When Should I Buy New?

We discuss consumer electronics, cars and other big ticket items every week in “i buy new.”

With few exceptions, most items we purchase depreciate over time, making buying used more cost-effective in many instances than purchasing something brand new. This is particularly true for big ticket items you use frequently such as cars or houses; buying used will almost always be more economical than trading or selling later on. Last year we learned this was true when Amazon hosted its own Black Friday-like shopping event in early October; buying secondhand may even make more sense than you think at other times of the year!