5 ms·

I do three things to cut consumption: borrow, rent, and "rent". "Rent" is buy high quality/high value, and resell for a significant fraction of retail when you

by akeck 9y ago

I do three things to cut consumption: borrow, rent, and "rent". "Rent" is buy high quality/high value, and resell for a significant fraction of retail when you are done with it. I learned it from a friend at work. She bought a Dell Deal high-end desktop with free monitor. She sold the monitor immediately, which covered most of her layout for the initial deal. Then, three years later, she sold the desktop for about 60% of retail. The items were being enjoyed by new owners, and she recovered the value she put into them.

icebraining 9y ago
And I'm the guy who buys those used Dells :)
joshvm 9y ago
The other option is to buy used items that strongly retain value, like camera lenses. Most of my glass is worth about the same as when I bought it from eBay, because there's nothing that really depreciates and good lenses are good lenses.
- scottLobster 9y ago
  This. For me, more mundane examples are what this article actually lists. I heavily researched my camping gear, and with the exception of one sleeping bag that ripped the rest is still working great 10 years later. Same for sunglasses, my vacuum cleaner, tools, etc. Anything not perishable that I buy is a long-term investment. I buy something toward the high end and use it until it pukes.
- therealdrag0 9y ago
  My psychological problem is that the market is so cut throat these days a lot of used items are barely listed at a discount. So it's too easy for me to justify buying new for 10% more to get "official" assurances. On the other hand I've been buying only refurbished electronics for a couple years now and have had no problems.
- zanny 9y ago
  I only buy used cell phones. I have an S5 and Note 4 right now I got combined for half the cost of a new S8, and I got both in mint condition a year ago. You really can't get away with that with laptops or desktops because the need for fans causes a lot of component wear and environments are so divergent you can't trust used sellers to not have a lot of the internals damaged. Or the keyboards and trackpads - heavy wear or use or just abuse and one damaged key can ruin a purchase. Phones are nice and self contained enough that looking at the outside generally tells you the condition of the inside.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    You really can't get away with that with laptops or desktops because the need for fans causes a lot of component wear and environments are so divergent you can't trust used sellers to not have a lot of the internals damaged. I've had luck buying laptops (specifically Thinkpads) previously owned by companies and being replaced by lot. Probably due to a mix of better environment, better treatment by workers and more likely to get fixed if broken.
    - willhslade 9y ago
      I'm also going to chime in and agree. Thinkpads are tanks; I've got a collection of about 8 running either Ubuntu or Windows 10 that just won't die, and are fine for browsing.
      - artursapek 9y ago
        Even the newer ones that are on par with mac laptops are solid. The carbon is as thin and actually much lighter, and still feels really sturdy.
    - thirdsun 9y ago
      Very true. I just recently bought a Thinkpad X1 Carbon on eBay. As a mac user I was shocked to learn that I could get a very capable device that was sold for € 1500 - € 2000 in 2013 for € 300. In great condition.
  - 9y ago
disposablename 9y ago
Some people also use "rent" for buying an item and returning it before the store's "no questions asked" return period expires.
throwaway-1209 9y ago
That's what I do. If I need a tool temporarily, I just get it from eBay or Craigslist, and then unload it. I often make money when I resell. It's not much, but all in all I essentially rent things for free. This doesn't work for things that are very expensive, but for anything below a few thousand dollars, this will save you a ton of money.

by akeck 9y ago

icebraining 9y ago

And I'm the guy who buys those used Dells :)

joshvm 9y ago

The other option is to buy used items that strongly retain value, like camera lenses. Most of my glass is worth about the same as when I bought it from eBay, because there's nothing that really depreciates and good lenses are good lenses.

scottLobster 9y ago
This. For me, more mundane examples are what this article actually lists. I heavily researched my camping gear, and with the exception of one sleeping bag that ripped the rest is still working great 10 years later. Same for sunglasses, my vacuum cleaner, tools, etc. Anything not perishable that I buy is a long-term investment. I buy something toward the high end and use it until it pukes.
therealdrag0 9y ago
My psychological problem is that the market is so cut throat these days a lot of used items are barely listed at a discount. So it's too easy for me to justify buying new for 10% more to get "official" assurances. On the other hand I've been buying only refurbished electronics for a couple years now and have had no problems.
zanny 9y ago
I only buy used cell phones. I have an S5 and Note 4 right now I got combined for half the cost of a new S8, and I got both in mint condition a year ago. You really can't get away with that with laptops or desktops because the need for fans causes a lot of component wear and environments are so divergent you can't trust used sellers to not have a lot of the internals damaged. Or the keyboards and trackpads - heavy wear or use or just abuse and one damaged key can ruin a purchase. Phones are nice and self contained enough that looking at the outside generally tells you the condition of the inside.
- icebraining 9y ago
  You really can't get away with that with laptops or desktops because the need for fans causes a lot of component wear and environments are so divergent you can't trust used sellers to not have a lot of the internals damaged. I've had luck buying laptops (specifically Thinkpads) previously owned by companies and being replaced by lot. Probably due to a mix of better environment, better treatment by workers and more likely to get fixed if broken.
  - willhslade 9y ago
    I'm also going to chime in and agree. Thinkpads are tanks; I've got a collection of about 8 running either Ubuntu or Windows 10 that just won't die, and are fine for browsing.
    - artursapek 9y ago
      Even the newer ones that are on par with mac laptops are solid. The carbon is as thin and actually much lighter, and still feels really sturdy.
  - thirdsun 9y ago
    Very true. I just recently bought a Thinkpad X1 Carbon on eBay. As a mac user I was shocked to learn that I could get a very capable device that was sold for € 1500 - € 2000 in 2013 for € 300. In great condition.
- 9y ago

disposablename 9y ago

Some people also use "rent" for buying an item and returning it before the store's "no questions asked" return period expires.

throwaway-1209 9y ago

That's what I do. If I need a tool temporarily, I just get it from eBay or Craigslist, and then unload it. I often make money when I resell. It's not much, but all in all I essentially rent things for free. This doesn't work for things that are very expensive, but for anything below a few thousand dollars, this will save you a ton of money.