Which of these things (if any) would you never buy used?

[Ginevra]

Just curious, based on a conversation dh and I had about replacing one of these items. I knew someone who may be selling one and he was gakked out at the thought of buying it used. So, do any or all of these raise your "never used" flag?

 

Poll coming.

[frugalmama]

At one time or another I have bought all of those things used - doesn't phase me. Wash it in hot water if you can, scrub it with lysol if you can't.

 

 

I do normally draw the line at buying underware for sizes past puberty used - not to say I won't, but I'm a lot more careful about doing so.

[Impish]

I made several choices, including 'other'.

 

Other includes: cribs, car seats...off the top of my head.

[Scuff]

Other: a plunger. When I was in the church youth group, a *few* years ago, we had a garage sale fund raiser. Someone donated a toilet plunger. Shockingly, no one bought it, even priced at a dime. :D This falls into the catagory of cheap-enough-new and gross-enough-used that I don't know what crossed their minds to donate that.

[5kidsforME]

I would never buy a used mattress or used underwear.

[LostSurprise]

Pillows~I can wash cotton underwear or a swimsuit and dry on hot, but pillows don't react as well to the dryer, thus making it harder to really sanitize them.

 

I didn't vote shoes because I have at least one pair of shoes I bought used, but they would have to be in great condition. Nothing that has been worn into the shape of the last user.

[Dobela]

I have never bought used car seats for the kids. I did however buy a beautiful used crib that had been taken very good care of. I have bought used mattresses, from people we know and my parents, but now that bed bugs are making a comback I hope to never do that again unless I knew the people very well. I have bought used socks that look new for the kids when very small, babies and toddlers, but not older. Never bought used undergarments or swimsuits, for me. Again, when the kids were very small, I would buy those used if in like new condition.

 

I haven't bought used pillows except for crafts. It doesn't matter how lumpy they are after being washed in hot bleach water if I am just going to pull the stuffing out for something else. I have narrow feet and don't think I have evebr found any shoes used that I would consider wearing. Never bought used shoes for the kids either unless they looked new to begin with.

[SKL]

As a kid, I had "used" items in all of those categories. It didn't cause any problems. It's been a while since I've been financially hard up enough to consider buying used socks/underwear. As for mattresses, I am still sleeping on the mattress I bought used from a college student 20+ years ago :001_smile:.

 

I've heard some people say they would never allow their child to use a "used" potty chair, even if the previous user was his own sibling. Whatever! Wonder if they replace the toilet seat after every use in their bathrooms, too.

[danybug]

I rarely have the opportunity to buy miscellaneous stuff used. I am not a big thrift store shopper and occasionally will stop by yard sales. But that being said I checked I would definitely never buy used underwear, mattresses, or diapering stuff.

[JustGin]

Underwear, socks and mattress are about it and the only reason I wouldn't buy sock used is that they can be bought very inexpensively new.

[elegantlion]

Other: a plunger. When I was in the church youth group, a *few* years ago, we had a garage sale fund raiser. Someone donated a toilet plunger. Shockingly, no one bought it, even priced at a dime. :D This falls into the catagory of cheap-enough-new and gross-enough-used that I don't know what crossed their minds to donate that.

 

:ack2: yes this too. I always leave the plunger when we move and buy a new one for each house. Yuck.

 

We have accepted used mattresses only because we knew who it was from. Shoes, I often buy myself used shoes, but I have particular standards. I don't buy worn out shoes.

 

Everything else on the list was a no, except medical supplies, but we've never needed those.

[nukeswife]

I swore that I would never buy used underwear or socks, I won't even pass these down from child to child. I feel everyone deserves their own new underwear and socks. They aren't that expensive.

 

I also won't buy used shoes because generally they don't fit the foot as well as they should. The pressure from other people wearing them changes the foot bed of the shoe over time. I have a bad back and have to be very picky about my shoes. My dd can only wear birkenstock sandals and flip flops or she gets terrible pains in her legs. I guess you could say we're shoe snobs in that we are very picky about brand due to comfort. I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of heels either.

[In the Rain]

:iagree: with almost everything listed above. I also wouldn't buy used upholstered furniture.

[Unicorn.]

Oops, I read your poll wrong, and voted for medical equipment (depending...like crutches as the ONLY one of those I might buy used. The rest....ick!

[Teachin'Mine]

Just curious, based on a conversation dh and I had about replacing one of these items. I knew someone who may be selling one and he was gakked out at the thought of buying it used. So, do any or all of these raise your "never used" flag?

 

Poll coming.

 

I think some of our answers might change if we knew the person who was selling the item. :)

[Julie Smith]

I didn't see underwear. I wouldn't buy used underwear.

[Dmmetler]

It also depends on the item. For example, I wouldn't buy most breast pumps used because there is a risk of cross-contamination, but I had no trouble buying a former rental Medela Lactina because the pump is completely sealed and the tubes/horns can be taken off and sterilized (I had, I believe, four sets of these since I was EPing).

 

I won't buy anything cloth used that I can't immediately put in the washing machine and run through the dryer on HOT-because of fears of bedbugs. Size is everything.

[Denise in Florida]

I would never buy a used mattress or used underwear.

 

Those were exactly my two picks also. :001_smile: Even then I have to admit to exceptions. I did buy a used twin bed from a friend who was converting a guest room to a sewing room. The bed had been used by a visiting niece. I would not buy one from a person I did not know. I have also accepted hand me down underwear and swimsuits for my girls when they were little, again this was from a family member with a slightly older daughter not from a thrift shop or stranger's yard sale.

[Guest]

I never used to buy used things until a video game my ds wanted was only available used. So now I will buy used video games if they are not available new.

[Amy in NH]

Well, duh. I just voted for the only ones from that list that I would buy used: medical equipment, shoes, and diapering supplies.

[Guest]

I think some of our answers might change if we knew the person who was selling the item. :)

 

True' date=' but that was why dh surprised me. It was a mattress in question, [i']his brother/SIL's[/i] mattress. I was surprised he consider this a "no way" item, because our first mattress (which is now on dd's bed) was my sister/BIL's. Then we bought new, but that bed is really wearing out now. His brother just bought a very fancy new bed, thus making his "old" fancy bed unnecessary. But he said, "No. We're not that poor." :lol:

[NotAVampireLvr]

mattresses, upholstered furniture, cribs, car seats.

[Catwoman]

I think a lot of my decision would be based on how much money I had. If I was really scraping for every last cent, I don't think I'd be particularly proud about what I had to buy used, as long as it was in good shape. I have always been fortunate enough to be able to buy most things new, but I also donate them when I'm through with them (although used undies, mattresses, car seats, and bike helmets go in the trash,) so I hope someone else is able to put them to good use, because we take good care of our stuff, and most of it is "very gently used" when we get rid of it.

 

In the case of the mattress, I wouldn't want a used one, unless it was one of those "only in the spare room and never actually used" kind of mattresses. Otherwise, I would be worried about things like bedbugs and bodily fluids. :ack2:

 

In Quill's case, she knows where it would be coming from, so that's totally different than buying a used mattress from a stranger.

[The Girls' Mom]

I marked mattress (and underwear/bathing suit/socks) but I can't really say never. I have gotten used mattresses, but it was from someone I knew AND it was before bedbugs were so rampant. Now, it would really depend on who was selling it.

[KidsHappen]

I marked bathing suit, underware, socks and mattress and other. The other would be any upholstered item. In my opinion, upholstered items really aren't much different than mattress and I wouldn't buy them for the same reasons.

[freeindeed]

I say no to bathing suit, underwear, and a mattress. Those things are a little too "close" for my comfort!

[stripe]

I might have been willing to buy a used mattress, but NOT ANYMORE. Too many bedbug horror stories. My husband and I looked at a used mattress a few years ago -- it was soooo ratty, and they wanted $100 or something for it. We bought a new one for $200 instead.

 

Not crazy about used underwear. But I have bought used diaper covers. Heh. But they were all barely used, not old stained ones.

 

I don't want used shoes because they tend to mold to the user's foot, and ... well, that wouldn't be mine.

 

While visiting my in-laws, we went to the beach one day, and they had swimsuits for rent. Boy, did that make me chuckle. NO WAY. I have no idea how (or if) they were even cleaned.

[SonshineLearner]

Anything I can't bleach at this point. I'm freaked about bed bugs. No mattress used or things like that. No underwear.... I don't think..... Gives me the icky feeling to think about that...

[Teachin'Mine]

True, but that was why dh surprised me. It was a mattress in question, his brother/SIL's mattress. I was surprised he consider this a "no way" item, because our first mattress (which is now on dd's bed) was my sister/BIL's. Then we bought new, but that bed is really wearing out now. His brother just bought a very fancy new bed, thus making his "old" fancy bed unnecessary. But he said, "No. We're not that poor." :lol:

 

:lol:

 

Tell him you can buy a brand new fancy mattress cover and a new memory foam topper for their "old" fancy bed and some new sheets too ... If it has to be new, and if you'd like to try memory foam, Costco has great prices for a really good mattress.

[ElizaG]

I say no to bathing suit, underwear, and a mattress. Those things are a little too "close" for my comfort!

:iagree: I'm okay with used socks and everyday shoes for babies/toddlers only, and gently used specialty or dress shoes for all ages of children. Although, since I've learned more about bedbugs, the shoes would either have to be heat-treated or come from someone we know well.

[Mommyof4ks]

It depends on where the things came from. I have gotten a used matress from someone we know, but I would never buy a used one from a store or off Craigslist. We do not buy used shoes, because shoes form to the feet of the wearer. Underware, um...no lol. Other things I have bought used including a swim suit, but I washed it in hot water before wearing.

[cin]

I said underwear and mattresses. I'm not sure why I'm ok with bathing suits but not underwear? Underwear is worn more and bathing suits are used in chlorinated water maybe?

 

Here in Cincinnati, which is the bedbug capital of the US, if I buy clothes for the kids (ALWAYS used) I bring them straight home and throw them in the washer. Wash on the hottest water they can stand and dry on the hottest water they can stand. I have bought 'used' sheets but they were at the thrift store and still had the original packaged wrinkles in them. :D

[Guest]

I said underwear and mattresses. I'm not sure why I'm ok with bathing suits but not underwear? Underwear is worn more and bathing suits are used in chlorinated water maybe?

 

Here in Cincinnati, which is the bedbug capital of the US, if I buy clothes for the kids (ALWAYS used) I bring them straight home and throw them in the washer. Wash on the hottest water they can stand and dry on the hottest water they can stand. I have bought 'used' sheets but they were at the thrift store and still had the original packaged wrinkles in them. :D

 

You dry in hot water? How does that work out for you? ;)

 

 

 

:D

[Farrar]

I'd do a boy's bathing suit but not a women's for me. Really, parts is parts and parts are touching either so it makes very little sense. But, hey, I get to pick.

 

But there's nothing wrong with used shoes. That's just broken in!

[radiobrain]

I am obviously a weirdo again.

 

If I want it, and it is affordable, I will buy it. Besides...just because it is being sold as "used" does not mean it ever has been. KWIM? A lot of things in the underwear section have obviously never been used or worn. Also, at a thrift store I am sure if something is unacceptable or too used, they just pitch it.

 

So really, I am gross I guess. :tongue_smilie:

 

I judge each item as I see it, not on a category basis.

 

In addition, I would have bought the plunger for a dime. I bet it wasn't used... and even if it was, that's what bleach is for....

[Guest]

I am obviously a weirdo again.

 

If I want it, and it is affordable, I will buy it. Besides...just because it is being sold as "used" does not mean it ever has been. KWIM? A lot of things in the underwear section have obviously never been used or worn. Also, at a thrift store I am sure if something is unacceptable or too used, they just pitch it.

 

So really, I am gross I guess. :tongue_smilie:

 

I judge each item as I see it, not on a category basis.

 

In addition, I would have bought the plunger for a dime. I bet it wasn't used... and even if it was, that's what bleach is for....

 

Don't feel bad. I am similarly unskeeved out. My dh did warn me once that I was not allowed to buy him underwear at Goodwill, even if it was still in a package and "new". :D I would not mind it under those circumstances.

 

The mattress thing is funny to me, in a way. Consider this: at the family beach house, there are mattresses that have come from a variety of colorful backgrounds, most notably, the twin beds that are 50+ years old and were my dh's grandparents'. We ALL sleep on any available bed, with no regard to the secret history of any of those mattresses. Once, I was nearly convinced there might be bedbugs in them, because more than once person came back from the house with mysterious bites on their torso. (It was determined to not be bedbugs.) Anyway, my point is, we all use all the beds there, whatever their sketchy background. But dh did not want to buy his brother's "old" bed. It's a bit non sequitor to me.

[Hwin]

Undies, bathing suits, and mattresses... also car seat and breastpump (unless it's a pump that the mfgr intended for multiple users)

 

 

My reasons for not buying used underwear and bathing suits are not rational, it's just weighing how icky it seems vs the fairly low cost of underwear (and I only need one bathing suit, which I already own...)

[4ofus]

So, I picked mattress & underwear. Now, that's because it said "buy" used. I wouldn't buy these things. However, at various times in my life I received these (and many other) used items & was happy to receive them.

 

Both of my kids get hand-me-downs from friends & we gladly take them. And use them. I occasionally get a few things, but not too often. I wish I did! Poor dh doesn't get carp. But we pass his things along.

 

Once, I found a good-looking mattress IN A DUMPSTER in my apartment complex. I needed it. I took it home, bleached sprayed it, put it outside to air out, put a mattress cover on it & never thought about it again until this very moment.

 

We are friends with mattress-store-owners & they replace their mattresses ALL THE TIME. So we let them know we were in the market. Well, the next time they replaced, we got their old one. When we needed a spare bed mattress, they sold us a returned mattress for a discount. We got their kids mattresses when they replaced. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. And, now that I re-think this, since I bought the returned mattress...I guess I HAVE bought a used one. So now the poll is skewed:glare:.

 

We also have sold mattresses on CL for very cheap & the folks that received them were very happy to get them. Just sayin'

[silliness7]

Just curious, based on a conversation dh and I had about replacing one of these items. I knew someone who may be selling one and he was gakked out at the thought of buying it used. So, do any or all of these raise your "never used" flag?

 

Poll coming.

 

I have received and used previously owned items from everything on the list. They have been from relatives and friends though. I don't think I would pay for many of these things from a stranger.

 

ETA: took another look at the list. yes I have purchased from strangers shoes, socks, and children's bathing suits, oh and diapering items.

Edited January 25, 2012 by silliness7

[Jennifer3141]

I wouldn't buy any of that used. It all squicks me out. :D

[bookfiend]

True, but that was why dh surprised me. It was a mattress in question, his brother/SIL's mattress. I was surprised he consider this a "no way" item, because our first mattress (which is now on dd's bed) was my sister/BIL's. Then we bought new, but that bed is really wearing out now. His brother just bought a very fancy new bed, thus making his "old" fancy bed unnecessary. But he said, "No. We're not that poor." :lol:

 

I bought a used matress for our guest bed. However, I was able to send it to a place where matress' are sterilized in a huge bake oven, like a kiln. Wish I could remember more to tell you. Hospitals and some hotels use this service. It cost me very little, and I was at ease that all the yuckies were gone.

[Night Elf]

Well, I had to answer that I never buy anything used, but there is an exception. I don't mind buying used books.

 

ETA: Oh, I didn't think about video games. Yes, I buy those used too.

Edited January 25, 2012 by Night Elf