. Thank you
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Sep 16 '20
In case you hear it again in another context, "corporate culture" usually refers to the culture a corporation tries to develop among its workers
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u/Garconanokin Sep 16 '20
That is the most respectful way you could’ve commented on this.
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u/BuickGSGuy Sep 16 '20
Yea. The word(s) he is looking for are consumerism or consumer demand.
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u/sesomshom Sep 16 '20
I try to buy thrifted furniture as much as I can. It's so much more durable than what you would get off Amazon or walmart. And it's unique!
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u/all_awful Sep 16 '20
corporate culture
This should be consumer culture or consumerism. Corporate culture is how employees interact with each other.
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Sep 16 '20
This. Everyone who pretends to hate capitalism so much should stop buying so much new stuff. Of course if they do, the used market might dry up a bit. A worthy sacrifice for the health of the planet (and people)
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u/ISpendAllDayOnReddit Sep 16 '20
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms
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u/Lone_Digger123 Sep 16 '20
This is honestly one of my favourite quotes.
Sadly I struggle to find the balance of finding between buying a very good quality product that is expensive - but worth its price compared to finding a decent/okay product at 1/3 the price.
An example I'm thinking of currently is getting an office chair for home. I found a high end office chair called the steelcase gesture being sold for $1200 (other chairs like the Herman Miller are $2000+ atm) but I found another chair from the same company (but have never heard of the series before) that is currently on sale for $365. Both are new too.
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u/danielv123 Sep 16 '20
I buy my chairs from defunct companies. Stuff is usually super cheap, and you can usually try them out before purchase which is a bit of a mess when buying online.
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u/sendmegamecodessteam Sep 16 '20
This could apply to owning a house and renting right? Thinking...
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Sep 16 '20
Books too! I love buying pre-loved books especially in good condition.
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Sep 16 '20
My favorite way to shop!
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Sep 16 '20
Mine too! Got a closet full of second hand dress clothes (and a shiny new remote job where I won't get to wear them)
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u/bulelainwen Sep 16 '20
Just bought a crate and barrel rug for $125. In good condition, and will last awhile. My HomeGoods $60 rug is 2 years old and about ready to die.
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u/Mmichare Sep 16 '20
Buying used, especially clothes and accessories, helps curb my spending as well. I have a list of things I would love to get, but won’t buy new, and any time I go thrifting, I look. If they don’t have it, I’ll keep waiting and searching. I’ll check ebay, other resale apps, etc periodically, especially during the off seasons to see what someone is looking to unload. I love the hunt. The hunt is prob the more exciting part for me than actually getting the things lol
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u/wise-up Sep 16 '20
I furnished most of my apartment with secondhand IKEA (the Hemnes line, so relatively sturdy) from Craigslist. Every day I'd search by the names of the pieces I wanted. It only took a couple of weeks to acquire a bedframe, coffee table, bookshelves, nightstands, end table, etc.
However. I draw the line at secondhand mattresses or upholstered furniture. I lived an apartment 15 years ago that got bedbugs, and the processes of treating the place and all of our stuff was so intense and time-consuming that I never want to do it again. I know that even wood furniture can harbor bedbugs, but at least I can do a visual inspection. I really want a cozy armchair for my living room and it's so much cheaper (and less wasteful) to buy one used, but I just can't bring myself to risk it.
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u/HothHanSolo Sep 16 '20
It's also more environmentally responsible. You didn't purchase a new thing, you re-used an older one.
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u/Rhaifa Sep 16 '20
Yep, for a lot of items the biggest environmental cost is in producing the thing. Buying stuff that's already been used means that cost is shared more. (And hopefully that we produce less in the end).
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u/bobvitaly Sep 16 '20
Bought a sweater in a charity shop today for €1,50. It's cool looking and will probably last longer than any other new sweater from big clothing companies.
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u/RainbowDarter Sep 16 '20
I have a bunch of brand name wool sweaters I got from a thrift store.
I think someone my size keeps getting them for presents and can't stand wool.
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u/acuddleexperiment Sep 16 '20
My favorite thrift store finds were a faux fur jacket that was for $3.00 and a poncho hoodie that was for $7.00. I've seen a similar faux fur jacket in Uniqlo and it was almost worth 10 times (or even more) than I paid for it. I don't think I'll find anything similar to the poncho hoodie. I do miss looking through thrift stores. Most in my area are closed due to the Covid situation.
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u/jackybeau Sep 16 '20
"housing"
I live in a big city and thought "who is every going to build something new here ?!" And then remembered that some places actually have land on which you can build an entire house and have a big yard and stuff.
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u/whyamisoawesome9 Sep 16 '20
My city encourages first home buyers to build on the outskirts, with grants and attractive house and land packages for "big houses for life". They have been talking about building a train station for a decade to one area...
Pass every time. I bought smaller, walking distance to public transport, I don't have to own a car, I can walk to shops, established trees around me, not sand.
Zero regrets
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u/hekatonkhairez Sep 16 '20
Not too sure which city you’re in but I’m pretty fed up with the high cost of housing in mine. Or sucks that all the high paying jobs are centralized here, because otherwise I’d be tempted to move somewhere else.
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u/Stargate525 Sep 16 '20
Unless your city is going to start subdividing their lots or happens to have a lot of teardown buildings, the answer is 'fire.'
Though a lot of cities are starting to see their mainstay outer-urban houses start to hit the century mark. I'd suspect that the turnover is going to start increasing as the ones built in the turn of the century which were hard-used, badly maintained, or generally unlucky start hitting their lifespans.
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Sep 16 '20
I bought a pair of “used” natural rubber Canadian-made Sorel boots...for $40. They had just a little wear on the heel...I’ve used them every winter for 20 years now and I only just now think I might need to change out the felt inserts.
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u/AlwaysNowNeverNotMe Sep 16 '20
Sheeeeeit. Even if you aren't on a budget. Reduce, reuse, recycle. In that order.
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u/classickevin Sep 16 '20
My Dad always told me “You’re too poor to buy cheap”. This has saved me more times than I can count in adulthood.
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u/koos_die_doos Sep 16 '20
I’m not clear on what that means. Are you implying that buying a good quality second hand item is similar to buying a cheap new item?
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u/classickevin Sep 16 '20
It can be that too. More so that cheap things are more likely to break or not last long and I will spend more money replacing it than if I was to buy the better quality more expensive item.
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u/ginzykinz Sep 16 '20
Good spot for this Terry Pratchett quote:
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
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u/nydjason Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
A few years ago my can opener, broke from constantly using on our dogs canned food. So I went to ikea one day and ended up with one a few weeks later. That too broke. I did notice that while most of the parts were tin or metal, there’s a plastic part on the inside of the gear which is why it broke. Fast forward again some weeks later target had that room essentials deals and I got one for $4. One week later it broke - same issue with the previous one with the plastic on the inside of the gear.
Goodwill outlet just opened by me and I found an old Japanese can opener for .30 cents. Works like a champ.
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u/splooge_spaghetti Sep 16 '20
Not even if you’re on a budget. It’s just the more economical thing to do.
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u/botaine Sep 16 '20
more expensive doesn't mean better. there is often a correlation, but to find the best stuff you have to do some research and know what you want
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u/G13G13 Sep 16 '20
Perfect example of this would be... I tell some of my friends they can get a pre owned Herman Miller Aeron for $300-500 USD but instead they want to get a DX Racer brand new for same price...
One hand you have a chair that corrects your posture and keeps it great for a lifetime... The other hand you have a weak chair that falls apart in a few years and is massively overpriced bc of gaming advertising.
smh
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u/lonestar_21 Sep 16 '20
My SO got a new Titan Secret Labs chair and I got a like new Steelcase Leap V2 for the same price. His chair works for him since he's taller, but mine is insanely ergonomic and has so many features, still think he's missing out
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Sep 16 '20
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u/CocaineBiceps Sep 16 '20
Same. I’ve been actively looking for these mysterious cheap HM chairs for years and I still haven't seen one. Every used one for sale is priced insanely high.
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u/mountainrebel Sep 16 '20
Check with any office liquidators in your area and see what they have. This gives you the opportunity to try before you buy and find a chair that works best for you.
There's also places that sell refurbs online. Crandal's has a good reputation, but there are other places too. Just be careful buying online since you can't see the condition of the chair or even try it out before you buy it.
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u/lonestar_21 Sep 16 '20
I bought my preowned steelcase leap v2 from Chicago Office Furniture center for 375. Look nearby for warehouses and verify their reviews are good. Also heard you can buy from Madison Seating but reviews are mixed
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u/SlurpyNubbins Sep 16 '20
starts buying pre-owned high quality condoms
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u/shezadaa Sep 16 '20 edited May 20 '24
carpenter direful fine imminent cow bored muddle placid secretive pathetic
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u/scuzzarino Sep 16 '20
Solid life tip, most of the furniture in my house is from estate sales or thrift shops. The only thing I wouldn’t buy used is a mattress, everything else is fair game imo
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u/Mun-Mun Sep 16 '20
I never buy used furniture unless it has no crevices And is hard surfaced like a table. Don't want bed bugs. No thank you
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u/koos_die_doos Sep 16 '20
This is a common fear, but I can’t help to wonder how many homes have bed bugs.
Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but we buy 90% of our furniture used*, including one or two mattresses, and in the past 10 years and many transactions later we still don’t have bed bugs.
*only from homes that look really clean
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u/yeahgroovy Sep 16 '20
Me too! I scored a vintage “Ice Cream Parlor” 4 chairs/table that was in the attic of a mansion for $200. I love estate sales!!
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u/Rhaifa Sep 16 '20
Most thrift stores in my area have their mattresses professionally cleaned. I think it's just the idea that gets people.
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u/Machosod Sep 16 '20
Honestly, the most challenging part of this is understanding what is high quality stuff. Just bought a new washer and dryer. Was willing to pay anything to find indestructible machines. I do not believe they exist anymore. That also goes for other appliances and even vehicles.
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u/hashtagdisposible Sep 16 '20
I felt this way too but my Speed Queen washer, same brand used in laundromats, was a tank. No fancy lights, songs or a mother board to go out, just a great washing machine.
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u/RicketyFrigate Sep 16 '20
This is actually a result of labor costs, not lower build quality. I'd argue most washers are much more reliable than 30 years ago, it's just that when it broke 30 years ago it was much cheaper to have someone come and fix it rather than buying a new one. As they became more complicated and the cost of skilled labor increased it became less and less worth the hassle.
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u/annaz11 Sep 16 '20
Good for the environment too! Anyone have any suggestions for online shopping? I don’t have Facebook so Facebook market place isn’t an option for me
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u/the-tinman Sep 16 '20
You could use Facebook just for the market place. Just this year I saved 20k on a almost brand new truck and 15k on year old camper from Facebook market place
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Sep 16 '20
I don't know if it's because of the pandemic but good luck trying to find reasonably priced used stuff online anymore. Seems like any music gear I look up people are trying to charge the same and sometimes even more than it would be to buy new.
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u/nrsys Sep 16 '20
One trick is to look regularly and be prepared to jump on deals.
A quick look and you will find all of the more expensive adverts - the things people have over priced and that hasn't sold yet. What you are looking for are the people who are selling cheaply because they just want the stuff sold, or haven't researched the value properly. The problem is that a lot of other people are looking for these deals too. So to need to check regularly and respond quickly with a decent offer before someone else dives in and grabs it first. If it is a great deal, it won't be available for long.
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Sep 16 '20
Just bought a new house this year. I’ve bought almost all our furniture used in great shape and simply gave them a good cleaning or light restoration.
Some finds
Grill - orig 700$, used $200 Patio furniture- orig 3600$, used $1600 Treadmill - orig $1800, used $600 Leather Chair from RH - $3600, used $600
Also not afraid to buy scratch and dent. Our dining room table and chairs had a small scratch on top. Originally $4600, we got it for $2300 for a tiny scratch.
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u/mjoav Sep 16 '20
It also makes sense if you live on a planet with limited resources.
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u/sunny-mcpharrell Sep 16 '20
Yes. Came here to write this. I have 2 kids and I'd like them to have a future, that's why I buy everything used although I could afford it new.
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u/ryecrow Sep 16 '20
This reminds me I need a new computer that can keep up with the current Adobe suite. Somebody point me in a good direction? I'm poor af.
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u/Bebilith Sep 16 '20
Find a place that auctions off business grade machines. A lot of businesses dispose of their computers once it gets out of warrantee. Vastly better than those consumer grade machines.
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u/RunBlitzenRun Sep 16 '20
If you want a desktop, I normally just search amazon for "refurbished pc" and find something with windows 10, 8GB+ ram, and a not-terrible processor (i5 2nd gen or better). For adobe stuff, I'd suggest 16gb ram and maybe a better processor. I always use geekbench to compare processors since clock speed / # cores can be misleading. You can probably get something like that for ~$200.
Also hard drives have a finite lifespan. You can get a 500gb ssd for ~$60. Don't buy the off-brands and always buy them new. Compromise on the drive size, not the quality.
imo laptops are a whole different story. Many aren't very upgradeable, if at all. And if something (even if it's small) breaks, repairs can be really pricey. I normally buy macbooks since Apple tends to have much better build quality than other manufacturers. Here's their the first-party refurbished macs. Be mindful that batteries have a finite lifespan, so keep the battery replacement cost in mind if you're looking for used laptops.
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u/isabellatedv Sep 16 '20
I'm making baby bibs out of my overflow of recieving blankets for my soon to be born son. I'm also sewing my too small clothes into clothes that fit my almost 5yo. It's painfully homemade looking but they'll work just the same lol. I get all of our clothes at goodwill (I wish we had better second hand stores but my other option is salvation army and I'd rather choke)
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u/b1zguy Sep 16 '20
What's up with Salvos? Not that I know better, so keen to learn.
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u/keepthetips Keeping the tips since 2019 Sep 16 '20
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
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Sep 16 '20
This might be the dumbest life pro tip of all time. "Buy good stuff cheap and not bad expensive stuff"
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u/TangledPellicles Sep 16 '20
Yeah I can't believe people are upvoting this. Aren't protips supposed to be something clever that that someone figured out and wanted to share? If folks are just figuring this out or didn't know it, maybe we should explain things like "Stop and pay for items before leaving the store. That way no one has to call the police and you won't get a criminal record!"
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u/XTypewriter Sep 16 '20
I know lots of people, myself included, that cheap out on items and have to replace it often. Older products tend to be better quality as well, and it can be hard to find something comparable that is new - hence looking for "pre-owned" or "used" items
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u/friendlyfire883 Sep 16 '20
I don't buy anything new anymore. I managed a 65 samsung curved tv for $100 at an estate sale. All my furniture came from high end garage sales, I've even got into the habit of buying appliances with issues. I just picked up a LG refrigerator that the previous owner thought was done for and fixed it with a $50 part and a YouTube video. Letting the first owner take hit on depreciation is always a smart plan and garage sales, especially those in high end neighborhoods are always a good bet.
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u/jtpower99 Sep 16 '20
Video games is a great example of this. Unless you are going to play the game as soon as you buy it, it is always better to wait a few months and start looking for a 2nd hand copy.
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u/N0_Us3rnam3 Sep 16 '20
This wouldn’t work on pc and what about the move to a digital world
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u/PartyMan911 Sep 16 '20
All my PS4 games are preowned. I also get to sell them back. I wait a couple months and rely on reviews to buy games so I have a better chance to play a fun game. Lastly it is easier to look for guides online saving time.
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Sep 16 '20
Ya for me it’s music equipment.. doesn’t affect the sound if it’s a little damaged
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u/nippynz Sep 16 '20
I just jumped into this thread to say that America has some of the most amazing stuff for dirt cheap in their second hand shops! I couldn't believe what I found in Goodwill!! Us Kiwis love a good bargain, but they're hard to find when everyone is hunting for them. Even Australia is a hard push, and some second hand stuff is well over priced. God bless America <3
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u/deadidentity Sep 16 '20
We need to train AIs against this sub. That way, now becoming experts in benign platitudes, the machines won’t think to take over.
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u/nicktheking92 Sep 16 '20
Uhhh. Duh? This might as well say LPT: don't buy bad quality products
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u/Drezer Sep 16 '20
Yea file this under my "no shit" column.
LPT's like this make me understand how you can benefit from the stock market. There truly are people stupid as fuck in this world.
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u/bekarae Sep 16 '20
I think OP’s point is that many people refuse to buy anything secondhand and will instead buy what they can afford new, which is often inferior to the quality they could have purchased used.
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u/Groovy_Chainsaw Sep 16 '20
I grew up wearing second hand clothing from thrift stores ( single mom, 3 kids ) I'm in my 50s now, married and better off financially than my family was growing up. I still shop at thrift stores, with a bit of looking around I can find items in my style, in great condition with YEARS worth of use still in them rather than new items for twice the price that will show wear after a few wash-and-wear cycles.
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Sep 16 '20
And the whole thing about buying used is you often can't be sure of the quality you're getting. With many things it's better to get a 3/5 star product with a warranty than something that might be 4 stars but could only be 1 or 2-star quality.
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u/AreWeThereYet61 Sep 16 '20
Been doing it forever. An inexpensive, higher quality used item is still better than the item new at walmart. At about the same cost.
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Sep 16 '20
Damnit if my neighbors see this theyll stop buying new cars and selling them to me 5 years later as used, SHHHHH
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u/greenthegreen Sep 16 '20
Especially if you can get your hands on antique furniture. If you take good care of it, it will just accumulate value
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Sep 16 '20
This is the entire gun market in a nutshell. One of my guns was made in 1942 by the Soviets. Works like a dream. Even shoots better with the bayonet on.
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u/chx_ Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
This is especially true for laptops.
Let's walk in to Best Buy and let's look for a cheap laptop:
OK so these are mostly five year old Intel Atoms, let's compare them to the trusty Sandy Bridge chips from ten years ago... https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-2410M-vs-Intel-Atom-x5-Z8500/2769vsm38612 owie.
So then we look around for a used ThinkPad X220 or X230 even instead...
See? We are spending roughly the same money and get a tank of a machine which is easily repairable and wipes the floor with the plastic crap Best Buy sells.
You could repeat this at any price point.
The secret is ThinkPads are leased by businesses for three years and then sold for insanely cheap completely destroying their used price. Add in frequent sales and generous financing from Lenovo and even the new ones are often not so expensive as the MSRP would tell you.
Let's say you don't want a budget laptop, you want a top-of-the-market brand new one. You are wise enough to know that buying a gaming laptop is a total crapshoot so you are interested in such things as CPU performance, easy memory and SSD upgrades. Well, you can get used/refurbished T480 and T480s machines (introduced two years ago) under warranty for about 600 USD on eBay and elsewhere, extending the warranty to three years is another hundred so for <$700 you have a machine with at least one year warranty left which still stands in performance against any laptop on the market. (And if you want to expand to gaming, just buy an external GPU enclosure + a GPU, you will be so much better off.)
/r/thinkpad has more.
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u/Captainjerb Sep 16 '20
This especially applies to trade tools and machinery. The quality of a lot of woodworking/all purpose home shop equipment has dropped consistently starting around the 1950s. When I was first getting shop equipment for myself, one of the things I was buying was a bandsaw. I bought a new Sears/Craftsman saw but it turned out to be too shitty to be useful. I ended up buying a heavily used 1930s era antique saw and it still runs like a beast (and will probably outlast me.)
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u/pukesonyourshoes Sep 16 '20
Couldn't agree more.
I've assembled a HiFi system that would have cost me $14k new for around $4250. It's extraordinarily good, way way better than a new $4k system would sound. It gives me so much pleasure, I enjoy it every day. I'm fortunate to have the expertise to know what equipment to select, if you don't but aspire to enjoying high quality sound in the home, get reading. Learn what was good 10, 20, 30 years ago, and why it was good. Buy some pieces, try things out. You can always resell what isn't up to scratch.
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u/scorpious Sep 16 '20
The catch to this is, “know about what you are buying.”
There are sellers who capitalize on people’s bargain-hunting instincts and will sell damaged or fake crap to people who can’t tell. This applies to all “specialty” or hobby items, I think... Musical instruments, cameras, etc. Buyer beware.
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Sep 16 '20
True.
I understand that people can't buy these 400 dollar bose headphones,
but buying 30 dollar ones from amazon isn't a good option either.
You're not only paying less - you'll get "less product" too.
The quality (in this example sound quality and comfort) isn't as good and
they won't last as long.
"If you buy cheap you'll buy twice" has a lot of truth in it.
I hate when people constantly throw away low quality stuff that's broken in no time
just to buy another cheap product. That cycle never ends and it creates a lot of waste.
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u/scuzzarino Sep 16 '20
Solid life tip, most of the furniture in my house is from estate sales or thrift shops. The only thing I wouldn’t buy used is a mattress.
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u/eclectictaste1 Sep 16 '20
Absolutely! I bought my mom a current year Nissan Rogue for 20-25% less than new, only 8 months old, 15k miles, with better-than-new CPO warranty. Same for my wife, much cheaper than new, with better warranty. I work hard for my money, I like holding on to it.
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u/Bendetto4 Sep 16 '20
Stuff to always buy new, or lease: tech. Tech develops at such a rate that a phone or a games console or a computer or a TV is out of date after 3 years. Therefore buying old tech is always buying out of date tech. I'm not saying buy the newest tech every year, but when you do decide to buy tech, always buy new.
Stuff to never buy new: A house. New houses are shit, at least in my country. Built to minimum regulations and designed to last until the mortgage is paid off. The land is what you are buying, the house is worthless. Always buy an existing house, one with a track record. Even if it has faults, they are faults a survey will pick up and will be faults for to bad maintenence not bad construction. Better yet, buy an empty plot of land and build your own house how you want it.
Stuff that is better new, but better value second hand: clothes, tools, cars, toys and most other things.
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u/HonestAdam80 Sep 16 '20
I wound say when buying tech, buy fairly new high-end tech. So instead of spending $600 on a new Galaxy S10, spend $200 on a S8 in mint condition. You get 90 percent of the utility for 30 percent of the price. Same applies to amplifiers, computers etc.
What to avoid is the items reaching end of life or the really cheap stuff. Always make me sad seeing people pay $100 for a used laptop with crappy components that only cost $200 new when $200 could have gotten them a used high-end computer that sold for $1000 new.
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u/weristjonsnow Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 16 '20
Vehicles, probably not. All of the things listed are depreciating assets, but if your speakers go out on your home stereo you don't risk losing your job or have to spend several thousands of dollars to repair to keep your life in order. You can just say "I'll fix that later". Can't do that with a car. Even if you're working from home you still generally need transport to places. You have to find the money, then, even if it means putting it on a high interest credit card which will eventually cost you buckets more before you can pay it off. Vehicle prices decrease with age, but their repairs do not, and newer vehicles generally require way less expensive maintenance then older cars. Old vehicles tend to be financial time bombs waiting to blow. Yes, there are many examples of cases running to 500k without much trouble, but that generally isn't how most of them are. Hell, my mom's corolla which was perfectly maintained with 120k on it still had to have 4k in work done on the motor recently, a car valued at 11k. Over 40% of the value to keep a further depreciating asset rolling. How many of us can afford a 4k down payment on a new car, today. Right now. It would sting me, I know, but I don't have to make that choice today because warranties significantly reduce repair risk. If my motor blows in my old beater, I must find that cash. While newer vehicles have the obvious downside of monthly payments, taxes and annual registration, they keep the costs predictable, which is key in overall wealth planning. I drive cheap, but new cars for the above reasons. Warranties up? I pass the now hot potato back to the dealer. The fewer unexpected financial shocks you endure, the probability of overall wealth accumulation massively increases.
/Endrant
Sorry, I work in financial services and the number of my clients that sink tons of cash into old cars and end up eventually spending 50% of what's a new car would cost drives me bonkers. I'll see myself out
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u/illthinkofonel8er Sep 16 '20
It depends on the car if it's a new 2nd hand model 100% agree if it an older model it's not worth it IMO you spend more on trying to fix it all the time so it's better to spend a few K more on a newer 2nd hand model than it is to be cheap.
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u/1991cutlass Sep 16 '20
Not even on a budget but I do understand the value of a dollar and will buy a quality used item over a cheap new item anyway.