No one can argue that the world is going through a tough economic period and every little coin saved helps a long way.
In such tough times people are definitely looking for ways to keep things within budget. There is an increase in the outlets providing consumers a variety of used products, both online and in the high street. Following is the list of ten most common stuff extensively bought as ‘used’, around the world.
- Clothes
You can easily find people around you buying very expensive torn jeans and stained shirts while feeling proud about it. This has been a phenomenon for a while now, but nothing can replace the authenticity and originality. If you can rise above the illusionary clouds of brands and trends, you can certainly achieve authenticity by buying stuff that has seen the good and bad times. Places like ‘Garment Districts’ with branches in New York and Boston, sell old and used clothing according to weight. Though undergarments must always be bought new, old military jacket and used torn jeans can certainly beat any expensive high street brand.
- Sports Equipment
If you conduct a survey of the parents’ preferences for their kids’ interests, sports equipment would definitely end up last. Reason being that sports gear’s price can quickly mount to thousands of dollars over the years. But let’s fast forward to the time when we are grown up and still can not get rid of the craving for sports’ stuff. The best way to satisfy the craving without hitting rock bottom is to go for the used sports equipment. Places like EBay and Craigslist are helping millions around the world to buy the sports’ gear of their choice with much less pressure on the wallet.
- Movies
If you have planned a movie marathon with your mates, it will be more economical if you opt for DVD rather than Blu-ray. Undoubtedly, Blu-ray is trendy and is widely sold image quality; however high quality and demand contribute to high prices. But if you treasure the actual movie experience over sharper image quality, you can certainly fill a rucksack of DVDs with a price of one Blu-ray movie. Once again eBay is doing a great service by providing a platform to buy all kinds of DVDs for a fraction of Blu-ray price. (TopTenz)
- Video Games
The video games craze hit the teenage mind in the late eighties and has since been successfully ruling our better sides. Especially some are fully capitalizing on our religious dedication to videogames. Keeping up with the gaming habit could easily drive you to the depths of debts, unless you have a good paying job. But there is certainly an ‘upside’ to the flux of expensive games and over the top costly game consoles. Due to a culture of continuous upgrading of the game versions and gaming platforms, you can always find yourself a used video game or a console that people might be selling after they bought the latest installment.
- Music Records
Though some people may think that music records have long been obsolete and that the records’ era is buried somewhere in the 80’s, however, they could not be more wrong. Records never became obsolete; they are rather more relevant now then they have ever been before. Thanks to YouTube and other video sharing platforms across the World Wide Web, people need these records to dig out some of the classics from as far back as 20’s and 30’s. This surge of availability also evokes an interest among music enthusiasts who are willing to pay anything to buy some of the great records from the past. One must grab as many classic records as possible before they become rare and expensive. There is no shortage of the places selling old records, ranging from online shops to high street music giants.
- Musical Equipment
Over the last few years technology has seen a dramatic surge and previously inconceivable things have now become possible. Due to YouTube and social media revolution more and more people now have platforms for exposure. Music industry welcomes new and upcoming talented artists with open arms. This has certainly created more music enthusiasts. If you are a beginner in the art of music, investing a fortune on equipment may not be the best idea. Brand new music equipmentstarts from thousands of dollars. Buying a used guitar, recording studios, or even a microphone is not just healthy for your passion, but also ‘pocket friendly’.
- Textbooks
Perhaps the most widely bought item in the world are used text books. There are a variety of reasons as to why buying a used textbook is a brilliant idea. First and foremost is the fact that textbooks do not really change on yearly basis, hence they stay relevant for a fair bit of time. Secondly, most of the students write notes on their books that could help you in your study as well. And the most important part of getting a used textbook is that you can always resell them and could get big chunk of your money back.
- Computers
Macbooks have become a growing ‘phenomenon’ these days, the prices of a brand new Macbook has consequently reached well over a thousand dollars. Going for a used Macbook is more sensible thing to do and opting for a refurbished machine from the company itself, is even better. In the refurbished machine old and used parts are installed and are rigorously tested to make its functionality close to a brand new hardware as much as possible.
- Video Game Consoles
Modern day gladiators and Knights reside in our video game consoles, owned and controlled by ordinary people. Video game culture has now become an epidemic and a variety of different brands compete each other for the fresh and the trendiest consoles. This could turn into your favor, as regular launches of upgraded consoles quickly make the last year’s hardware obsolete. If you are not particularly fussy about shiny, and boxed consoles you can get yourself a reasonable bargain on used consoles and could still drive in the ‘relevancy lane’.
- Cars
The car advertisements are too Hollywood, and you can instantly tell that not everyone test drives their car in Antarctic or throw it from a roof of a skyscraper. In reality you can save a ton of bucks buying a used car and there are plenty of places that sell such cars. Whether you need a box on four wheels that could transport you from point A to B, or you want a decent car to drive your family through the country, there is a chance you can get whatever you seek in a pretty reasonable price.