by Texas Homesteader ~
Buying pre-owned products is good for the environment AND your budget! But how do you know you’re getting a product that will last?
We have a system for finding the perfect high-quality products at the lowest price. (Hint: When researching a potential purchase we look at price LAST although it’s still most often cheaper!)
(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)
Why Buying Pre-Owned Is Eco Friendly?
There are several reasons buying used items is the eco-friendly choice. In most occasions buying used products as these earth-friendly benefits:
Contain no Packaging if buying at thrift stores, yard sales, etc.
No Additional Item Need Be Manufactured – So no additional resources used to manufacture my item, package & ship it to multiple warehouse/retail locations before finally being purchased by me.
Is Buying Used Items Is Cheaper?
Well, not always I suppose based on the item you’re buying and the location from which you’re purchasing. But I’ve found in nearly 100% of the cases, items I buy used (but like new) are significantly cheaper than buying that same item new!
Where Can I Shop For Pre-Owned Products?
My favorite places to shop for used products are:
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Thrift Stores
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Antique Stores
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Yard Sales
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Ebay
- Craigslist
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Poshmark
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Consignment Stores
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Find the avenue that suits you best. I personally prefer thrift stores because they often also support causes I care about so I usually start there and go down the list.
What About The Quality Of Used Items?
You’ll obviously want to do your research to make sure you’re buying the quality you need. But I’ve found that vintage items are often higher quality than newer items.
In my experience the old adage “They just don’t make ’em like they used to” is really true.
How To Research Future Product Purchases
When we make a purchase we always do our research first.
First consideration is given to products with a high level of customer satisfaction, narrowed down by features we desire and only lastly, cost.
I think oftentimes if you put importance on price first you’ll end up with a cheaper product for sure. But it won’t necessarily be a quality product or something that will even be worth the low cost you paid!
Cheaply-made products tend to frustrate me as they underperform until they break prematurely requiring me to throw them away and buy again. That’s not cheaper at all!
I don’t want to buy a cheap product, I want to buy high quality products at the cheapest price.
See the difference?
Shopping For A New Percolator
Recently we were in the market for a new coffee percolator. You can still easily buy a high-quality *Coffee Percolator online. And there are many models to choose from too. RancherMan researched all of them, looking first at customer satisfaction ratings.
RancherMan then searched for the best retail establishments to actually buy. There are many considerations to be made for the best possible purchase.
Lower Price – The same product may be different prices at different locations.
Cheaper Shipping – don’t forget to consider any shipping costs if you’re ordering online.
Gift Cards – If we find our item at a store where we currently hold a gift card less would be required from our monthly budget.
Buying Pre-Owned: Higher Quality At Lower Price!
We’d researched & made our decision for the best-quality percolator we wanted as well as the store from which we wanted to buy. RancherMan was just about to place the order.
When he was almost ready to ‘add to cart’, he decided to check one more place to make sure he was getting the best price.
RancherMan knows I have an eco bend. And he knows how important it is to me to buy used whenever possible.
So he did a quick search for the exact same model on ebay. SCORE! He found a 12-cup FarberWare percolator that was in pristine condition.
Isn’t she a beauty?
Exactly what we wanted, in like-new but used condition for a mere fraction of the cost of buying new.
Now this makes my heart happy. I always prefer pre-owned when making a purchase. It’s good for our budget and the environment. And we ended up with a mighty fine high-quality percolator to boot.
So in the end a little research before buying checked off all the important boxes for us. A large stainless steel 12-cup percolator coffee pot in excellent condition for 1/2 price.
Oh be still my crunchy-green heart!
So before you make that purchase, consider buying pre-owned. Whether Buying at a Thrift Store or online, buying used can be good for your wallet AND the environment!
~TxH~
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Heya Tammy,
I am frustrated. I always like to buy gently used items. Right now I am in need of a food processor. I will search for it for a long time and get impatient. How long do you wait before you just throw up your hands and buy it? I usually find a thing like a coffee pot or crock pot fairly quickly, but not having the food processor is causing me grief. lol.
Well Laurel, there are several avenues I use. First are thrift stores, but like you say – sometimes it’s hard to find what you want when you need it. Second option for us is typically ebay and it works well for us for buying used. But depending upon what you’re looking for, heavier things cost so much to ship that it’s not really feasible sometimes. Third is putting out word to your friends & family. Oftentimes they have that one thing you need just sitting in a cabinet – wanting to get rid of it. You’d be surprised at the success rate of this one, so give this option a try if the other options don’t work. Finally when all other avenues fail we’ll buy new after doing our research & finding the highest-quality product. Good luck! ~TxH~
I had bought a used percolator about 6-8 months ago. I works but it just doesn’t make Hot coffee. It’s more like luke warm. If I’m going to have coffee, I like mine Hot. As of right now mine is stored away cause just don’t have the heart to throw it away. I may use it as a plant container or make into a bird house or something.
It just won’t be found in the landfill.
We’ve had that problem in the past too Colleen. In our case it has typically been either the heating element or the thermostat. RancherMan looked up our Percolator’s make & model number & then looked for the part on ebay. It was very inexpensive and super easy to change out. He’s done minor repairs on various percolators many times over the years and always comments that it’s very quick & easy to do. So don’t give up on your percolator yet! ~TxH~