Sarah Lyon has many years of experience visiting second-hand stores. In fact, she even arranges special trips for second-hand shopping, and her apartment is almost entirely decorated with vintage collectibles from around the world. According to Real Simple, Sarah is a senior antiques fan, and she has accumulated a lot of valuable experience over the years.
One of her deepest insights is that even if you have a soft spot for vintage goods, you must buy them selectively and know what items are truly worth taking home. After all, as she says, "You really don't need to bring an entire flea market into your home." 999} Never buy five types of second-hand goods
From her personal experience, there are five types of second-hand goods that she will deliberately avoid, each with its own reasons. But don’t worry, even if you skip these items, there are still countless treasures waiting for you to discover in second-hand stores. Let’s take a look at five items that this veteran buyer never buys:
1. Bedding
Sarah always avoids buying second-hand bedding. It is difficult to thoroughly check the condition of personal items such as sheets and blankets in second-hand stores, and there is no guarantee that they are free of stains or odors. In comparison, she prefers to spend a little more money and choose brand-new and quality-guaranteed products.
Especially for people who are sensitive to smells or have pet allergies, she strongly recommends skipping such products.
2. Carpet
Her attitude towards carpets is roughly the same. While you can occasionally find rugs in good condition at estate sales or flea markets, rugs sold in general second-hand stores are often not easily inspected thoroughly for cleanliness.
"Seriously, who would want to spread out a large 8x10-foot carpet in a Goodwill store and take a closer look?" she said with a smile. Coupled with the fact that there are now many brands offering new floor mats at affordable prices and in a variety of styles, Sarah thinks it will be easier and more secure to just buy new ones.
3. Small home appliances
Although you may see brand-name coffee machines with attractive prices in second-hand stores, Sarah reminded that such products often cannot be tested on site, and it is not uncommon to find abnormal functions after taking them home. She herself had bought several coffee machines for cheap, but they either leaked or did not operate smoothly.
In addition, she also prefers not to clutter the kitchen countertop with all kinds of small appliances. "I keep reminding myself that the simpler the kitchen, the better. Let the people who need these things enjoy them," she said.
4. Single glass
Even though she lives alone, Sarah will avoid buying just a single glass, because a set of glasses not only looks neater, but is also more convenient for entertaining guests. She believes that having a unified set of glasses can bring a sense of order to life.
She also provided a little suggestion, "If you see a set of seven identical cups, but you only need six, buy the seventh one. If one of them breaks one day, you will be glad you prepared one."
5. Things that "may be used someday"
Sarah particularly emphasized not to be led by the idea of "may be used in the future." This does not include planned purchases in preparation for a specific event, such as an arranged wedding party, but refers to items that have no clear purpose and are brought home purely because they are cheap or look cute.
For example, she once saw pumpkin-shaped festive lights and thought they were very suitable for a Halloween party. However, the fact is that she has never held a similar event and has no plans to do so. Later those things just took up space.
"I once bought a bunch of party decorations, but the event was never held." Sarah said frankly, "In the end, I found that it was really not worth spending money and taking up space to store these things that would never be used."