We have bought a number of second hand small appliances over the years. Our most recent purchase has been bread machines which was outlined here.
Why do we buy second hand ones…well for one they are cheaper and secondly, to reduce eWaste. It is amazing (or disappointing) how many perfectly good appliances are thrown out because they are no longer wanted.
Smaller appliances can be fad type products which are bought with good intentions to use, but after a few uses end up sitting collecting dust. Alternatively, some buyers chose to do a product ‘upgrade’ to get something with more bells and whistles (we have experienced this buying a second and Janome sewing machine).
If you do you homework and buy brands/models known to be reliable and good one - you can score a bargain which will give you many years of use.
We bought a second Sunbeam BM7850 bread maker (virtually new condition for $80) to give it a go. We knew of the reports that they have a common fault over time where the control board fails in a large percentage of machines. We took the punt, but it didn’t pay off. About a year later and possibly 150 loaves, the control panel failed. We got burnt and bought an old Panasonic as a replacement which is still going strong after a few hundred more loaves since bought (it has been well used when we bought it for $20).
The Janome sewing machine we bought, the old owners were great and did a service (worth about $120) on the machine to sell it. It was a current model, about 2 years old, in new condition and about 2/3 of new price. It has also been a great buy.
We are currently looking out for a mix master (our Sunbeam one from the 1970s died - motor smoked) and plan to buy one in the coming months. Patience is needed and also looking on line for feedback from other users is important so that you don’t buy a dud. Getting long term feedback over many years isn’t something you can get from many models available new in store - a bit of advantage when buying second hand.
