A big hand for 2nd hand

Second-hand has a bad name – one thinks of faded clothes handed down by older siblings or cousins.

However, I believe that Singapore has changed since those bad old days, when buying a second-hand car put you in real danger of being stuck with a lemon. Just as car technology has improved, so that one can buy ‘pre-owned’ vehicles without worrying about having to push, Singapore has prospered to the point where we get rid of things that are not only still usable, but are well within their better days.

Oddly enough, the line: “This is really well-made, and will last you a lifetime” is still a clincher whenever a salesman tries to sell us something, but we seldom keep anything for a lifetime. Instead, we get bored, or something newer and nicer hits the market, and we decide to upgrade.

That’s fine if you can afford it, and I understand it – I like getting new stuff myself. However, I try to make sure that some of my ‘new’ stuff is second-hand.

This makes financial and ecological sense. Second-hand costs a lot less, since most people like and can afford new, so low demand keeps prices down. As it has already been made for someone else, you save on the world’s resources as well.

It makes eminent sense when you’re trying out a new hobby, for example, or something that you’re not sure you’re going to keep up. So when I decided to dip my toes into dSLR photography, because everyone was telling me I’d be better able to realise my ideas with a bigger camera, I bought my equipment second-hand.

For $1,000, I got a then-entry-level Canon 400D (the 450D had not come out yet), with an 18-85mm zoom lens, instead of the dinky 18-55mm kit lens that came with most cameras. It seems someone had bought this nice equipment, then decided quite quickly that it was not for them – either they wanted something more sophisticated, or they preferred the simplicity of a compact camera after all.

Either way, I got to enter the brave new world of dSLR photography at a lower price, with equipment that was maybe a couple of months old, and which had not been used much. As I said to a friend, worst come to the worst I lose a few hundred dollars palming the camera and lens off to a third owner. He said the worst scenario he could think of was I drop the stuff and break it all. Whatever – if it didn’t work out, it would cost less.

I find that going pre-used is also good for clothes, books and knick knacks. Maybe it’s because I like the St Michael’s Church jumble sale, and am a fan of the National Library Board’s annual Book Exchange. But actually, it doesn’t really matter that the book you’re reading has been through someone else’s hands – after all, we borrow books from friends or the library.

As for clothes, well, we don’t give away old, worn-out clothes anymore – we hang on to those comfy old friends and wear them at home, or sleep in them. But we have clothes that are mistakes, or which for some reason we hardly wear, and these we give away to make more room in our closets. The other week, I was given a large travel bag of clothes, among them a pair of Guess jeans that still had its price tags on. I passed some clothes to two other people, and have plenty left for myself. We’re all happy.

I bring this used goods habit a step further, and am happy to accept furniture. In fact, when our sofa started getting flat and uncomfortable, I let it get out to my network of friends and family that I was looking out for a new sofa set. A couple of months later, sis-in-law told me that her neighbour was looking for a home for her sofa set, and would I take a look?

It was great – comfy, the right height for our short legs, and a nice dark brown. Free, too. It only cost the price of getting the Helping Hand people to transport it over to my place, and cart my old set away. The Helping Hand guys were cooing over the nice leather as they wrapped it my ‘new’ sofa set in plastic to move it.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a repository of other people’s junk. I only accept things that will be useful to me. In fact, when someone is moving, with lots of stuff on offer, I tend to step aside if someone else shows an interest in something I like. Well, I do have lots already, and don’t mind being a recipient of last resort.

So I can testify that the second-hand route is a great way to save money, save Gaia and enjoy your creature comforts. The things are unlikely to be really old, and, more importantly, they are new to me.

BTW: The library is having a sale of books on July 10 and 11. At Singapore Expo Hall 6A, 9.30 am – 8pm