Buying Used

Surely everyone has heard of the cash for clunkers program that was going on recently. The government funded program where you could bring your car into the dealership and get a rebate on a new one. Then they had to crush the old car. The whole time this was going on I was amazed at the turnout. I can’t believe that so many people would buy new cars when used ones are so much cheaper even without the rebate. Why would anyone be willing to spend over 20,000 dollars on a new car when they could get one that runs perfectly fine for 3000? I’m not so materialistic that I have to go out and buy a brand new mustang even though a massive amount of people drive them. Honestly, I’d be content with a geo metro as long as it ran alright.

I really don’t know why more people don’t buy more of their shit used. It’s not like it would kill them to take a trip to Goodwill or a pawn shop every once in a while.

With so many people complaining about the economy, it would make sense for them to go out and buy some used stuff instead of buying all of their stuff new. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper. If you think you’re too good for Goodwill or similar places then there are places like Plato’s Closet that carry lightly used name brand clothes. Most people have enough common sense to take care of their stuff and it's not like a store would buy it from them if it was messed up anyways. Even if it was defective most stores have a return policy. I always regret it when I find something cheaper at another store; whether it’s used or new.

Every once in a while (usually when I become extremely bored) I’ll save up and then spend a large (at least to me) amount of money on something to occupy my time. On my most recent splurge bought a brand new Yamaha bass. I’m kind of ashamed of how much I paid for it but it was definitely worth it to me. But about a week later I took a trip to another guitar store and found that they had the same bass that I had just bought new available used for about 200 dollars less. Now it had a few dents and scratches, but the sound is the only thing that matters to me. It was too late to do anything about it though. I just had to deal with a $200 dollar loss that could have gone toward pedals. Things like that happen once in a while and it just bugs me when I don’t try to find it used first. I just assume that it would be difficult to actually find something I want instead of just picking things I like out of what they have.

If you don’t care about the money, then you could do it for the environment. If you buy something used from the store you’re saving it from going to the dump as well as another from being manufactured. My phone would have been 50 dollars new but I just got the refurb version for free and it works fine. Now I guess your could argue that reducing production of products would reduce jobs but if they had them handmade instead of by machines it would increase the jobs. There are too many things that affect job availability to get away with placing the blame on certain things. Buying used should be considered more environmentally friendly than buying products made with recycled materials. Especially since most of the time they just put a price tag on a used product while recycled materials have to be processed and made into new things.

The best thing I like about buying used is that usually the stuff comes with “no frills.” It lacks all the fancy features used as selling points on new products. I’m perfectly fine with having just what I need. For example my car still has a cassette player. Also, the gas gauge, rear windshield wipers, and some other little things don’t work that well which made it a lot cheaper. When you get a new car you’re paying for On-star service, Bluetooth compatibility, heated seats and all of that other stuff you don’t really need to get from point a to point b. Why should you pay for that extra technology when all you really need is a car?

I guess that I’ve just grown tired of everyone always flaunting their new things at my high school. I’ve always been fine with buying my clothes as cheap as I can no matter what brand. I’ve never really cared where it came from as long as it worked. Hell, I have some clothes from Goodwill and consignment shops, I doubt if you could tell them apart from my newer clothes. Buying used things is definitely better than buying them brand new imo.



By: Matt Graham