I love a bargain. I make no bones about it and am often relentless in finding discounts. This regularly turns into trawling Farcebook marktplaats and Kijiji.
I usually find several options from which to choose but rarely at a price I am willing to pay. An interesting starting point to this tale is a video game console. I am not a console gamer nor was I ever one. I prefer PC games because of the flexibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony, in their limited generosity, gave away a bunch of games for free. The nice aspect of PlayStation games is that they are generally high quality with the downside being that they are exclusive to the platform – you could [1] not play them on anything other than Sony’s hardware. Horizon Zero Dawn was one game and I went to the extent of creating a PlayStation account solely to claim the game.
I did not have a PS4 at the time but I did have access to a digital copy of Horizon Zero Dawn. This started my quest to find a PS4 at a price I was willing to pay. Fifty dollars was the price I settled at and I can offer no explanation as to how i arrived at that value. It just became my target. This was 2021, a few short months after the PS4’s successor was released – but was hard to obtain. I decided to strike while the proverbial iron was hot and scoured farcebook marktplaats. As fortune would have it, I found a “broken” PS4, not too far from where I live and decided to take a chance. The cost was forty dollars but the catch was that it came with no controllers and no games. Not a problem for me as i already owned two PS4 controllers that i used for PC gaming.
Turns out, the “problem” was a failed hard drive that i quickly replaced. New storage installed, i downloaded Horizon Zero Dawn and was off to the races. Success! I now had a console plus a video game for roughly the launch price of the game! E-waste saved and my significant other eventually used the console to play a few JRPGS.
Among other items i found on second-hand websites was a Zojirushi kettle for the princely sum of forty dollars. The unit retails for around two hundred dollars, taxes included. Great deal. I use it every day – literally every single day that I am home.
You can’t miss the iPhone in the image i traced above. I love Apple hardware, but not the retail prices. I am no fan of Apple the wealthy, faceless corporation but I do appreciate their hardware design and build quality. I purchased a used 2014 MacBook Pro in 2015 and continue to use it in 2023. The value i derive from it is immense. The keyboard is fantastic, the battery life remains okay, the build quality excellent and the screen outstanding for the time and acceptable today. This is an eight-year old laptop. Take a moment to think about that – an eight year old laptop. Eight years is an eternity in the laptop world and i can bet $ 1 that you reading this do not use or even own an eight-year old laptop. Yet mine soldiers on. That is quality.
I hold much the same sentiment with the iPhone. I have never purchased one new and prefer that someone else pay the Apple tax. I purchased an iPhone 12 Pro for $ 600. The 256 GB model i own retailed for over 1,200 Canadian rupees and i paid half that. The person who sold it to me claimed the “screen” glass was shattered. I took one look at the photos, confirmed it during a visit and realised that the actual screen was fine, it was the screen protector that was shattered.
Now, to be clear, i do not scam or cheat people. I profit from specialised knowledge that i have plus a bit of time and effort that i am able to invest.
Finally, the monitor. I cannot recall the brand but i believe it is a 4K LG monitor with an integrated USB-C hub. Fantastic value, great product and i use it daily for work. Once again, purchased used at around 60% of retail price.
I recommend more people do this but there is a catch. You must understand what you are buying and must have some rudimentary repair skills. Your search engine game must be top-notch and you must appreciate the general risks. In about ten years of doing this, I am yet to be scammed.
References
[1] Sony have since released PC versions of select games. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/pc-games/