AIBU refusing to buy second hand?

[soozit]

With this nutty new situation we're in, my husband and I are slightly tight on cash but of course there are things we still need to buy aside from groceries! My husband is a big ebayer but I've always been adverse to buying second hand. The blender we use every day has broken and he's found one for £50 vs the £70 it is brand new but I've put my foot down. AIBU?

I love a bargain but this isn’t a good enough saving to be worth it. For an extra £20 you can get it replaced if it’s faulty etc...

For mechanical/ electronic stuff I would not buy second hand, especially for such a small saving. And I am a huge fan of second hand things, but not for that. Have been stung before with reconditioned things.

In these times you need to be more conscious of how you spend money. I have friends who automatically pick the most expensive thinking that it means it is the most suitable.
There are a lot of Posters sticking their nose at the £20 saving, but for some it may be a significant and actually £20 (or less) soon adds up to a tidy sum over a period if you don't have that mind frame.
What you need to think is how long you expect it to last and the value on an annual basis. You can use this argument if you believe the £70 item will be better value over the time of its life and for peace of mind ( assuming there is a warrantee difference) but this should be considered and discussed and not just cause you want to waste money.

Just buy a new one from Amazon! Loads for under £50! Are you not even looking for a new one! Just get browsing.

I would be careful about buying second hand electrical items TBH .£20.00 for a brand new one is safer I think .

I buy a lot of used stuff, mainly because it's greener. I'd rather have one good quality used dress than a pile of Primark crap.

I'd want to pay around £35 for that. Electricals are a bit tricky - who is underwriting the warranty, - do you have to pay to post it back if it breaks?

Look for a new one, not refurbished. Try www.hotukdeals.com/

Occasionally, big retailers like Argos or Richer sell refurbs with their own guarantee, which is trustworthy. So do Black and Decker.

They might be things that were repaired after going wrong, they might be returned sales.

A guarantee from some anonymous Ebay vendor is worthless.

It depends how much you value the £20 saving.
It also depends how new it is - many things on ebay as like new and only used a few times.

We (for example) always buy reconditioned laptops, we've never had a problem and it's substantially cheaper.

@soozit
Refurbished items like that are usually items which have been returned unused. They cant box it back up and sell it new, so they sell it 'refurbished'.

Someone might have used it once or twice maybe, but it will have been returned within the 30 day returns period. That's why it is being sold as refurbished. It's the same as new. They will have ensured it is perfectly clean and functioning; it is not the same as buying second hand from some individual who has been using it for months etc.

Also, nothing wrong at all with second hand. We should all be trying to reuse more instead of demanding brand new.

I also think it depends on the item and the saving.
I buy lots second hand - clothing, household - but not electrical - too much of a risk unless it is a real bargain. I'm more worried about returns if it doesn't work -I don't buy new from Ebay or Amazon for the same reason - frightened the seller 'disappears'.

I did buy a second hand coffee machine from a local charity shop -it didn't work - but I didn't take that back - not reclaiming money fr the charity was fine.
I looked at hair tongs quite recently on Ebay - averaged £10.00 - £15.00 - Argos, new £22.00 - I was much better off with Argos. If the tongs had been £5.00 I might have risked it!

Is your question about the price or the principle?

I don't think £20 is enough of a saving, given wear and tear, no warranty etc so I'd be swerving that one.

I'm still buying from EBay though, I'm just apply the same rules to everything that comes in the house, spritzing packaging with disinfectant and quarantining them for a safe period.

My old dad (long time ago) taught me that a good rule of thumb was to pay approximately one third of the full price.

With a warranty I would think again though but not for £20 less

I like the Amazon Refurbished/Unboxed stuff - with the exception of a toaster, everything else has been indistinguishable from brand new and has had a far greater discount. It's easier to return things with them than it is eBay, too.

YABU to rule out 2nd hand YANBU to think that it may be a false economy. Depends oncondition of 2nd hand one I guess.

I just sold a 2 year old phone on eBay for nearly £200.

They got a smashing deal, and I got a great cash injection.

It's the value of the item that matters. Cost per use and all that.

YABU to completely discount buying second-hand. There are lots of good bargains to be had and it's more environmentally friendly.
However, even though I do buy a lot of things second-hand, I only buy new electrical goods. I'm very wary as to why people want to sell them. Are they on the blink already etc?
There's no way I would buy a blender second-hand for 50 quid when a new one would be only 20 more.
So in the example you have given YANBU.

What kind of blender do you want as there's plenty in Argos for £70 & under.

www.argos.co.uk/browse/appliances/blenders-and-food-processing/blenders-and-smoothie-makers/c:29941/

Be careful of unscrupulous ebay and amazon sellers. Other than that I don't get the aversion to "someone else's old stuff". As soon as you have bought it, it's now yours. You can wash it or whatever if you want to. There are certain things I wouldn't want another person to have used before I buy it - toothbrush, underwear - but most things are perfectly fine.

Blender I suppose you'd want to ensure that the blades are still sharp, those might be no good if someone's overused it.

Refurbs from a proper company are ok.

Second hand is fine and better for the environment to make use of something which is perfectly serviceable. But I would expect it to cost half the new price or less.

I don't currently buy second hand appliances, but I buy second hand clothes (not underwear as it has a higher chance of being stained or worn), second hand toys, games and books, second hand furniture. I also use Freecycle a lot.

Why not start small and build up confidence on something that isnt related to food, hygiene or electrical?

Often a good time to buy an unused second hand appliance is right after Christmas for obvious reasons.

You don’t seem to be able to differentiate between second hand and refurbished.

Lots of high street and online retailers sell “refurbished” goods on eBay - usually they are just open box or have damaged packaging. You need to look at who is selling the blender, because if it’s a “named” store, you will more than likely have the same consumer rights as you usually would.

Like @MitziK, I normally buy small electricals from Amazon warehouse. I’ve rarely had anything in less than perfect condition, aside from box damage.

Refusing to ever purchase anything second hand - YABU

Not wanting to save £20 on a refurbished item - YANBU

This^

I buy a lot of stuff second hand but I’d want to buy a blender new. I also agree that £20 wouldn’t be enough of a saving to tempt me. But I don’t have a particularly good reason, it’s just a feeling based on a vague sense of not wanting something someone else has used for food. Same feeling that keeps me from buying a second hand bra: I know it can be thoroughly washed but I just don’t want to wear a bra someone else has worn even though almost all my tops and jumpers and coats are second hand. I might be completely unreasonable about this however.

I've bought refurbished items that came with a guarantee. They look brand new and I've never had any problems with them.

I just can't bring myself to do it for a saving of £20!

This is the old way of thinking about stuff. The new way of thinking, and one we all desperately need to adopt asap, isn't just the cash cost or savings, but factors in the environmental impact too. By buying 2nd hand you are keeping that item out of landfill, and sparing the planet the further exploitation needed to make a new blender. Not particularly significant for one item - massively impactful once we all start factoring the environment into our decision making.

I do agree with everyone here re the cost savings - £50 vs £70 isn;t a huge cost saving. I'd probably prefer to pay £35 - but again my brain is well trained in the "old way" of thinking. Most of us are. But if it is properly refurbished it will have some kind of warranty so it can be a good idea.