Why Buy Vintage, Used or Second-Hand Goods

Re-posting this timeless article because, well, recycling!

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Fabulous vintage style maven, thanks to the Hannah Morgan Kelly Tumbler page.

There are plenty of reasons to justify investments in previously adored merchandise. Fortify your decisions to choose used with these brilliant bits of truth.

1. Be unique.

If you opt to wear vintage, are you ever at risk for cookie-cutter couture? Au contraire, my dear—you demonstrate your independence and flair. You can set yourself apart from the crowd by reaching back in time to reclaim and celebrate fashion, home decor and collectibles of all kinds. When you fill your home with vintage treasures, guests will ooh and aah as they walk down memory lane. You can mix and match centuries while creating a look that's uniquely yours.

2. Get hand-crafted quality.

Label from a pair of deadstock vintage union-made Crown overalls.

The term "vintage" covers a lot of turf, but it often spells higher quality. For instance, back in the day, American-made merchandise was prized around the world for its workmanship.

Industrialization meant automated production for many items that were once lovingly made by hand of only the finest materials.

Mass production has diluted quality, as has off-shore manufacturing that takes advantage of cheaper labor and materials.

There's something reassuring about a tag that tells you a human being took care to see that your merchandise was well made.

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3. Decrease landfills.

Seriously, people, we have all that we need in this world already. You just have to find it! Whether you're looking for something sick to wear or amazing to adorn your home, it already exists. When you pop for goods that have been around the block but have life left in them, you're doing your part to diminish landfills. Buying used items is the ultimate form of recycling.

4. Claim a piece of history.

There's a lot of good juju in redeeming an item that might otherwise be cast off. It feels good to breathe new life into an object that another person no longer has a use for. And when you buy something that has lived for a while, it has a story to tell. You're connected to another place and time. Damn, that's deep.

Ladies doing their holiday shopping, circa 1910-15.

5. Support a small business.

Most of us who ply the trade of reselling are small business owners, so your dollars go to support mom and pop shops rather than corporate execs in their corner offices. If you like to contribute to our thriving entrepreneurial society versus the Walmartification of America, then by all means buy vintage. You can find curated treasures from sellers like us online, via our own websites or selling platforms such as eBay and Etsy as well as in brick-and-mortar stores, flea markets, pop-up shops and more.

6. Enjoy the journey.

via GIPHY

Buying vintage is more of an adventure than buying vanilla, brand-spanking new, everybody-has-one stuff from popular retailers in our over-merchandized world.

You may need to do more searching or digging to find exactly what you need, but that's part of the fun.

If you make up your mind to buy vintage, you will find the benefits are so plentiful, that your cup will runneth over. And over. And over again.

P.S. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention you can find a wide assortment of cool vintage finds in our eBay store.

Copyright © 2015 Susan Buie dba Cool Vintage Finds