I got introduced to the weird and wonderful world of selling whitegoods on Gumtree yesterday. It’s been … an experience.
Buying second-hand whitegoods online has always made sense. Have you seen how much a brand new fridge/freezer costs, especially if you want one? People whinge about the cost of new consoles. But add up the cost of moving into a new place and having to fit it out with a dryer, washer, fridge, microwave … it’s not cheap.
So I’m curious: what second-hand goods have you fitted out your place with that you purchased online? Any crazy good bargains? Any horror stories that put you off second-hand goods for life?
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20 responses to “Off Topic: Second-Hand Goods”
The sale of retro games/consoles (and some that are not-so-retro) is a big interest to a lot of people on that site. I’d have to have another look, but I think from my last check there were quasi-ebay-store like shop-fronts on there?
Daddy needs a Gamecube GBA Player……
I bought a second hand dishwasher off Gumtree this weekend, mainly because a new one of the same brand is ultra expensive, and the space/bench in my kitchen where the old one is is specific to this brand, it isn’t the standard sizing most use these days. It went really well; had to drive 40 minutes to where it was, only to find it wouldn’t fit in my car :P. So the guy said he’d put it in his hatch and drive it down to me, then drive himself back home, and he did! I gave him a bit extra “delivery cost” as thanks :).
I’m trying to get a fridge and washing machine in sydney and having a dreadful time 🙁 Most people don’t seem to respond to gumtree ads :/
Horror stories: Gumtree. Gumtree in general. If you list something, expect the worst forms of life to respond to your ad. List an item as not-negotiable and you should expect people to offer you 50% of your asking price. Also expect people to just not show up to collect what they’ve said they would. Expect people to further barter on the price once they arrive. I can’t stand it, and I’m not the only one. I found a collectors edition video game stuff on Gumtree, asking price was $50 which I felt was fair. When I rocked up to collect, the guy asked what price we agreed on, I said “Well, your ad had $50, so… $50?”. The guy seemed shocked and said “Ive been listing stuff for about a year and you’re the only one that hasn’t tried to offer me less”
“Okay, so you’re interested in sound system?”
“Yeah mate, I’ll give ya $21.35, that’s me emptying me pockets, a whole fark’in packet of ciggies, I’ll throw in a carton of XXXX and me baby son’s click and clack push toy”
This sounds like experience talking…………..
It’s mostly a compilation of frustrating wasted time, uncomfortable discrimination on the doorstep of my home, and rubbish that was left behind on my lawn.
Gumtree does get the bad ones. Sold a fridge and watched the guy drop it in its side when it fell off his trolley as he was trying to get it on his trailer. Then weeks of phone calls saying it doesn’t seal properly and never chills anything and he wants his money back cause I sold him a dead fridge.
Scumtree.
It’s not exactly environmentally conscious, but I don’t buy used goods. It costs a bit more upfront but I’d rather get the manufacturer’s warranty in case there are any hidden defects the seller didn’t bother to tell me about. If a five-year-old second hand fridge is still good to go that’s still five years off its lifespan. I’d rather have it new and have that extra five years added to the time until I have to buy another one.
Im not a big fan of gumtree.
People are will to post ads but not reply to people wanting to buy their stuff.
Iv tried buying about 10x different HTC Vive systems but not a single person replied to my emails or phone calls, tried to buy a dining room table but the guy refused to let me pick it up and then tried to buy an outdoor table set but no response from the seller.
That was the last 2 weeks, Gumtree is dead to me
Being someone who is new to Australia and having had to setup everything from scratch on a modest budget, I have got almost everything from Gumtree.
I assume that out of 10 things I buy second-hand, 1 or 2 would be bad.
So far, things have worked out well for me. I do my research and have a fair idea of what price to pay for a particular item.
If you are not in a hurry to get something and if you are willing to put in the effort to find out an approx price, I believe you can get decent stuff.
I have had people not respond to me, I simply move on.
10/10 would continue getting stuff from Gumtree.
We picked up a baby doppler and some chests of drawers when we were fitting out the nursery. All off Gumtree. Only negative experience we had occurred when we tried to resell the doppler, and yeah, the crazy came out.
For whitegoods/appliances etc I’ll always buy new. Most retailers have solid interest free deals meaning I can break the payments up to a manageable monthly amount. Even if I have the cash to spend then and there, I’d rather it earn interest for me than for the retailer.
I’ve mostly had good experiences selling things; haven’t bought too many though.
Generally the stuff was pretty simple – I sold some chairs no problem, and a table that they were happy with after looking at it once. Came back, picked it up on time, paid what we’d agreed.
I gave away a double mattress for free, and hilariously a guy turned up in an old Mitsubishi Lancer hatchback to pick it up. We had to fold it almost in half for it to fit, and even then the boot wouldn’t close. Glad I wasn’t on the roads when he was driving it home.
The biggest trouble I had was selling an old laptop. Despite putting all of the specs up, I still had a bunch of queries about “will it run this?” “can I do x on it?” – that sort of thing. I ended up selling it to the one guy who didn’t bug me with those questions.
Weirdly, he turned up in a BMW X5 to buy an $80 second hand laptop. Maybe it was for his kid?
Oh, and this week I had a guy try to negotiate me down to nothing on an old iPod Classic, then he didn’t show up to pick it up. He messaged that evening to ask if he could come the next day instead, and I said no out of spite. I’d rather keep it in my drawer than sell it to him! Heh. Petty, I know, but it made me feel good.
He can’t afford a new laptop, spent all his money on the trophy car.
I’d be absolutely screwed without second hand.
I grew up wearing second hand clothes & hand-me-downs, a lit of games, books & movies I saw were all second hand.
And I’m still very reliant on being able to sell stuff to buy new stuff.
Speaking of, please buy my stuff.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-seller/Gumtree%20User/1013233425
I’ll give ya a carton of VB for the titty anime thing.
Alright
Second hand is great. I’ve been to a lot of auctions over the years, gotten all sorts of great bargains. From TV’s to fridges, washing machines, stoves, cars & plenty of computer gear.
But online, personally haven’t bought a lot of 2nd hand that was apart my current keyboard a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate with Cherry MX Blue switches, which I scored for $70 & it was practically brand new.
There was also my previous GPU (GTX 760) picked it up for less than half RRP and it was still current when I got it.
Other than that, I picked up a 1080P 24 inch ASUS monitor from the Salvo’s for $5, a mate had the same monitor which he paid $200 for, so I feel that was a great bargain. Also heaps of PS1, PS2 & Xbox 360 consoles which I either cleaned up & sold on eBay for a decent profit or found out they didn’t work & traded them in to EB Games because $5 for a 60GB 360 is a bargain whether it works or doesn’t.