05 Aug 2005, 3:41 pm
OK, I'm not talking especially about computer equipment (although we tend to piece different machines together and buy new or used parts as needed). It makes a certain amoutn of sense to buy a new computer.
But.....
Clothes: a lot of what I buy is in very good condition and is very good quality. We have a snob town nearby so the pickings are very good. I have even bought stuff that still had the tags on it, and would have gone for $30 in the store...whereas I got the same dress for $2. Keep in mind that I live a rural lifestyle, so for outside/everyday clothes (as opposed to town clothes) it isn't going to harm me a bit if they've already been worn or washed a few times; I would be afraid to buy new stuff and then wear it out to milk the goats. 
But even my town clothes...people are amazed when they hear that I bought it at the thrift store! The only thign I have to watch out for is that what I buy isn't very out of style..and that can happen if I don't conciously pay attention...
Kid's clothes: I have boys. They are hard on their clothing. I just can't see buying brand new clothes for them, given the way they treat them...nevertheless, I do get high quality items, yarn dyed plaid shirts, *nice* things.
Baby clothes: are prohibitively expensive. I have no idea what they go for new, I haven't looked. I did once see a pair of blue jeans going for over $20...they were the size for a 1-2 year old, and not top name brand, either! 
My coworker is a very young single mom-to-be, due a few months sooner than I am. She has stated that she isn't going to buy *anything* used for her baby. Given that she is only making about $7 an hour and struggling as it is, I have no idea how she is going to survive financially. Again, I get very nice stuff used for a fraction of what they cost in the local children's consignment store....one sleeper was going for $6.99 there...I don't want to know what it cost new! The other thing is, I have a whole lot more selection available when I buy used, not merely the season's items, or what is in style right now..I can buy handmade stuff, clothes from other countries that are embroidered, etc etc...more eclectic and less boring.
Furniture: Mutant and I got two large and two small dressers for under $200. I think they were $150. They were hardly scratched when we got them (thoguh they are now), are all solid wood construction, and have glass tops. They are not the flimsy fiberboard crap.
The stuff I got before Mutant wasn't as nice, but it was still solid wood: an old piano bench (I use it as a nightstand) for $10, a very ugly old coffee table to put the computer on, $5, and a low, asian type large square coffee table- the top of it is small pieces of wood laid in a herringbone pattern- for $5. I was choosy and got stuff I liked, except for the ugly one.
Music: if there is music that I want and the CD isn't too scratched, I'll buy it used. This allows me to try genres and artists that I might not have otherwise. I have bought an Elton John CD new, simply because I didn't have the patience to wait until it was available used. My old car only took 8 tracks, so it had to be used....
Books: the library has book sales, where I can get books for .25-.50 each. The local thrift store used to sell the books for .10 each, now they're 5 for a dollar. I hardly go to used book stores...too expensive. If I can't find a title I want, I get it online. I did buy one new simply because it was the same price as the used one. Again, buying books this way means that I can afford to get a lot of titles I might not have gotten otherwise, and I can sample new authors that I would not have otherwise. I got a used Saxon Math textbook that we needed. New, they are $25 or more...(I think more) I got it for $2, and it isn't even written in at all!
I collect seashells and baskets...frankly, I just don't care of someone else had these first. I woudl love to collect the shells myself, but otherwise, why should it matter where I bought it from? Same with the baskets...I mostly use them to put the shells in.
What I always buy new, brand new: timepieces. My job hinges on whether I get to work on time. I have to know that the alarm works and that the watches aren't about to die..... I also bought a digital camera new, just because it seemed like asking for trouble to get a used one.
I would like to be able to buy shoes and underwear new, and only new, but I just can't afford to, and it isn't hurting me to do otherwise.
Actually, I've kind of moved up in the world. For most of my teen years, we didn't even get to the thrift store. We wore what was given to us and clothes that we had found in the county landfill (we washed them first, of course). I remember getting a used wool shirt for working in the woods at a garage sale...it was $5...and feeling guilty about it for a long time.
