In this day and age, everyone wants things brand new. While that would be nice, it just doesn’t add up a lot of the times… especially if it’s technically aligned items. Their values hold worse than a car! 😮
So what’s a guy to do? Be thrifty, that’s what. Koreans (in Korea) look down on buying used stuff. I disagree and good chunk of Americans disagree as well. What’s wrong with paying at least 1/4 to 1/3 off just because it’s been used a bit? I’m not ashamed to admit that I buy used things.
However, you can’t just blindly go buy things… you have to use your brains still. So here are some of my own tips.
- Check weekly ads (best comparison site is www.salescircular.com)
- See what they go for online and retail (My fav. site for that is www.pricegrabber.com)
- Then look for how much it goes for on eBay and Craigslist. (remember, Craigslist is under .org and not .com!)
- See who has the best price.
- Last but not least, I love one particular online forums site where there’s a LOT of FS (For Sale) traffic… Anandtech Forums.
Some safety pointers…
- Check seller’s feedback on eBay. For other sites like forums, there’s feedback system called heatware.
- If it’s too good to be true (on eBay and Craigslist), it’s very likely that it is.
- If you are buying/selling something locally, try to meet at a common public places to buy/trade!
- If you are selling something online, be sure to get good estimates on SHIPPING cost!!
- Sometimes, it IS cheaper to buy at retail stores!
- Set a price you want to buy it for and stick to it!
- You can haggle online forums and Craigslist.org for lower prices but be reasonable!
- When selling, avoid eBay. Sell via Craigslist first to avoid listing fees, selling fees, AND PayPal fees!
- If selling online other than eBay, and you take PayPal, setup a separate PERSONAL account and only accept non-credit card payments (otherwise, Paypal/eBay take another 4 to 5% of the fees!! 🙁
In the end, just use your head and common sense… 🙂 Happy hunting!