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| The Basics | Why first-rate folks love secondhand stuff
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Flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores, Web auction sites -- they're crammed with millions of perfectly solvent people who are in on a little secret: Not only can you save a truckload of money buying used-everything, but -- gasp -- it's now cool.
By MP Dunleavey
I'm not a snob, but I've never been a big fan of secondhand shopping. Maybe I got too many hand-me-downs when I was a kid. Or maybe I'm just a born sucker for the glitz and gleam of Anything New.
(Can we chalk this one up to DNA? Sure. The Crate & Barrel chromosome. There ya go.)
But then I grew up, got into a pile o' debt, repented of my former spending habits -- and now face the biggest challenge of my life. I have to find a way to furnish my new house that doesn't involve Crate & Barrel or even Sears (except for appliances) -- or the L.L. Bean Home Catalog, which is my current source of temptation. (L.L. Bean sounds all frugal and New England, but it's all just a ruse to fool us city slickers.)
60 million Americans can't be wrong
At first glance, secondhand shopping seems like a great deal. A vast and growing number of Americans have become devotees of the secondhand market, if not outright fanatics. The number of Web sites that deal in previously owned property seems endless and increasingly well-niched (Did you know you can find used golf balls at onlygolfballs.com? or buy an old lighthouse at www.gsa.gov?).
Ebay -- a leading indicator of America's appetite for the non-new -- now boasts over 60 million registered users, about 27 million of whom are active buyers and sellers, which is a 56% increase over the number of active users the year before.
Nobody keeps stats like that on the traffic to yard sales, garage sales, junk stores, thrift, secondhand and consignment shops. But one look at all the house and home decorating shows on TV, most of which champion the use of flea-market finds and such, and it becomes clear that shabby chic is truly trendy.
But are people being frugal or is this secondhand passion just another manifestation of our money-spending mania?
The not-so-frugal American
John Lastovicka, Ph.D, a professor of marketing at Arizona State University, studies frugality in America. He says it's not clear that economy is always the motive when people buy used goods -- however much those secondhand shoppers like to boast about their bargain hunting. According to his research, only about 15% of Americans qualify as frugal.
Being frugal, as he defines it in studies he has published in the Journal of Consumer Research, isn't about scrimping or buying things on the cheap. "It's about the mileage you get out of what you buy, the creativity you use it with and the respect and care you give it."
Frugality, in other words, can be summed up in the famous old maxim, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." And let's face it: that philosophy is not in vogue right now, no matter how many people are shopping on eBay.
"(Frugality) is one of these things we tend to give lip service to," Lastovicka says. "You hear that the average American carries thousands of dollars in credit-card debt, and every time stats like that are quoted, it's always accompanied by headshaking. So why aren't we celebrating that frugal 15% more?"
Of course, some folks are genuinely looking to save a buck on used books, CDs, videos, DVDs, clothes, jewelry, dishes, furniture, etc. My friend Val, for example, buys almost all her essentials -- from books to clothes -- from www.half.com, www.addall.com and "Sallie's" (aka, the Salvation Army fashion boutique).
But Lastovicka makes the interesting observation that there's another desire driving the used-goods market: Authenticity.
"One thing we find in garage sales and online sales is that sellers aren't just getting rid of stuff," he says. "There are memories and meaning associated with it. (When) the buyer develops a conversation with the seller, one of the things we find that happens in those conversations is that the meaning, those stories, that provenance is something the buyers get -- along with the stamp collection or the chair or whatever. Buyers just glom onto that."
My secondhand initiation
Still, there are plenty of people who wouldn't dream of paying full price for a brand-new item -- and I was surprised to discover that I know many of them. The fact that so many people refrain from broadcasting how many previously owned items they own is a testament to the fact that secondhand shopping still smacks of not having enough. There's an edge of embarrassment still attached to it.
One friend of mine, who is known for her chic, admitted that she gets many of her trendy accessories (including a gorgeous fur-trimmed coat that I covet) from vintage shops. Shock!
My cousin Alicia, a seasoned, world-class bargain hunter at the tender age of 28, is even more adamant about her secondhand philosophy than I knew. "What have I gotten used? What haven't I gotten used!" she exclaimed. "Why would you ever REALLY need to buy something new? Unless of course the used market gets all dried up and you need it. Or if it's on Super Sale and you can't resist that new, shiny, bust-open-the-box feeling."
My friend Sandy discovered the joys of thrift stores and flea markets after her divorce. "All of a sudden I'm single and I needed to furnish a whole apartment. I needed dishes -- everything. I had nothing. But I had to find a way to set up my lifestyle inexpensively."
With hard work and persistence (and a creative eye), she did just that. She once priced out what it had cost her to completely furnish her now-elegant living room: $1,200. Total. If she were buying new, she could barely find a loveseat for that price, as I now know, having fainted onto Pottery Barn's cheapest model during an attempted sofa purchase.
The cost-benefit analysis
Of course, "caveat emptor" holds even truer for those considering secondhand stuff. It may be cheap, but how much will is cost you more to refurbish it? I learned this pricey lesson when I bought an antique, camelback sofa at an upstate auction for $25. I was so proud. Until I found out that it would cost me over $1,000 to reupholster it. (Gee, was that why no one else was bidding?)
Sandy sighed at my naivete. "I never buy anything that requires upholstering. It's too expensive."
Sandy, like many savvy secondhand shoppers, says the best way to learn is by reading and shopping and talking to other buyers. There is no Consumer Reports for the used market (although you can always read back issues; and they do cover older models of cars). There are other specialty guides for cars, motorcycles, and some instruments -- www.bluebookinc.com covers pricing in the "firearms, music and billiards/pool cue industries."
And then there are Web sites and message boards galore, particularly in the vast universe of frugality, where online chats can be a valuable source of guidance and tips (see links at left).
I am a slow but very willing convert to this new way of thinking. There is nothing like an empty house to inspire you to seek out new avenues. Besides, the way I see it is that the more furnishings I buy during this upcoming yard-sale season, the more I'll save -- indirectly -- on the things I have to pay full price for (like my new stove and washer-dryer).
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