Why second-hand goods become the favorite of foreigners

Good quality and low price is the last word

　　Second-hand goods are often labeled as “shabby, dirty, outdated, cheap” by most Chinese people. However, second-hand goods abroad are of good color and quality, and people can buy good things for less money, and sometimes even buy brand new things.
　　Once I passed by a second-hand store and walked in with a curious mind. I saw that they were selling a batch of brand new nail clippers at a unit price of 0.5 Canadian dollars (the normal price is about 3 Canadian dollars), just in time for the needs of my family. I just bought 3 of them, and they have been used for six or seven years, and they are still not broken.
　　Actually, I’m not exactly a thrift store person, but even so, I’ve visited a few times for various needs. For example, before my son was born, I started shopping for baby supplies. My friend dissuaded me from going to a big mall to buy a new one, and took me to a second-hand baby store. I bought a British-made multifunctional baby stroller for only 50 Canadian dollars.
　　Later, my friend took me to other people’s “yard sale” to shop for treasures. I saw a 2-meter-long hanger full of baby clothes that were 90% new and very comfortable to the touch. There were Peter Rabbit patterns, George Monkey patterns, Teddy bear patterns are all popular cartoon characters. I couldn’t resist buying more than a dozen jumpsuits and a few thick cotton jackets, because each single piece only costs 1 Canadian dollar, and the cotton jacket only costs 3 Canadian dollars. The family was very friendly. Seeing that most of the children’s clothes were bought by me, they sold me toys and nursery rhyme records for a total of 1 Canadian dollar.
　　Shopping in regular second-hand stores not only guarantees the quality of the items, but also allows you to return them if you are not satisfied. Just because the product can stand the test of time, some people would rather go to a second-hand store to buy something that is old but durable for the same price. My Huayou colleague is a typical representative of this shopping attitude. For example, to buy a flower pot, I spent 4 Canadian dollars to buy a new flower pot. But she is different. She always patronizes the second-hand store and buys an old flower pot for 4 Canadian dollars. She said that the flower pots there are beautiful in shape, high-quality clay and porcelain, and many of them are made in Europe. Anyway, porcelain It doesn’t look old, and it’s not much different from new ones when used. Because she is a frequent customer in the second-hand store, she can get a 20% discount coupon, and the consumption tax on second-hand goods is low. After all, she still bought high-quality things at a low price.

Every year on the first weekend of September, Lille in France becomes a paradise for flea market lovers from all over Europe and the world. Xinhua News Agency
Clear out used goods to free up living space

　　Living abroad, moving is a very common thing. Whenever I move, my friends sigh: If you don’t move, you don’t know how many things you have. When dealing with old things, we are better at adding, and don’t like to do subtraction. With the idea of ​​“maybe we will use it in the future”, the wardrobe is full, the storage room becomes a collection, and the limited space in life is filled with many useless items. possession. Dealing with old things is a great way to gain space.
　　In Japan, a country with a small land area, people make room for their homes by selling or donating unwanted old items. Although Canada on the other side of the ocean has a vast land, Canadians do not like to pile up idle items at home. Their criterion for dividing idle items is “things that are not used for 6 months are unnecessary”. Therefore, Canadians have always maintained the habit of “spring cleaning”. Every spring, people start to do deep cleaning, rummage through the corners of the house, organize and pack things that are not useful, and donate what should be donated. Give away what should be thrown out, throw out what should be thrown out.
　　Because of the nature of my work, I have a lot of vacations, so I have developed the habit of deep cleaning during spring vacation and summer vacation: when the vacation comes, I will go through the house up and down, store and classify things, and pack them into bags that cannot be worn. After the clothes were sent into the “clothes donation box”, the house was indeed much cleaner, and it was very convenient to find things.
Extend the service life of items, environmental protection and energy saving

　　Another important reason for people to buy second-hand goods is to make a contribution to environmental protection and energy conservation. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, people are more and more eager to reduce waste. Some people buy second-hand goods not to save money, but to prolong the service life of goods and reduce waste of resources.
　　Eskilstuna, a small town in northern Sweden, has the world’s first “second-hand mall” – Wiener Shopping Center, which opened in 2015. The shopping center is characterized by the sale of second-hand items, renovated items, and creative Old things are transformed into products; the French prefer to recycle and recycle things, and they fight against waste. This pursuit of second-hand products and the concept of green consumption have continued to this day; the Germans who admire pragmatism are willing to start from their own life, such as Reuse old clothes, or buy second-hand shirts.
Second-hand consumption creates job opportunities

　　Buying second-hand also creates employment and money-making opportunities. A huge market for used cars, clothing, home appliances, electronics, furniture, books and more offers plenty of job opportunities. In particular, the second-hand car market has low barriers to entry and good profit prospects. Especially in the United States, the sales volume of used cars has always been greater than that of new cars.
　　There are also many people who have tasted the sweetness of second-hand trading and began to use it as a good opportunity to earn pocket money. I know a guy who is studying at university during the day and picks up discarded bicycles in the community at night. If there are problems with brakes, no seat cushions, etc., he will fix them, and then pay 30 to 70 Canadian dollars Prices vary and are listed for sale online. Although it is a “small knock”, it is much easier than delivering newspapers to make money.
　　The reason for the development of second-hand consumption in foreign countries cannot be simply attributed to “poverty” or “thriftiness”, it is related to the consumption concept of the society as a whole. More and more people have discovered that in addition to “subtraction”, lifestyles can also be “multiplied” – to carry out circular consumption, which is a good way to avoid waste of resources. Second-hand transactions, recycling and other methods of “doing big things with small money” have not only expanded new consumption areas, but also brought the “simple, moderate, green and low-carbon” lifestyle into the homes of ordinary people.