Sometimes you have to get rid of old things. And if it is furniture, you also have to pay quite a lot of money for disposal and transportation. But an item is rarely completely unusable, and instead of paying the landfill, you could be the one getting paid by selling it on the second-hand market. And the planet will thank you for reducing waste as well (the zero waste concept).
On the other hand, the second-hand trade in goods is practically unlimited ground for your hobbies. Whether you are into video games or sports, on the second-hand market you can not only buy professional equipment at an affordable price, but also sell that equipment on after a while, practically without losing value.
Here are a couple of examples:
– Want to learn to ski but don’t know which skis would be best? Buy a few pairs at once, try them out, choose the best ones and sell the rest on.
– Want to play God Of War, but it is only available on Sony PlayStation? Buy a Sony PlayStation, play, and then sell it on.
– Need a table for your summer cottage? Of course, you could get a plastic one at a store, but for the same money someone is sure to sell you a wooden one that creates the right atmosphere for a good rest.
– Planning to learn surfing on your vacation? Consider buying a used GoPro camera to capture unforgettable moments. After the vacation you can sell the camera, and the videos will remain.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg of what the second-hand market can be used for.
Of course, all of this would be impossible without the internet and classifieds portals. Yes, yes, we have all used ss.lv at some point. But today I would like to tell you about a great alternative – PP.lv.
An interesting fact: PP stands for Buy-Sell (pērc un pārdod), meaning the very idea I have just described is built into the concept of the portal.
Here are some of its strengths that are hard to disagree with:
– Mobility. As much as I love ss.lv, when it comes to searching for something on the second-hand market by phone, ss completely loses its appeal. PP.lv is made for the phone, you can feel it in every button; the interface is not just intuitive but rather natural, as if created by nature itself.
– Technology. On PP.lv I have 2 favourite features: video instead of photos and panoramic 360 photos. A photo of a room in an apartment for sale conveys nothing at all, whereas a video tour gives a sense of presence and an understanding of the layout and size of the rooms. In turn, a 360 photo of a car interior lets you look wherever you want, not where the author of the photo wanted you to look. You can immediately notice if certain buttons are missing and understand the car’s trim level.
– Chat. Chats rule the world. Calling a seller is inconvenient. They may not pick up, or may call back at an inconvenient moment. With chat, everyone replies thoughtfully and at their best. This is especially convenient when the seller speaks another language, as you can use a translator when reading the message.
– Price. ss.lv has non-transparent pricing. Even in free categories, sellers often still end up paying (for example, if you got the price wrong in a free ad and want to lower it, you cannot simply do so. Your choice: pay or wait a couple of weeks). PP.lv is 100% free. To change even a single line in an ad, you do not need to create the ad again, you can simply edit the existing one.
– Monitoring. If you are in the right place at the right time, you can snap something up at a very good price. PP.lv lets you create a filter and have the results sent to you by email. This makes it very easy to be that lucky person who is the first to spot a good deal and get ahead of everyone else.
I think there is no point even listing the little things, such as an unlimited number of photos in ads or handy interface features. If you are used to Google or Facebook, you will definitely like PP.lv, as it technologically meets any expectations.
Finally, I would like to note that reusing things fits perfectly into the concept of minimalism.
In particular, you do not need to keep a huge wardrobe. Often there is a suit hanging in it that was bought, for example, for a graduation and worn only once. Well, you see where I am going with this 😉
I recommend reviewing your belongings right away and posting a couple of ads for sale today, and with the proceeds looking out for that thing you have wanted to buy for so long but were put off by the price (and doing it on the second-hand market on better terms). I am sure it will be an exciting challenge.
