The “New” Discretionary Spending

The "New" Discretionary Spending

Where once, we as a nation bought things as soon as we thought of them, now, not so much. We are learning to be frugal. To be accurate, we are being forced to be frugal.

What was purchased during the time-of-plenty? Everything.

Now as unemployment creeps up, and as debt is being reduced, unneeded items are being sold. How can we tell how many discretionary items are up for sale? By searching http://www.nearbyitems.com/ for the following terms and looking at how many occurrences there are.

On the morning of December 21, 2009, out of 136, 979 total items, here are the counts:

Occurrences    Phrase
13,187   "brand new"
 2,350   "in box"
 2,055   "never used"
 1,444   "never been used"
 1,029   "don't need"
   510   "used once"
    81   "unopened"

If you are a buyer, this is good news since you can acquire like-new items for low prices.

If you are a seller, this sounds like bad news. But there is a silver lining, if you give it a little help. Used items have the best success of being purchased by the following groups in order of success:
    family,
    friends,
    neighbors,
    strangers.

The first three are likely to buy your used items for the asking price, however, with these you are likely to set a "good deal" price.

How can you let them know you have these things for sale?

1. Post them on a classified ad website (like NearbyItems.com), copy the URL to the list, and email that link to family and friends.
2. Talk with family, friends, and neighbors about what you have for sale to see if they are interested. Mention NearbyItems.com.
3. Get others to review the items for sale near them by using the "Within X miles" feature of NearbyItems.com.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch for NearbyItems.com, but keep in mind that the service provided is free when used this way. NearbyItems.com makes money through text advertisements (not wiggly kind) and by premium placement of ads.

Put yourself in the shoes of a neighbor: there may be things you want to buy but it isn't urgent so you put it off. But if you see that item for sale by someone you know up the street, and the price is below the new cost, AND NO SHIPPING charges, when then you are much more likely to buy now.

That is the "new" discretionary spending. It is something needed, bought used at a discount, and nearby.