Money is getting harder and harder to get. People have resorted to working double or even triple jobs just to meet all their financial demands. Other people may have already started taking out loans to help pay for the things they need and want.
And of course, we cannot forget the hustle that other people go through when they need to start selling their own things to make ends meet. So in this time of always having to save and watch our spending, many of us have resorted to purchasing secondhand items to help our finances.
However, when is it actually better to buy secondhand items? Should we even consider buying secondhand? And is buying things new actually the way to go? In this short guide, we will go into detail on why purchasing secondhand items is and is not a great idea.
And to help your future purchasing decisions, you will need to assess these three things.
Quality
Just because it is cheap, does not mean it is worth the purchase. Many people have learned this the hard way, and maybe you have to, at some point in your life. For example, instead of buying a cheap knockoff of your phone’s charger, why not buy the original, albeit more expensive one?
At least you know that the quality is there and will not fail on you when you most need it. The same can be said for secondhand items. If you want quality, then you should probably skip out on secondhand items.
As the name suggests, it has already been used. And you will not be entirely sure on whether or not the previous owner took better care of it. However, there are those rare finds that a secondhand item looks and works just like its newly-bought counterpart. You just need to be more selective of what you buy.
Check out the seller
Not all secondhand sellers can be trusted. Like what was written earlier, you could be getting a cheap knockoff or a really worn-down item. So to avoid getting the short end of the stick, you will need to do some digging and check whether or not the seller can be trusted.
On the other hand, you will not experience such things on authorised or legitimate stores and sellers. For example, you will always get a quality vehicle from authorised Holden dealers here in NZ. If you want to push your luck with secondhand cars, clothes, gadgets and everything else, you will need to research about the seller.
Otherwise, just stick with the official stores and retailers.
Longevity of use
Tying in quite nicely with quality is to check the item’s longevity of use. You see, the odds are that a secondhand item will probably not live long enough after you purchase it. It has already seen its fair share of use.
If you are looking for a secondhand item to serve as a momentary relief like an immediate replacement phone, then secondhand will work nice for you. However, if you want your items to stand the test of time, then shopping for new products should be your go-to.
Money is hard to come by, yes. However, choosing to buy secondhand items might cost you more than you think. We need to be smarter with our purchases. And with this guide, we hope that you can be.
