5 Things I Bought New and Wish I Hadn’t

October 19, 2007 · Filed Under · 14 Comments 

My 5 year old son played his first year of tee-ball this past spring and when a kid would swing and miss the coach would yell “do-over, try it again Timmy!”  Boy, I wish I had a few “do-over” cards in my wallet. I would use them to call a do-over on some of my bad buying decision that I made over the past several years. Here are my 5 “do-overs”, all of which had cheaper used alternatives.

  1. My 2004 Chevy 2500 Crew Cab Truck. I love my truck, don’t get me wrong, living on 3 acres I use it all the time to haul firewood, rock, gravel, bark, luggage for a family of 5, you get the point. But if I could do it over, I would have done more research before I bought it. I knew I wanted the Crew Cab with the 4 standard sized doors, it was the only way we could get all of us in the truck with child seats to go anywhere together. But I failed to do my research because little did I know that the following year Chevy was going to come out with the 1500 Crew Cab which cost a lot less than my gas guzzler, plus it got better gas mileage due to the smaller engine. I am sure that I could have found this out and waited another six months for it to hit the dealerships. But I was impulsive and my brain got caught up in the ‘I want it now’ mentality. At the very least I should have researched a used crew cab truck with 20k to 30k miles on it and saved a lot of money that way.
  2. Gold’s Gym Weight Set. This is a no brainer, I bought this set new at Wal-Mart for $139, a few weeks later I saw it at Play It Again Sports for $69, and it was in excellent shape. This really holds true for all sporting goods. You can always get a great deal on used stuff at Play It Again, eBay, Craig’s List, etc.
  3. Apple iPod MP3 Player. If you are interested in getting an iPod, check the Apple Store online because they have some great deals on refurbished iPods that come with the full 1-year manufacturers warranty and are Apple certified. I wish I had done this, I would have saved $50 on my 30GB iPod.
  4. Jeans, any kind of jeans. Why would you ever pay full retail price for a pair of jeans when you can get the more popular, worn in pair, at any thrift store across the country. I noticed the other day at the mall that a store was selling a pair of holy (not religious), faded, worn hems, with paint splattered on them for $49.99. Heck, I can buy a similar pair at Goodwill for $5 and add my own semi-gloss at home….I will never buy new jeans again!
  5. Books, CDs, and DVDs. I was waiting for my connecting flight at the San Francisco airport on Monday and was killing time in the airport music store, the store should have been called Ripoff Tunes. They wanted $19.99 for a music CD! Now I realize it is the airport, but even your discount stores sell new CDs for close to $15. Never again, especially since most CDs only have 1 or 2 songs that I like. Nowadays I just download the songs I want for .99  cents each. I use buy.com, iTunes Store, and Amazon.com. Cheaper alternatives to “new” abound for books and DVDs as well, I will shop at used bookstores and buy used DVDs. Just make sure to check the back of the DVDs for scratches.

Give me your list of stuff that should be bought used instead of new. Furniture, artwork, and home decor also comes to mind. Come on, did you acutally buy that talking fish hanging from your living room wall new!

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Comments

14 Responses to “5 Things I Bought New and Wish I Hadn’t”

  1. Mrs. Micah on October 19th, 2007 4:10 am

    I also like used jeans. There’s normally something in good condition…I haven’t bought them from a “real” store in years.

    Used furniture is normally a bargain unless there’s a “look” you’re going for.

    Used electronics are touch-and-go…the refurbished iPod sounds good, but a used tv is taking a chance.

    My two cents.

  2. Kyle on October 19th, 2007 7:12 am

    MM, Agree on the electronics, never sure exactly what you are getting if you buy it used.

    A couple other things that you can typically find good value on is kids/baby clothes and toys. My mom has always found good baby stuff at Thrift stores for us.

  3. Jennifer on October 19th, 2007 9:10 am

    I’m so with you on trucks AND jeans. I thought I got a good deal on a 1 year old, very low miles truck until the 2nd year depreciation hit. OUCH. And my latest pair of jeans are GAP, very comfy, like new, and cost me only $5. They retail for $65.

  4. Kyle on October 19th, 2007 12:12 pm

    Nice find on the jeans!

    It seems that Japanese cars hold their value better. My wife has a Toyota Sienna and it has really held its value well.

  5. Andrew on October 19th, 2007 1:34 pm

    Being a comic book fan/collector, I’ve bought plenty of used books. That just comes with the territory. I agree with most of your list, Kyle, though like MM said, you have to be real careful with electronics. Refurbished ipods direct from Apple I could see trusting. But I don’t even like buying used video games from stores like GameStop. I know they’re way cheaper, but I’ve been burned way too many times getting my hands on a game that was a bit more scratched than I originally thought it was…

  6. Kyle on October 19th, 2007 2:52 pm

    Good point on the used games. I have a couple younger cousins who are big gamers and the way they treat their games would make me hesitate on buying used games and CDs. I would definitely buy used games from a place like Gamestop that has a guarantee that the games will actually work.

  7. Kandy on October 19th, 2007 7:21 pm

    Things I buy used more often than new:

    *books (especially hardcover, first edition…those are my addiction)
    *comic books
    *furniture (the only *new* furniture I’ve bought in almost 7 years was my recliner, and I got it for 75% off during a huge clearance sale)
    *vehicles (we went to buy a new van in 2002 after the birth of our 3rd child and walked out with a 4 month old, 8000 mile, fully loaded van for almost $11,000 cheaper than it sold for originally)
    *groceries…yes, groceries. Not *new* but not really *used* either. I LOVE our salvage grocery. The packaging may be damaged or ugly, but the food inside is still pristine and can be had for 50-80% off
    *jeans, dresses, shirts. NO shoes or underwear though.

    That’s all I can think of off-hand.

    Fun topic :)

  8. FourPillars on October 19th, 2007 8:24 pm

    Some great suggestions.

    Offhand I’d say any kind of baby stuff (except maybe soothers…) can be bought used.

    Furniture – yes – hard to buy if you want something specific but if you aren’t picky then you’ll get a great deal.

    Books – I’ve started getting books out of the library this year and needless to say it’s a lot cheaper than buying. It’s also easier to read more because you don’t have to worry so much if the book will be “worth it”. I also take a look at yard sales, but this is only worthwhile if you like popular books.

    Mike

  9. dong on October 20th, 2007 4:07 pm

    Yeah i think with digital media like CDs, DVDs, and video games, there’s really not much reason to buy new unless it’s just to get at release. That said, the used prices often aren’t a gigantic discount.

  10. Mrs. Micah on October 20th, 2007 4:14 pm

    I was thinking about this and I think a good way to buy used/new music is using iTunes and other such programs. That way you can buy only what you want. Full albums are also often cheaper than in stores. Plus they’re burnable if you want a hardcopy.

  11. Kyle on October 21st, 2007 9:12 pm

    @ Four Pillars, good call on the library, funny how the old method is often better than the new “cool” way. We have a new library where I live and it is a great place to get kids interested in reading as well.

    @ Dong, yeah the savings is not huge by any stretch of the imagination but it can add up.

    @ MM, I do this all the time as well, a much cheaper way to go as many CDs only have 2-3 good songs I want on them.

  12. Peggy on November 6th, 2007 9:17 pm

    Why stop at jeans?? I clothe myself, 2 daughters and husband for very little… the only thing we buy new are his jeans and boots for work. When I was a kid- we got hand-me-downs from the cousins, and how I loved that soft, broken-in feel of those new (to me) clothes!! I still love it!! Plus, everything I buy at the thrift store, I know is most likely not going to shrink any more or bleed color when I wash it! Two of the main things I hate about buying new! And I’ve taught my kids that it’s like going on a treasure hunt, you never know what you’ll find at the thrift store!!
    Most recent celebrated acquisition?? A bag ful of kitchen cupboard handles for $5 (by my estimate worth about $75-$80). I was going to replace my nasty ones anyway, and I only had to buy 3 more, and they were easy to match! They are already on and look great!! My old ones went right back in the bag and are going back to the thrift store, just in case someone else has worse ones than mine were… lol

  13. Jenn on January 16th, 2008 5:43 pm

    Really, there’s not much that I haven’t bought used, although I head to the thrift store often enough that, inevitably, the things I need will show up sooner or later. But, my best things to thrift are:
    - clothes (for many of the reasons already listed – I have a lovely, flattering wardrobe of stuff that hasn’t cost me more than $10 per piece)
    - kitchenware (I love my cheap cast iron pots and pans and solid silver silverware)
    - bikes (especially if you or someone you know can repair them)

  14. Courtney McLaughlin on June 19th, 2008 12:50 pm

    Hello!
    If anybody is looking for some inventive ideas on how to make your house more beautiful while saving money, read “The Little Book of Thrifty Fixes for the Home” by Bridget Bodoano. She recommends using maps for wallpaper (I have seen this at a teahouse near my home and it looks really cool) and tablecloths or sheets as curtains. Curtain shopping is always a nightmare because they’re sooo expensive and ugly, but after reading the book I’m excited to go shopping for sheets to hang in my windows!

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