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Thread: Expansion of second hand market?

  1. #1
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    Expansion of second hand market?

    If the US ends up putting the additional 25% tariff on Chinese goods, do you think there may be an expansion of the second hand market?

    Just a thought I had and was curious about.

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    That is interesting, I do think we need to re-use, get creative and able to fix things, and overall stop making so much junk! I have heard that places like goodwill and ARC were overflowing when the Marie Kondo show came on. So many people not loving everything in their homes.

    I just checked out a maker space that I could join here. I know my brother is a super builder. I think many people use crafty skills to make something new just like they want but I feel more challenge and interest in making things from what I have, such as getting yarn from good will and donations and then co-creating a project with it.

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    At one point I would have said that a second hand market was possible but not too easily now. The quality of so much has deteriorated so badly with built-in obsolescence and cheap plastic parts that are brittle and break easily.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Maybe brown wood furniture will come back in style....

    and i I personally think anything that raises the cost of “fast fashion” is a good thing. They are talking about the increased cost of clothing for families - but there is enough used clothing out there to clothe every kid in America for years! Much of it available for 25 cents at a garage sale.

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    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    At one point I would have said that a second hand market was possible but not too easily now. The quality of so much has deteriorated so badly with built-in obsolescence and cheap plastic parts that are brittle and break easily.
    thats what I think too.

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    I don't know I already don't buy from China for most things, so not likely to change anything except: electronics is where it's hard to avoid, there aren't a lot of other options there
    Trees don't grow on money

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    I think that 2nd hand has become a mainstay for those in the middle, their dollar’s value is continually shrinking and those dollars are getting harder to come by. Craig’s list, FB community sell lists, Craigslist, etc. all thrive.

    re the brown furniture? I don’t think that’s likely to come back in the immediate future. In 10 years? Yep, it’ll be the new thing, again. I had a friend just out of college who bought antiques, nice ones because she got better furniture for her money. I thought she was weird. I wanted shiny. I wish I had been equally weird!

    I went thru this with dishes. We bought dish sets, from Conrans or ? Four place settings at a time. Pretty stuff and fragile. I eventually got sick of buying it again and again and started buying used commercial china, which we still use. If I break a plate I may have a replacement. If not? I can usually find one without a huge problem.

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Haha.. I just posted a lot of brown wood furniture on Craigslist. I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up. A shame--it's all very solid, high quality furniture.

    But, I think there's a sweet spot for furniture from the 50s and 60s, with the whole "mid-century modern" trend. My MIL had a 4-piece bedroom suite from that era. I posted it on a local on-line selling site and I had more offers than I could handle.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    But, I think there's a sweet spot for furniture from the 50s and 60s, with the whole "mid-century modern" trend.
    I don't hear quite as much buzz about MCM as I did -- not so many articles on-line or in magazines, not so many groups on Facebook or Instagram. It's still popular, but I think the people who got really turned on by it and wanted it have bought what they want and the market is saturating. I don't know what's next, but it's what keeps the wheels of commerce grinding, so there will be something else coming.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

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    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
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    I've noticed here Millennials buying up brown furniture, sanding it down and painting it with chalk paint or whatever it is...stained to look like that modern farm look so popularized by Joanna Gaines. Anyway, that's what happened to DH's old buffet and dining room set.
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

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