Mary Hunt, founder of Debt Free Living, recently posted an excellent article about several things you should never purchase new. Her list includes several obvious choices - cars, console games and timeshares, as well as a few somewhat surprising items.
One item I’d suggest adding to such a list is baby clothes - they’re often worn only a few times, and then handed down or donated to the local Goodwill.
Mary mentions sporting goods, referring readers to Play it Again Sports, yard sales and the classified ads. To which I’d add eBay - there is a thriving sporting goods section at eBay. I recently bought a set of Mizuno irons on eBay for $200 less than the best deal I could find locally, and they were brand new (BTW, I confirmed their authenticity by emailing the serial number to Mizuno’s customer service department.)
You can read the entire article at Crosswalk.com - click here to see the full text.
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September 6th, 2008 at 10:32 am
One thing I would add on all kids clothes is garage sales. Shop upscale neighborhoods and you’re likely to find great deals on high-end labels. My wife does a great job outfitting our kids in very cute, high-end brands, and then turns around and sells those same clothes on eBay, usually for 2x-3x the amount she originally purchased them.
September 6th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Eric -
Great comment, spot on! Thanks.
Kevin