In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, new plastic iPhones 5C are displayed during a media event held in Beijing, China. Last year, eager buyers in Beijing waited overnight in freezing weather to buy the iPhone 4S. Pressure to get it — and the profit to be made by reselling scarce phones — prompted some to pelt the store with eggs when Apple, worried about the size of the crowd, postponed opening. Just 18 months later, many Chinese gadget lovers responded with a shrug this week when Apple Inc. unveiled two new versions of the iPhone 5. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Buying secondhand has become a first choice for saving money, either out of necessity for people or because they’re thrifty. But buying used doesn’t necessarily mean rummaging around a musty old thrift store.
Men’s dress clothes are a great buy at thrift shops. They’re usually in fantastic shape because few men dress up for work anymore. Instead, today’s standard office outfit usually includes khaki pants and a golf shirt.
The flipside of that is you probably won’t find good men’s casual clothing at a thrift shop because guys tend to wear their casual clothes until they’re threadbare.
Women, however, usually cycle through clothes more quickly and you can find some good outfits used.
If you’re looking for children’s clothing, try ThredUp.com. You can buy everything from 12 months to size 20 at discounts up to 80% off retail—all without leaving your home to go to a thrift store!
You may also want to check out ShopGoodwill.com, which is like an eBay of sorts for Goodwills from across the country.
If you want the best deals, find a thrift store that sells by the pound. Typical prices might include clothes, shoes, and purses for $1.49 a pound and tools and toys for a $1.29 pound.
2. Gift cards
I know it sounds weird to think of buying a “used” gift card; “pre-owned” is probably a better term. There’s a whole resale market for cards that other people have gotten as gifts that they either can’t or don’t want to use.
Each of these websites sells gift cards at up to 30% off their face value. The cards are typically guaranteed to work for up 180 days after purchase, though you should check the individual website’s policy to confirm.
If you’re into cheap, legitimate music buying, there’s an opportunity to snap up pre-owned digital music for as little as 49 cents per track.
ReDigi.com allows you to either buy used MP3s or sell the ones you’ve got that you no longer want. Because this is all digital, there’s no loss of sound quality like there might be with a used CD, tape, or vinyl record.
Finding the right price when you’re buying a new car is pretty easy. But finding the right price for a used car? Not so much…until now.
CarGurus.com lets you put in your zip code and the make/model of the pre-owned vehicle you’re interested in at their website. Then they’ll comb through some 2 million listings available on published databases and rate the vehicles available for sale with notations of “great price,” “good price,” “fair price,” and on down.
This gives you the ability to find a price that is a diamond in the rough and to weed out what would be lousy deals. Another way to find a deal is to use Carvana.com, which has a 7-day no questions asked return policy. It’s kind of like the Carmax of the online used car buying world.
Losing weight is the top New Year’s resolution every year — and later, when people forget that resolution, you can score a great deal.
Indestructible things like dumbbells are the safest bet. You’ll probably want to test out more complicated machines in person. And stick to the tried and true types of equipment found in gyms, rather than oddball as-seen-on-TV equipment that makes over-the-top fitness claims. You can typically save 50 percent or more if you check old standbys like Play It Again Sports or eBay.
6. Jewelry
They say diamonds are forever, but you may decide that new diamonds are never when you hear the price differences.
The industry likes to claim that diamonds appreciate in value, but really, they have a pretty dismal resale value — which is great for buyers.
Also, diamonds, other gems, gold and silver never wear out.
Just make sure you’re buying from a reputable seller and pay with a credit card so you can dispute the charges if necessary.
One example: a Tiffany ring, 3/4 karat, good quality. New: almost $5,000. Used on eBay: $2,500. Even big name outlets can have incredible deals on those engagement rings that just weren’t meant to be.
7. Books
We can learn a lesson from students, who have been purchasing used text books for years.
Go to Amazon, Powells.com and Alibris.com to find used versions of everything from the latest bestseller to a classic at a fraction of the retail price for a new book. The books may not be in mint condition, but if you’re more interested in what’s inside the book than the beauty of its cover, going used is a great option.
8. Electronics
Many people shy away from used electronics, fearing that they’re buying another person’s problems. The truth is that manufacturers take back products for a myriad of reasons — everything from a box dented in shipping to a scratch on the unit’s cover to a problem with a device that’s fixed with a replacement part.
The savings can be significant. For example, a refurbished iMac with a 27-inch screen is listed at the Apple Store for $1,400 — a $400 savings. The key to buying refurbished is the warranty. Make sure that it covers any problem relating to the refurbishing.
