I applaud the practice of buying used stuff, as that reduces waste. On the other hand, there's no question that it's more difficult than just ordering something brand new from Amazon and having it show up on your doorstep the next day. I'd say that for someone who doesn't need to buy used stuff for economic reasons, hunting for used items is like hunting deer or other animals: it's only worth doing to the extent that the hunt itself gives you pleasure, and/or you're thrilled with the occasional big catch that you can later brag about. If the hunt becomes onerous, stop doing it and open a Prime account.Hello, my wife and I try to buy used stuff. When we put an item on our shopping list and look for it used, often times we realize we don't really need it as much so it also helps us reduce what we buy. On Amazon, you can click, click, click and it's there the next day so you end up buying things you want but don't "really need". I also try to buy refurbished things on Amazon.
But there are also some things that we do want and need for example bicycles for our children and phones, desk, chair, and things like that. It's a lot of work to find something on Facebook marketplace or Craiglist. And then the person you are speaking to just ghosts you. Or you drive there and the person already sold to someone else. My rule is if the person is not willing to give you their phone number, I won't make the effort to go pick up an item. I have a copy paste line that I to them and many understand, some don't.
We also go to Goodwill about once a month to find household items like an electric pressure cooker or microwave when some of our own things break. A lot of those trips are wasted. Sometimes we find that it's important to plan ahead with what you need. We buy used costumes for Halloween when we see them rather than wait till September.
Our portfolio is now in seven figures, so sometimes we question the effort we spend in such things, but I remind myself that we got to this level by saving, not by spending. So we want to continue buy used but not spend as much time/effort as before.
So I'm curious anyone has tips to buy used stuff that minimizes time and effort.
Statistics: Posted by snic — Wed Jul 17, 2024 11:46 am — Replies 14 — Views 591