Note: Sears does not have to take back rusted and “abused” tools, but often will in my experince.

I would have to disagree with your craigs recommendation, or what I refer to as “dirty list”. I dont let my kids look on “dirtys list”. Prostitution, erotic services, nanny murders. Google craigs list murders and the list goes on.

If my son wants a dirt bike, atv, I let him look at http://www.wantaddigest.com its local and clean content.

I have a girlfriend who gets the good stuff, brand names and such, at Goodwill. She has the patience to go there and go through everything to find what she wants.

You list the books you have to offer, and you search the inventory for books others are giving up. When you find one you want, you “order” it and the owner mails it out using the mailing wrapper printed from the site. The only expense is postage.

If the book you want isn’t available, add it to your wish list and put the title on “auto request” so that when it becomes available (and you’re first in line for the book), the owner gets a notification and sends it out to you.

Trade is based on credits. When you list books or successfully send out books, you get credits, which are then used to “purchase” books from other members (one credit per book).

I’m probably making it sound more complicated than it is; it’s a really easy system to get the books you want.

***Mind boggles***

[...] Ten Things You Shouldn?t Buy New – Some things are best purchased new ? lingerie pops to mind ? but lots of other stuff depreciates quickly while still having plenty of useable life left. Here are ten items where the cost vs. use equation strongly tilts toward buying used. [...]

[...] In most cases, books are something you shouldn’t buy new. You can usually find what you want at the public library. Or, if you must own certain titles, you can find them cheap at garage sales, thrift shops, and used book stores. It may take a while to find what you want, but that’s part of the fun. [...]

I do agree with you, though. It is a lot easier to just buy new, and get a complete set of sockets or wrenches in a complete range of sizes, than to dig through somebody’s tool chest at a garage sale and try to piece together a set of individually priced wrenches. It might be cheaper, too, and you won’t have gaps in your tool kit.

Never buy a hand tool without a lifetime warrenty. I like Craftsman, not because they are good quality (they are fair at best) but because you can always find a Sears to replace your broken wrenches the same day.

[...] Ten things you shouldn’t buy new [...]

Tip, though: I signed up for several cities surrounding me, and suddenly my inbox was a mess. Choose the largest city near you, or the only one you’d drive to. Otherwise, it’s great.. I received everything from board games to an enormous solid wood desk.. all free (the idea is to keep junk out of the landfills).

2. DVDs, CDs, and videos — A good library is invaluable for these. Leaving out the issue of downloading for now, there’s also great (legal?) sources of video on the net like peekvid and channelchooser.

3. Toys for young children — Yard sales are beautiful for this. Plus, a lot of fun can be had with homemade projects (read Boing Boing or Make frequently for ideas).

4. Jewelry — Ah! Who needs it?

5. Sports equipment — Play It Again Sports.

6. Timeshares — What now?

7. Cars — Buy used, but do a lot of research first.

8. Software and console games — http://www.the-underdogs.info/

9. Office furniture — Or wait until a moving/upgrading company throws out their old stuff. My home office was built on this.

10. Hand tools — I have to disagree here. Never skimp on good hand tools. Sometimes, you really need to pay for quality. I have warped floor boards that stand mute witness.

[...] Ten Things You Shouldn’t Buy New: Liz Pulliam Weston at Money Central lists ten things you shouldn’t buy new. Some things are best purchased new — lingerie pops to mind — but lots of other stuff depreciates quickly while still having plenty of useable life left. Here are ten items where the cost vs. use equation strongly tilts toward buying used. [...]

Come to think of it, you can even use regular people bowls for feeding and water that are cheaper than ones created especially for Fido. It’s amazing how much profit margin must be included in pet products!