Most of us hate wasting our money, so we tend to avoid buying new products if we can. We buy used books, DVD’s, cars, timeshares, furniture and electronics to save money. There was recently even an article over on MSN money with a list of things that you should never buy new because it doesn’t make sense financially to do so. There are however, some things that you shouldn’t buy used because of security, health, and financial reasons. Here are ten things that you should never buy used!
Laptop Computers – Whenever you buy a new computer, you’re always taking a chance that there’s an issue with it. It could be loaded with viruses, spy-ware and other devious tools that you don’t want. You never know how much it’s been abused, or if you are even getting legitimate software. Since technology has become so cheap, it almost always makes sense to buy a laptop new.
Shoes – If you go to a garage sale, there’s a good chance you’ll see some shoes for sale, you might even like them, but its still a better idea to go down to Payless and pickup a cheap pair of shoes. If you have shoes fitted for someone else, you’ll end up with all sorts of back problems, and who knows what kind of creepy-crawlies are living in those pre-worn shoes.
Camcorders – These devices are another piece of technology which are can be abused quite easily. Every member of the family wants to play with it, and who knows how many times it’s been dropped. The damage might not be obvious at first, but soon a motor could go out and it would easily cost $200 to replace. If you want to save some money on your camcorder, go with a model that’s a couple of years out of date, and you’ll get a great deal.
Car seats – If you buy a car seat for your child that has been involved in one accident, it might not protect your child in a second. Damaged car seats are very uncommon, and a recent study by Sainsbury Bank in England found that one out of ten car seats have major issues, so in order to keep your baby safe, you should get a new car seat.
CD and DVD Players – These pieces of technology have become very cheap in the last few years because of mass production and technological improvements in the manufacturing process. They each contain a laser head which has a limited life span, and it would not be worth it to get a used player only to have it come with major issues with reading the media. In most cases, it’s better to just buy new since the prices have become so much cheaper.
Vacuums. Vacuum cleaners are very prone to being abused by their owners, and often times might cost more to fix if you had just bought a new one to begin with. You can buy a new vacuum cleaner for under $100 with all the basic features. All of the extra features that some of the more expensive vacuums have are just not worth the cost.
Flat Screen TVs – When you buy a flat-screen TV used, you are taking the risk that there could be some sort of burn-in on the screen that makes it very undesirable. Some TV’s have limited life spans, and it would not be very much fun to use a television for the last few hours of its life and then have it die. Repairs can be very costly for these televisions, so usually it’s just better to buy one new.
Mattresses – Considering the type of things besides sleeping which are usually done on a bed, who wants to take the risk that you are sleeping in someone else’s “mess”. There could also be all sorts of mold, mites and bacteria which are in a used mattress, that they’re generally just best to avoid.
Bicycle Helmets – Just like a car seat, a helmet is designed to protect you from one accident 
only and no more. Usually an accident crushes the foam inside the helmet during an accident, and the give won’t be there the second time you find yourself in an accident, which will lead to a serious head injury. The helmet might actually look just fine after an accident, but it should still be replaced. They aren’t all that expensive and it’s not worth risking your head for doing so!
The Obvious – There are some things that only crazy people would buy used. This includes undergarments, prescription drugs, and other items specifically designed to only be used by one person. Don’t even think about it!
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I completely disagree with buying used Laptops. I’ve bought many laptops off of craigslist and ebay, and haven’t had any problems with any of them and have saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. You can tell if a laptop has been abuse. I don’t buy cheap laptops such as Acer or HP, I’ve been buying Apple laptops and Thinkpads, and haven’t had a single problem unit yet. When I bought new it was when I had a bad problem with my Macbook Pro. As long as you do your research and know how to buy used, you can save loads of cash.