Abinaya Kalyanasundaram, a freelance journalist, recently moved to Bengaluru. She had a limited budget to set up her 2BHK apartment. Fridge, furniture, bed, kitchen appliances... there were quite a few things she needed to buy. And getting everything brand new, she realised, would burn a hole in her wallet. So, as per her friend’s advice, she decided to buy secondhand. Abinaya signed up on a classifieds website, joined Facebook and WhatsApp groups and reached out to her friends on her social media pages. About a month later, her house is now fully furnished. It cost her ₹22,000, significantly lesser than if she had brought everything brand new.
More and more people like Abinaya, who move to Bengaluru for employment, education, or other purposes, do not prefer to invest in new goods. Secondhand goods provide flexibility, allowing them to acquire necessary items at lower prices and sell or pass them on when they eventually move to another location. And saving money is just one of the reasons, albeit an important one, for secondhand shopping; it is also sustainable for the environment and is fast becoming a trend, especially with clothing and home decor.
“My main reason for buying secondhand is the cost. I also like a particular aesthetic. For instance, I could have got only a plain plywood table with my budget. Thanks to buying secondhand, I could get an old teakwood table, which also looks nice,” says Abinaya.
