The 9 Best Things to Buy Used九种最值得购买的二手物品

傅颖/译

Buying used items vs. new stuff is always a wise choice. Its one of the most effective ways you can help protect the environment.

購买二手物品而非新品始终是明智之举。这是你能为保护环境做贡献的最有效方式之一。

You can find used stuff in a wide variety of categories. Here are our picks for the categories where youre most apt to find smart buys on items that would require significant natural resources to manufacture new.

你可以找到各种各样的二手物品。在以下我们选出的品类中，你最有可能发现物美价廉的好东西，而生产同样的新品则会消耗大量自然资源。

Clothing

服装

Apparel items require massive resources to produce. That pair of jeans you just bought？ It took up to 1，800 gallons of water to produce. Your new t-shirt？ About 715 gallons. Then theres the environmental impacts of packaging， transporting， and ultimately disposing of clothing.

生产服装需要大量资源。你新买的那条牛仔裤？生产它可需要1800加仑的水。你的新T恤？它大概需要715加仑的水。此外，包装、运输以及最终对衣物的处理都会影响环境。

A LOT of clothes are manufactured every year—and a lot of them get discarded. Fast fashion encourages buying stylish clothes and then quickly discarding stylish clothes， not only because styles change quickly but also because fast fashion items simply arent made to last. Clothing and other textiles make up a significant portion of the waste stream.

每年有大量衣物生产出来——也有大量衣物被丢弃。快时尚鼓励人们购买新潮衣物后很快就丢弃，这不仅仅是因为潮流瞬息万变，而且因为快时尚产品根本不耐用。在废弃物中，服装和其他纺织品占了很大比例。

Fortunately， increasing numbers of clothes buyers are choosing to donate or sell used items， which means that you can find incredible buys on everything from almost-new designer apparel to everyday basics.

幸好，越来越多的衣物消费者选择捐赠或者出售二手服装，这意味着你能在二手市场淘到很棒的东西，从几乎全新的名牌服装到基本款服装，应有尽有。

Books

书

Each year， we cut down about 30 million trees to produce new books. In the meantime， our shelves at home overflow with ones weve already read， and a number of retailers do brisk1 business buying and selling gently used books at discounts of 50% or more off their cover price.

每年，我们为了出版新书而砍伐的树木约有3000万棵。与此同时，我们家中的书架上堆满了已读过的书，而一些零售商以五折甚至更低的价格买卖八九成新的二手书，生意非常好。

Furniture

家具

You dont have to be a collector to appreciate the appeal of used furniture. Anyone whos ever been to an estate sale2 or one of our many antique shops and used furniture resellers has encountered the incredible range of styles and types of furniture that can be snapped up at bargain prices. Better yet， older furniture is often much better made than new items， particularly when it comes to wood furniture.

并非只有收藏家才会欣赏二手家具的魅力。凡是去过搬迁户旧物变卖或是古董店和二手家具转售店的人都曾见过用低价就能捡漏的各种风格和类型的家具。更棒的是，老家具的做工往往比新家具更胜一筹，尤其是木质家具。

People are fickle about furniture. They often change their minds after a purchase， resulting in large inventories of barely-used furniture at second-hand stores and flea markets. From sofas and tables to desks and kids furniture， the shopping opportunities are endless.

人們对家具的喜好反复无常。他们经常在购买后改变主意，导致大量几乎全新的家具出现在二手商店和跳蚤市场，从沙发、桌子，到书桌、儿童家具，买二手家具的机会数不胜数。

Shopping for used isnt your only option， however. You can also transform your current furniture with refinishing techniques or have pieces reupholstered.

然而，购买二手家具并非你唯一的选择。你也可以通过饰面抛光或更换软垫将现有家具改头换面。

Bicycles

自行车

Bicycles are generally well-made and easy to maintain and recondition， which means that theres no tradeoff in buying used versus new two-wheeled transportation.

自行车通常制造精良，维修方便，这意味着购买二手和一手两轮交通工具没啥区别。

Fortunately， here in one of Americas bike-friendliest communities， you can find great deals on a wide variety of bikes， from sleek road models to fat-tire， winter-ready designs. Whatever bike you choose， youll enjoy a significant discount off the price of a new one.

幸运的是，这里是美国最适宜骑自行车的社区之一，你可以找到各种各样超值优惠的自行车，从流线型公路自行车到适合冬季骑行的宽胎款型。无论选择哪款，你都能享受到比新车价格优惠得多的折扣。

Small appliances

小电器

From blenders and toasters to coffee makers and panini presses， a wide range of small appliances can be found at used retailers. Need a slow cooker or a bread maker？ Looking for a toaster， roaster or steamer？ These are all items that can be found in great condition—often barely used—at area resellers. People receive them as gifts. They buy them on impulse. And invariably， a large number of owners discover that they dont actually use them.

二手零售商出售各种小电器，从搅拌机、吐司机到咖啡机和帕尼尼机。需要慢炖锅或面包机？想要吐司机、烤箱或蒸锅？这些东西在当地转售店都有卖，而且品质极佳——通常没怎么用过。它们或是人们收到的礼物，或是冲动消费的产物。总之多数物品主人发现，他们压根就不用这些东西。

Exercise/sports equipment

锻炼/体育器材

It wont come as a surprise to anyone that a lot of exercise equipment doesnt get much use. People buy it with the best of intentions， but only a small percentage of purchasers stick with their exercise regimens for the long haul.

很多锻炼器材利用率不高，这并不奇怪。人们购买器材时踌躇满志，但只有少数购买者长期坚持他们的锻炼计划。

Likewise， you can find all kinds of used sports equipment， from lacrosse sticks to hockey skates. Purchased new， these items can cost a fortune， so do yourself a favor and make a point to explore your opportunities to purchase sporting goods used.

同样，你可以找到各种二手体育器材，无论是曲棍球棒还是冰球鞋。这些物品买全新的得花一大笔钱，所以不妨给自己省点钱，留意一下是否有机会购买二手体育商品。

Childrens products

儿童用品

Kids grow up fast. The clothes they wore last season no longer fit them this season. The toys they loved a year ago， they cant be bothered to play with today. Which means that choice and bargains abound across the gamut3 of childrens products， from apparel to games to play equipment.

小孩子长得快，上季穿过的衣服在当季就穿不下了。他们去年喜欢的玩具现在就不爱玩了。这意味着从服装到游戏用具再到玩乐设备，各种儿童产品都有很多廉价的二手货可供选择。

Its always a good bet to shop used for kids items， not least because so many toys and other items are made from plastics that cant be recycled. Your kid will love what you buy， and youll feel good about keeping these goods out of the trash.

购买二手儿童用品总是明智的，尤其是因为太多玩具和其他儿童用品是塑料制品，无法回收。你的孩子会喜欢你买的东西，你也会为让这些东西免遭丢弃而感到高兴。

Home electronics

家用电子产品

Home electronics， much of it mass-produced devices that are frequently updated and discarded， generates a tremendous amount of whats known as “e-waste.” The United Nations estimates 50 million tons of which are discarded every year.

許多家用电子产品是批量生产的设备，更新换代快，经常被丢弃，从而产生了数量惊人的所谓“电子垃圾”。据联合国估计，每年被丢弃的“电子垃圾”有5000万吨。

Fortunately， a growing number of resellers are focusing on this category. And because so many consumers tend to discard perfectly functional items for the “latest and greatest，” you can find great deals on barely-used items， including computers and monitors， smartphones， Blu-Ray players， gaming consoles， flat-panel TVs， digital cameras， speakers and much more.

幸好，越来越多的转售商开始关注这类商品。由于太多消费者一味追求“最新最好”，往往为此丢弃功能完好的旧型号，你可以花很少的钱淘到几乎全新的设备，包括电脑、显示器、智能手机、蓝光播放器、游戏机、平板电视、数码相机、扬声器等等。

Musical Instruments

乐器

The price gap between new and used can be astonishing when it comes to musical instruments， so it really pays to shop second-hand in this category. And thats especially true when it comes to instruments for a child. Its great insurance to buy used for your child since you have no idea if theyll really commit to the instrument.

新旧乐器的差价可能大得惊人，因此这类物品买二手货很划算。给孩子买乐器时尤其如此，因为你不知道他们是否真的会用心学，所以给孩子买二手乐器就十分保险了。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）