10 second hand items you must never buy

While purchasing thrifted products can be a huge money-saver, it’s not the best option for everything. For quality,cleanliness, and a myriad of other reasons, here are some used stuff that you should never consider buying.

1. Mattresses
When you buy a used mattress, you risk bringing home bed bugs. One of the most common ways bed bugs are introduced to a home is through used beddings. Apart from that, buying a used mattress means you’re also
buying everything that’s built up inside it over time thus agreeing to sleep in traces of other people’s body fluids.

2. Wooden and upholstered furniture
Grossed out by the thought of bed bugs? They’re not just in beds. Experts say wooden and upholstered furniture can also harbour the tiny bloodsucking creatures. According to some reports, bed bugs can live in the
cracks and crevices of wood furniture for up to 18 months. Buying used furniture is a great way of bringing home bugs you’ve never haboured before. So, think twice before buying that sofa set or coffee table.

3. Blenders
We don’t often think of blenders as things that require sharpening, but blenders have blades too and they’re much more difficult to sharpen. Every blender’s performance gets worse the longer it’s used without
replacing the blade. So, unless you’re getting an amazing deal, consider a new blender instead. It’s almost guaranteed to work better.

4. Children’s furniture
Children’s products are recalled at a high frequency, with more than 100 recalls every year. If you buy used, not only might you be getting an unsafe item, but also it is more likely to have been subject to a recall. When you buy new, you know you’re getting furniture that’s been manufactured to the latest safety standards, and you won’t have to worry about things like peeling paint or small pieces that can break off and be swallowed.

5. Safety gear
Safety gears such as motorcycle or bicycle helmets are always good when bought new. According to the New York Times, once such gears are involved in any sort of crash, they no longer provide adequate protection.
These gears also deteriorate over time, simply due to exposure to ozone and sunlight. Good safety gear is worth splurging on and don’t take a chance on used safety gear of any kind.

6. Non-stick cookware
Non-stick cookware is coated with chemicals that produce that non-stick effect, and most of the time, this kind of cookware isn’t dangerous. The problem comes when it is used to cook at higher temperatures, which can break down the chemical, releasing it into the food. When non-stick cookware is scratched, it is also no longer safe. Since you don’t know how the previous owner treated that sufuria, it’s better to buy it new.

7. Mobile phones
The biggest risk of buying a preowned used mobile phone is that it could be stolen from someone else. The second biggest danger is that the second-hand mobile phone you are buying might have been misused in the past to execute unlawful activities. Another risk is the presence of fake mobile phones. Today’s market is flooded with fake phones that are exact replicas of their original models and difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.

8. Jewellery
You may think you’re getting an awesome deal by purchasing jewellery at a tag sale or thrift shop. But, unless you’re well versed in identifying jewellery value, you could be getting ripped off. Another problem is the unknown history. This is the biggest issue with used jewellery. Jewellery,especially fine jewellery, requires special care and cleaning, and, if damage occurs, it needs to be repaired as soon as possible. When you buy used jewellery, you have no way of knowing the history behind the piece.

9. Audio equipment
If you buy a second hand speaker, chances are it won’t be at its full sound capacity, especially if the previous owner loved to blast music at full volume. Wear and tear on audio equipment like speakers can be hard to detect at first glance, but you’ll probably notice it once you start trying to play your tunes.

10. Car seats
When it comes to second hand car seats, you can’t be 100 per cent sure a car seat hasn’t been involved in a crash (rendering it ineffective), if it’s been recalled, or if the expiration date is correct (yes, car seats have expiration dates). A used car seat could have broken components and even missing pieces including an installation manual. If you must buy a used car seat buy it from a family member or close friend who you can trust when they say it is only lightly used and was never involved in an accident.