The 9 Best Things to Buy Used九种最值得购买的二手物品

Buying used items vs. new stuff is always a wise choice. It’s one of the most effective ways you can help protect the environment.

购买二手物品而非新品始终是明智之举。这是你能为保护环境做贡献的最有效方式之一。

You can find used stuff in a wide variety of categories. Here are our picks for the categories where you’re most apt to find smart buys on items that would require significant natural resources to manufacture new.

你可以找到各种各样的二手物品。在以下我们选出的品类中，你最有可能发现物美价廉的好东西，而生产同样的新品则会消耗大量自然资源。

Clothing

服装

Apparel items require massive resources to produce. That pair of jeans you just bought？ It took up to 1，800 gallons of water to produce. Your new t-shirt？ About 715 gallons. Then there’s the environmental impacts of packaging， transporting， and ultimately disposing of clothing.

生产服装需要大量资源。你新买的那条牛仔裤？生产它可需要1800加仑的水。你的新T恤？它大概需要715加仑的水。此外，包装、运输以及最终对衣物的处理都会影响环境。

A LOT of clothes are manufactured every year—and a lot of them get discarded. Fast fashion encourages buying stylish clothes and then quickly discarding stylish clothes， not only because styles change quickly but also because fast fashion items simply aren’t made to last. Clothing and other textiles make up a significant portion of the waste stream.

每年有大量衣物生产出来——也有大量衣物被丢弃。快时尚鼓励人们购买新潮衣物后很快就丢弃，这不仅仅是因为潮流瞬息万变，而且因为快时尚产品根本不耐用。在废弃物中，服装和其他纺织品占了很大比例。

Fortunately， increasing numbers of clothes buyers are choosing to donate or sell used items， which means that you can find incredible buys on everything from almost-new designer apparel to everyday basics.

幸好，越来越多的衣物消费者选择捐赠或者出售二手服装，这意味着你能在二手市场淘到很棒的东西，从几乎全新的名牌服装到基本款服装，应有尽有。

Books

书

Each year， we cut down about 30 million trees to produce new books. In the meantime， our shelves at home overflow with ones we’ve already read， and a number of retailers do brisk1 business buying and selling gently used books at discounts of 50% or more off their cover price.

每年，我们为了出版新书而砍伐的树木约有3000万棵。与此同时，我们家中的书架上堆满了已读过的书，而一些零售商以五折甚至更低的价格买卖八九成新的二手书，生意非常好。

Furniture

家具

You don’t have to be a collector to appreciate the appeal of used furniture. Anyone who’s ever been to an estate sale2 or one of our many antique shops and used furniture resellers has encountered the incredible range of styles and types of furniture that can be snapped up at bargain prices. Better yet， older furniture is often much better made than new items， particularly when it comes to wood furniture.

并非只有收藏家才会欣赏二手家具的魅力。凡是去过搬迁户旧物变卖或是古董店和二手家具转售店的人都曾见过用低价就能捡漏的各种风格和类型的家具。更棒的是，老家具的做工往往比新家具更胜一筹，尤其是木质家具。

People are fickle about furniture. They often change their minds after a purchase， resulting in large inventories of barely-used furniture at second-hand stores and flea markets. From sofas and tables to desks and kids’ furniture， the shopping opportunities are endless.

人们对家具的喜好反复无常。他们经常在购买后改变主意，导致大量几乎全新的家具出现在二手商店和跳蚤市场，从沙发、桌子，到书桌、儿童家具，买二手家具的机会数不胜数。

Shopping for used isn’t your only option， however. You can also transform your current furniture with refinishing techniques or have pieces reupholstered.

然而，购买二手家具并非你唯一的选择。你也可以通过饰面抛光或更换软垫将现有家具改头换面。

Bicycles

自行车

Bicycles are generally well-made and easy to maintain and recondition， which means that there’s no tradeoff in buying used versus new two-wheeled transportation.

自行车通常制造精良，维修方便，这意味着购买二手和一手两轮交通工具没啥区别。

Fortunately， here in one of America’s bike-friendliest communities， you can find great deals on a wide variety of bikes， from sleek road models to fat-tire， winter-ready designs. Whatever bike you choose， you’ll enjoy a significant discount off the price of a new one.

幸运的是，这里是美国最适宜骑自行车的社区之一，你可以找到各种各样超值优惠的自行车，从流线型公路自行车到适合冬季骑行的宽胎款型。无论选择哪款，你都能享受到比新车价格优惠得多的折扣。

Small appliances

小电器

From blenders and toasters to coffee makers and panini presses， a wide range of small appliances can be found at used retailers. Need a slow cooker or a bread maker？ Looking for a toaster， roaster or steamer？ These are all items that can be found in great condition—often barely used—at area resellers. People receive them as gifts. They buy them on impulse. And invariably， a large number of owners discover that they don’t actually use them.

二手零售商出售各种小电器，从搅拌机、吐司机到咖啡机和帕尼尼机。需要慢炖锅或面包机？想要吐司机、烤箱或蒸锅？这些东西在当地转售店都有卖，而且品质极佳——通常没怎么用过。它们或是人们收到的礼物，或是冲动消费的产物。总之多数物品主人发现，他们压根就不用这些东西。

Exercise/sports equipment

锻炼/体育器材

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that a lot of exercise equipment doesn’t get much use. People buy it with the best of intentions， but only a small percentage of purchasers stick with their exercise regimens for the long haul.

很多锻炼器材利用率不高，这并不奇怪。人们购买器材时踌躇满志，但只有少数购买者长期坚持他们的锻炼计划。

Likewise， you can find all kinds of used sports equipment， from lacrosse sticks to hockey skates. Purchased new， these items can cost a fortune， so do yourself a favor and make a point to explore your opportunities to purchase sporting goods used.

同样，你可以找到各种二手体育器材，无论是曲棍球棒还是冰球鞋。这些物品买全新的得花一大笔钱，所以不妨给自己省点钱，留意一下是否有机会购买二手体育商品。