why do people think second hand is manky?

You wouldn’t notice if someone was wearing second hand unless it was pointed out though

I don’t know that many people who turn their nose up at second hand anymore. The ones that do tend to be a bit thick. I wouldn’t get second hand ending or underwear though. I buy second hand shoes but trainers or converse that I will risk in the washing machine if they are cheap enough

Lol I just seen this post people can be disgusting at times and yes I've brought second hand all my life but not anymore people are too dirty I'm not risking infestations in my place I miss the old days when people had respect for what they are selling you don't know what you are bringing back to your home in this day age and depends what area you live in 👍

People talking of childhood memories reminds me of a vivid memory of my own childhood.

We were not poor by any mark, my parents were boomers who were careful with their money and while we werent rich, we never went without.

A girl in my sisters year at school lived down the road from us. My sister got nits and her mum and our mum were talking and mum was moaning about the cost of nit lotion, girls mum said she had some that mum could have which was a nice thing to do and mum was grateful. Girl then told the whole year that we were poor as her mum had had to give our mum nit lotion as we couldnt afford it. My sister said "Well she said she had it left over as you had nits so you must have given them to me". My sister was mad that we were being called poor, and the girl ended up being called "Claire who has nits" forever. It wasnt Dsis intention to do that but be careful what you say!

Weirdly, I went to a parents evening with DD a few years back and "Claire who has nits" was her English Teacher! I freely admitted to DD, Ma and DSis that I couldnt remember a thing she had said about DD as all I could think about was the bitch way she had tried to take Dsis and our mother down and failed!

I can't stand second hand clothes and will never buy I can vividly remember been bullied at high school for having second hand clothes by two girls from the family that had given my mum the clothes. I donate good clean clothes to charity shops but I'll never buy. If people give us clothes I thank them but pass them straight on to the charity shop.

Who would want a half used bottle of shampoo for (say) 20p? A woman who needs to wash her kids hair after she has been to the food bank and cant afford the £1 a full bottle would cost.

My very posh freind in an affluent part of London, shops exclusively in second hand shops and junk/antique shops. She says the less she spends on herself, the more she can spend on her pets, animal charities and rescue centres.

That’s the thing @WhereAreMyAirpods people often buy stuff not for themselves but for how it will show off to others their status in society. I don’t give a shit of others know my clothes are second hand, if they judge me for that then they’re idiots anyway. But I had to outgrow that mindset that your in laws family still has, and now that I’m in my 30s I no longer care for labels or status, only for quality. And I love paying less for quality so the second hand shop is my favorite place to shop now 😄

When I was poor everything had to be second hand as I couldn't afford anything else. But I got a thrill from a bargain so didn't feel ashamed or anything.

Things I wanted new (or did without), bras (sizing more than anything), underwear, breast pump, cutlery, brushes, mattress, sheets, duvet/pillows, closed shoes (sandals ok).

The worst thing I've seen in a charity shop was an opened and used bottle of shampoo. I mean who would donate/ want that? (Not a nice brand)

Because sometimes they are manky. Of course not always.

and because some people have really skewed ideas about germs and cleanliness and post a lot on mn to make others doubt themselves.

Actually many second hand clothes have hardly been worn yet they are on the second hand rack for huge discounts to new.I have no compunction whatsoever buying second hand clothes and shoes for that matter. Some look as though they have only been used once. Wherearemyairpods is right. Some people don't want to be seen anywhere by second hand yet will let their children wear rags. Doesn't make sense. The children don't care unless the mother has engrained into them that second hand is a NO NO. The only thing I would not by are personal under garment attire. and other clothes that have obviously been well worn.

It feels good to buy secondhand when you have the choice but not when you don't.
You can potentially come unstuck with woodworm and bed bugs though.

I couldn't care less about what other people think about buying second hand. However, on saying that if I go to the second hand mart I will park my Lexus in some obscure spot so as not to be noticed. I can't see the point in paying over the top for new when I can buy excellent second hand clothes with exclusive labels for a fraction of the cost. For my children and myself.

My job brings me in and out of peoples homes and many other people's hygiene is beyond questionable - I've seen shit of floors and beds, utter utter grime, rodents, smells that would make you heave - then there is the nits, bed bugs, cockroaches.....it's unreasonable but it's ruined the 2nd hand market for me unless I know the person I'm afraid.

As someone with OCD about germs i can kind of see both sides. There are certain items i would never buy second hand, but plenty that i would and do!

Yes: Jewellery (i LOVE a bargain vintage gemstone ring, so much cheaper than new) Clothing, games consoles/games, dvd's, and even shoes (i like to collect fancy heels, especially iron fist) providing they're very good condition and only tried on/worn a few times. You'd be surprised how many gorgeous pairs are bought and only worn for one/a few special occasions then rot in a cupboard. All get wiped down well with antibac wipes/washed with a bit of laundry sanitiser.

No: Books (too many people read on the loo!) Dry clean only clothing, and soft furnishings (sofas, mattresses, anything that cannot be put into a washing machine) cars.

Basically, if it can be fully cleaned and sanitised either by being a hard material and antibac wipes, or washing machine with sanitiser, then yes. Anything that cannot be sanitised/washed, no. Sofas/mattresses/seats in second hand cars, you never know if someone has had an accident and peed/crapped on it and it's soaked in beyond the surface you can wipe. As such we had to throw a 3 piece suite armchair away in great condition when keeping the rest of the set after someone passed out and wet themself in it, and it soaked down the sides and back of the seat into the foam. Had quite the shock when it showed up in a skip outside our house 10 years later! Someone saw it at the end of the alley and took it, said people eventually ended up renting next door and left it behind when they moved out. (was custom made so def same chair!)

To be honest, I had that attitude too for years. It was more snobbishness coming from a place of insecurity then anything else. These days I love second hand shopping and the majority of my clothes comes from charity shops. Though I do draw the line at second hand shoes, I do find that idea a bit unhygienic and I also think the shoe probably is shaped to the previous owners feet. But clothing is fine for me. Everything goes in a washing with some oxygen bleech for desinfection as soon as I get home and after line drying it has zero smell left if there was any.

@TheLionTheWitchAndTheChesterDraws . You have no idea about other people's backgrounds either. Many of us grew up in the same way that you did. Many of us learned from that, that there is nothing wrong in wearing something pre-worn, or using furniture that someone has given you, and that is a very sensible way (or, in my case at least, the only way to manage on a tight budget. Then, as life has become more comfortable over the decades, you realise it just makes more sense to pay a fraction of the cost for the same thing.

FFS. Did you actually read what I wrote? The whole thing? Do you seriously think I believe that I’m the only Mumsnetter on a forum of thousands and thousands of users who grew up without a pot to pee in? I’m not making assumptions about anyone’s financial circumstances or their up bringing and I’m not judging you. Or anyone else who buys things second hand, irrespective of their financial circumstances. Crack on. How you spend your money is sod all to do with me. What I have got an issue with is people judging ME (and others who react the same way as me for the same reasons) and thinking that I’m stupid because I struggle to do the same thing. As I said earlier, it’s a personal reaction and one that I’m fully aware is not entirely rational. I may not have a degree but I understand the concept that buying second hand means that expensive items can be bought cheaply. That knowledge still doesn’t stop me from preferring to go without rather than have second hand stuff.

This is what I have observed too.

The only people I know who refused out grown / no longer used things for their baby (from close relations or friends, not even charity shops or bought at sales or on-line) were the couple where she became pregnant early in their relationship / had no home / she wasn't working - people who actually had the least in life.

@TheLionTheWitchAndTheChesterDraws . You have no idea about other people's backgrounds either. Many of us grew up in the same way that you did. Many of us learned from that, that there is nothing wrong in wearing something pre-worn, or using furniture that someone has given you, and that is a very sensible way (or, in my case at least, the only way to manage on a tight budget. Then, as life has become more comfortable over the decades, you realise it just makes more sense to pay a fraction of the cost for the same thing.

I'm ok with second hand but it's such an effort to find decent things. I've posted about this in a bit of rage before ... but charity shops seem to have this new thing of arranging clothing by colour on rails all crammed in very closely together, rather than by size or type of garment.

This ^ give me the rage too. Fortunately where I live, there are plenty of charity shops so I am able to use those that display clothes sensibly.
To be fair, in the giant M&S near here, it is overwhelmingly difficult to think "I need a pair of work trousers so I can go to this rail" - they have multiple different 'areas' the trousers might be in and it is a nightmare trying to look through them all.

And my life experience has taught me that people are quick to leap to conclusions when they’re missing half the facts.

So far, nobody has read my reasons for not wanting second hand stuff and has commented that I’m an idiot for only wanting new. And I’m happy to explain my reasons because I don’t know who you are and you don’t know who I am. But if we’d been chatting over a cup of coffee, I wouldn’t have disclosed my reasons to you. I would have been far too ashamed and simply would have said that I’d rather go without (and I do go without until I’ve saved; I am a million miles from being rich) than have second hand. And you would have simply assumed that I was stupid. Or a snob. Or both.

Because by going my life experience more people are stupid about things than anything else.

I think because they are rich and have more money to spend so why bother to find second hand. My mother is rich and never buy secondhand anything before. Because of how i’m grew up in my household so i dont buy second hand either. I just assume second hand means someone doesn’t want it anymore so its must be not in the good conditions for me to wear or use it.

now i’m married and learnt a lot from my husband. I do buy secondhand Jewelery or designer handbags but still never buy secondhand clothes.

Got some perfect condition Laura Ashley curtains on Facebook marketplace secondhand the other day. £85 new, got them for a tenner!

I get loads of toys secondhand too for DC. Give em a wipe over with some Dettol if dirty or just a baby wipe if relatively clean.

Also bought DC's winter coat for £1.50 (a Tu one) from a charity shop, so that's one thing sorted for cheap!

In this economy many of us can't afford to consider the mankiness

@Bubblebubblebah But that’s my point. How do you know they’re being stupid rather than having a visceral reaction to something they perceive as ‘manky’?

Well I didn't say your reaction to second hand is wrong or irrational. It's your personal reaction that's all. I just don't think that it's some kind of priviledge to call some people being stupid about this. Because some absolutely are.