Discuss

is it? I hadn't noticed.

To start the discussion off.....

I think we would happily furnish our house 100% second hand, but really, is there a deal to be had?? Its the same with cars, SO expensive compared to Europe.

It would seem that they don't understand the meaning of second-hand here. What's the point in expecting to get back close to what you paid for it originally??

i've honestly never experienced that. we bought art deco furniture off craigslist, covered in designer fabric, for a few hundred bucks. maybe it's a calgary thing.

With Kijiji you have to be scanning it all day long to get in quickly enough to pick up any deals.

Their idea of 'antique' is a joke, which is what you'd expect as there isn't much old stuff to be had. The furniture itself is no better than what you'd see at your local car boot sale.

I guess what annoys us the most is that the asking price of a lot of stuff is close to the retail price.

You should try buying and selling music gear. Most people have no clue what items are worth and try to get all of their money back out of things that aren't worth $100. Or they try to sell for more than they paid originally. The problem is that too many people think they are wheelers and dealers when they aren't.

join your local buy and sell group on FB.

With cars it's simply the lack of MOT which helps them retain their value (in Britain value is depreciated quickly).

With furniture it's very true that tat that would be on step away from the tip in Britain is often regarded as near antique. A lack of supply issue.

However, keep in mind you can probably bargain Down the price more aggressively than you can in Britain.

Compared to Europe? Have you checked the prices of cars in Portugal lately? They have annual road tests there also.

Not that I drive but I occasionally look at used car prices and there don't seem to be bargains around.

But household stuff?

I got an apartment size cooker for $25 off kijiji from someone who had half a dozen going. They are usually $700 and up. There's an appliance store here that does used washer/dryers for $200-$300 (also bought from there for our rental) and another used store that does cookers for $150 and a ton of furniture of decent quality for about a quarter of new price.

The salvation army store has plenty of serviceable stuff for almost give-away prices.

While there are bargains advertised on kijiji (bought $10 monitor, $15 computer chair and sold a $600 3 seater for $150 -space needed) I think private sellers often ask an unrealistic price.

I agree. You have to wade through some crap (it's not for me but Mrs. JonboyE seems to enjoy it) but you can find incredible bargins in thrift stores.

With used cars there tends to be a lot of haggling involved, and there are bargains around, but usually outside the city and further out past the suburbs.

For everything else I don't find any difference, Amazon and eBay are equivalent, used books are a steal on Amazon in particular and you don't even need a US mailbox for that. Craigslist is a mixed bag, sometimes people get these weird ideas in their head that their $50 item is worth $500, other times the prices are more reasonable.

It's no different to anything else here. It's in my experience over the last year a more expensive place to live than the UK. Just about the only thing I can say with confidence that is any cheaper is 'Gas'..... Ouch er I mean petrol.


I have purchased a couple of bargains off Kijiji. They are there if you keep your eye on it and act swiftly.

The other thing is whilst second hand goods sell at a premium you will also obtain the same premium when you come to sell.

I'm currently looking for a car. We have a car and I also have a motorbike but now we have a son my wife thinks we will need another car for the winter.

I have seen a few good deals but you need to look hard and nothing ever seems to get to the price point it would in the UK. Then to think you have to pay 13% tax. WTF is that all about?

Incidentally my motorbike was from a dealer and was maybe a couple of hundred more than the UK equivalent so not too much difference.

If the exchange rate was back to the old days of $2 I'm sure we would all the very differently.

You can find deals on second hand stuff all the time, there is a lot of mega expensive stuff, but deals are to be had (usually when we're selling I suppose lol). OH has been trying to sell a Mustang, 1st day it went on he got two calls asking why it was so cheap and advising him to put the price up, he has done so, it's still priced cheaper than others on Kijiji and now has blingy wheels on it, he's thinking of putting the price up again. Did the same with the Spitfire, put it up for sale, no interest, put it up a grand and sold it the next day...Weird.

It's the same with jobs - its about networking!

We were looking for a water sprayer to go in the bed of the truck, didn't wanna spend more than $150. Couldn't find anything online that wasn't junk.

Casually mentioned it to an uncle who says "oooh I know who's got one of those............."

Did the deal for 2 flats of Kokanee