Second-hand stuff that didn't work out

[mikandmari]

The post about the stinky shoes made we wonder about what things you guys have purchased second-hand that just didn't work out.

I said in that post that even though I occasionally get burned buying something used, I think that I still come out way ahead by shopping this way.

I bought a toaster oven at an estate auction for $5. It looked brand new, but the oven part just didn't work. Fearing it would be a fire hazard, I didn't try to fix it.

One time I got a dining room buffet for next to nothing. Very pretty... until the tobacco smoke smell started seeping out into the room. Phew! I learned that once particle board smells like smoke, you just can't get rid of the oder. I gave it away (to a smoker!).

I'm sure I've made other mistakes, too, but fortunately MOST of the used stuff I buy is a huge success

[M55FF]

Mari I have done it too... to buy something used and it didn't work out. When I was in my early 20's... I tended to buy lemon cars !!!
and I still get a bad deal every now and then. Don't let them stinky shoes get you down.
You can always give them to a single woman you know.... ( maybe a daughter, neice or neighbor) to keep on her porch. Mens shoes on a porch are good protective devices as any potenetial burlgar or other criminal will see them on the porch and think a man may be in there... driving them away from that residence.

I've bought all kinds of things bad like recently ( within 6 months) a electric skillet from a flea market that everything stuck to like glue.
I can't even use it.

we all do it.
Be creative... maybe with some cutting and glue, they would make nice bird feeders to hang in the tree for robins to make a nest.

[nuisance26]

~I've picked up some second hand kitchen gadgets and bakeware that didn't work out for me. But I sold some of it at my yard sales and got my loot back. Used clothes for my hubby have been a complete waste. Even if the clothes look brand new he will wear every other thing he has and leave those items in the drawer. I've stopped buying used things for him.~

[C@rol]

I've had a few things that didn't work out.
But that's the chance we take I guess.

Speaking of smoking, I bought a pair of all
leather shoes that looked practically new
but once I got them home the cigarette
smell took over my house. I couldn't
stand it. I cleaned them, put them outside,
stuffed them with newspaper. No luck.
I gave them to Goodwill.

Purchased a used DVD that wouldn't read
in any of our players. Emailed the seller
and they said "oh, it played fine for us,
we got it from.....Video Rental Store."
They did refund the money.

But most purchases have worked out.

[Samigirl]

We were given a used freezer. The door wouldn't close all the way, and it was very inefficient. It cost us more to run than the savings I got by stocking up. We ended up buying a brand new one.

One used car we bought one was a lemon. The engine would die while driving on a hot day. We put money into it, trying to fix it, but never did figure out what was wrong. We lost money on it when we traded it in on another car.

My husband bought some used fencing, sight unseen, for $400. He knew the person selling it, and it was supposed to be decent wood. We hauled it home, and after going through it, we noticed most of it was weathered and falling apart. It would split every time you tried to put a nail into it. We ended up giving it away. We were broke at the time, and $400 dollars was a lot of money for us to shell out for nothing.

[imforpeace]

Mine was a recliner bought at a friend's mom's yard sale. It was a great deal until I got it home. Boy, did it smell of smoke! Yikes! You just don't smell it when it's outside at a yard sale!

[shortstack]

My next door neighbors recently bought a bedroom suite that had a perfume smell in it that they couldn't get out. In fact the smell seeped into their carpet and their walls. They had to take the furniture out, shampoo the carpet and repaint the walls. It was a huge ordeal. They ended up giving the furniture away and are now saving up to but another set.
I felt really bad for them because the stress of it all caused the wife to have panic attacks.

Andrea

[Dancing Lotus]

My next door neighbors recently bought a bedroom suite that had a perfume smell in it that they couldn't get out. In fact the smell seeped into their carpet and their walls. They had to take the furniture out, shampoo the carpet and repaint the walls. It was a huge ordeal. They ended up giving the furniture away and are now saving up to but another set.
I felt really bad for them because the stress of it all caused the wife to have panic attacks.

Andrea

I cant imagine having a panic attack over some smelly furniture. Poor lady.

[zazenist]

DH and I once bought a rice cooker CHEAP off of an Indian grad student we knew, and it just would not make good rice. Actually, it really wouldn't do much of anything. Bummer, since we were so psyched to get one.

But the worst one was this - bad not only from the disappointment of it not working out but bad also because we were trying to go greener... We saw a push mower for sale on Craig's List for $5. Hey! we thought, we can lose that gas one and reduce emissions and noise pollution at the same time! Hooray us! Well, we have a fairly big yard, and if you've never used a push mower... Suffice to say having to do that once a week in 98 degree weather sent the push mower to the back corner of the shed and got the gasser out and about again. Oh well.

[Marie78]

I bought a sweater second hand several years ago and it had a powerful perfume smell tht I didn't notice in the store. I only noticed it after I washed it at home before I wore it and then the sweater always smelled like the perfume, no matter how many times I washed it. I had to get rid of it, I couldn't stand the smell!

[qtkitty]

I bought a bread machine a few years back at a thrift store for $5 all the peices and things were in it.. i have yet to even try it out *lol*

I just make bread by hand *LOL*

[joyofsix]

Well, we have a fairly big yard, and if you've never used a push mower... Suffice to say having to do that once a week in 98 degree weather sent the push mower to the back corner of the shed and got the gasser out and about again. Oh well.

When we first moved here that is what we used for the whole acre we mow. I remember being 9 mo pregnant and pushing that thing around. The neighbor actually took pity and came over with his riding mower to finish the job, lol.

[shoiji]

Other than the fax/scanner/copier/printer machine I had that did come in handy but was way to expensive to keep, a couple of things that I thought was a good deal only three months later ending up thinking what was I on when I bought this. It is so easy to get caught up on the thrill of the buy you forget that just because it is a great deal doesn't make it match your decor.

[heartofmine]

The one time I really got upset was when my ds bought a game system at a sale for $15.00 and the people had swore up and down it was in perfect working order and nothing wrong with it at all. He wasn't very old and had been saving his money to go yard saling and he was so excited when he found it. I specifically said does it work and play fine and more questions and they just flat out lied. My son was heart broken. I didn't take it back as it was in the next town over and would have cost me more in gas than he spent. That was a hard lesson for the poor kid. Makes me mad even now thinking about it and that was several years ago.

Edited to add that I don't return things to yard sales but in this case if it had been close I probably would have because they lied to a child.

[mmy2grls]

I bought drapes for a sliding glass door from a yard sale for $30. When I hung them up they had a bad cat pee smell to it and I threw it away. I didn't have much money at that time so a $30 loss was a lot.