why do people think second hand is manky?

[WhereAreMyAirpods]

Why do people think second hand things are manky/dirty/unsafe? Have just read a comment on another thread about second hand jewellery not being safe because it's dirty.

Really? Are there really lots of people out there who think just because something has been in someone else's house for a while, it's unclean? Do these people not own washing machines or have a bottle of soapy liquid to clean things with?

😂

Former charity-shop obsessed here.

I realised that people are genuinely pretty gross.

Books, for example: are read in people’s dirty beds, toilets.. people absent-mindedly pick their noses, scratch their eyes, lick a finger and turn the page.

Mattresses - God, no. Back sweat, spit, god knows what in the innards.. other bodily fluids.. even sofas and armchairs see too much!

Lots of stuff in charity shops is brand new anyway - I manage a charity shop and we get regular donations from big name, High Street retailers ... it's either their end of season stuff or very slightly shop soiled or maybe has been used in mannequins on display. It's very good stuff and I sell it at very good prices. But there really is a mind set among some people that they just won't buy from a charity shop ... .

Someone needs to tell the queen. Wearing those old hand-me-down jewels. What a slob.

Original - do you never borrow a library book?

I worked in a charity shop for a month when I was 16 and it horrified me the state some people sent their stuff in BUT we did get them cleaned and pressed but it just always put me off. Since I hit my 40s I’ve started going though and agree you just clean what you get

No idea. Something you buy from a shop can have been tried on by countless people before you buy it. Especially shoes. Lots of other people’s sweaty feet may have been in those. It’s also so easy to wear something and return it back to a shop. Including pants! - not that I’ve done this. But I used to work in a department store and lots of people do. So new does not guarantee cleanliness.

I am glad they do!
Dont tell them!

Leaves it all cheaper for the rest of us.

I help to run a second hand childrens clothing exchange. Some of the stuff that is given in is absolutely grim and gets thrown away. The majority is immaculate and the really little baby stuff is often still with tags on. People have washing machines I assume!?

😀
Brilliant

Because consumerism has done an amazing number on some people's thought processes to render them unfit for rational decision making.

I'm all for it, tbh. Ok, underwear is off limits but most other stuff is fine. Would rather upcycle furniture than throw it away

I rarely buy anything new! All my (very smart) workwear is M&S, Planet, John Lewis and Monsoon - all bought from EBay. My favourite bargain was a silk Whistles dress for £15. I have a good friend with whom I would never share this info. When a mutual friend of ours described her vintage Levi’s as “used”, I thought she was going to barf!

Who scratches their eyes - unless you mean arse? Which is the sold reason I have never bought a second hand book !

I wouldn't buy used shoes either, but I've found a few brand new pairs second hand for a bargain.

I never understand why people would donate stuff for for the bin!

We got pretty much everything second-hand for our new baby - I love a good bargain! Full bin bag of almost new onesies & outfits for under 10 - dread to think how much that would have cost new. There were over 100 things!

I just bought a gorgeous swimming cozzie from.the chazza, 4 quid. Looking at the label inside, I don't think it's been used

Most of my very lovely wardrobe is secondhand. So much so I've had to delete certain apps to reduce temptation.

Once you know which brands/sizes suit you it saves an absolute fortune.

My theory on why people donate crap...

1. They don;t shop in charity shops. They KNOW that chucking stuff in the bin is wrong so scuttle in with their bags and scuttle straight out without ever looking at the rails and shelves. So genuinely belief there is a market for ripped clothes or broken toys.
2. They are kidding themselves that their stuff is worth a lot more than it is. They have an emotional attachment to it, or remember a chipped old dinner set being £££ in 1975 and can't accept it's only fit for the bin.
3. They feel enormously guilty about chucking stuff in the bin/landfill so assuage their guilt by passing it to a charity shop, and letting us chuck it in the bin instead.

Well, more people don't think second hand is manky as Antique Dealers appear to do very well.

Haven't voted as I am not sure what you are asking if YABU or not about but some people having different views on things can't be news.

I love a charity shop buy myself, or something given away on a giving page, and think people who turn their nose up are bonkers but I understand they think differently from me and that is fine - all the more chance for me to pick up a bargain.
I'm not sure MN reflects society proportionally though - there are so many on here who wash towels after one use or have all sorts of extreme clothes washing habits and are horrified at the thought of sharing a meal (as in the same plate) with a loved one, or having a swig of water from a bottle that another family member has drunk from.......or dare I mention toilet brushes again

Quite. There was a thread recently when people were having paroryxms over a child borrowing another childs swimsuit...they seemed to think having touched another childs nether regions it then needed to be burned.
The prospect of it being washed and then worn by the owner stunned them entirely, they simply couldn't compute it.

This ^

And 'the kind of people who have to buy their own furniture'.

Takes all sorts.

I wonder if all those people who are put off by anything second-hand are forced to live in new-build housing and buy brand new cars.