Consumption of Second-Hand Products

Second-hand products refer to used goods and services which are offered commercially by non-formal traders or private individuals rather than commercial producers. Second-hand goods bought by members may include material products (e.g., an unwanted household sofa), while second-hand services may include previously purchased or activated products (e.g., a woodworking machinery service, or an active subscription to a commercial service).

Members of Instructables refer to second hand products using synonyms including garage sale, junk sale and yard sale, while many of these products can be found in places such as non-regular events or non-licenced shops: e.g. clearance and antique shops, rather than standard retail.

Members of Instructables often buy second-hand goods and services to utilise them as components in their individual projects. The consumption of second hand products is mostly associated with a rationalisation of cost for many of the projects published. For example, some members, such as Kerwin, question the rationale of spending money on costly new goods or services when it is possible for an individual to access second-hand materials or services. Kerwin shows how he was able to make a table for his living room through the consumption of materials bought from a second-hand shop:

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“We went to a pallet yard in the outskirts of the town where there was the possibility of choosing from hundreds of units. We eventually got an EPAL (Euro Pallet) …, which cost us around 8$”. (Kerwin, male, observation).

Kerwin shows that prosumers can rationalise the cost of a project through consuming cheaper materials. In this example Kerwin chooses to buy a material good (i.e. a four-way pallet unit made of wood) from a pallet yard rather than from specialised shops such as construction suppliers, which he then uses in his table project. He demonstrates that it is cost effective to substitute a commercial product with a self-made product through the consumption of material components from a second-hand retailer. Other members of Instructables explicitly rationalise the cost for some of their projects through buying second-hand products. Silas, in line with Kerwin, refers to second second-hand shops as suppliers of cost effective materials. Based on his consumer experiences Silas suggests that members of Instructables can find cheaper materials which may reduce the cost of their projects:

“Wax can be a lot cheaper than people think. I got about 10 pounds of wax for $8.50! Just check out your local second-hand store or a garage sale. I went to value world for mine”.

(Silas, male, observation)

Second-hand shops such as Value World and garage sales generally supply unwanted second-hand products such as old clothing, toys, accessories and electronics. Such shops also can sell rare or unusual products for bargain prices. In this context Silas seems to recommend bargain sales, which in a sense rationalise the total cost of individual projects for members in the community. Sloane also believes that prosumers can minimise the cost of their projects through the use of second-hand products left over by other consumers:

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“The material is quite costly but you can still go out there with minimum material and produce humble projects you know what I mean because you already have the array of tools you already sold. You can create a lot of stuff with scraps and cut-offs that other people would throw out.” (Sloane, male, interview).

Sloane highlights the high relative cost of materials required for some prosumers’ projects.

On this basis he suggests that prosumers can use second-hand products rather than buy new components and materials for their Instructables. In addition to the consumption of second-hand products, Sloane emphasises that prosumers can make frequent use of hardware tools which have been previously bought from the marketplace. Thus, prosumers may not only rationalise the financial cost of a project through the consumption of second hand materials, but also rely on the frequent use of their tools as performers of services for many of their projects. This would also mean that prosumers can consume second-hand materials or tools which have previously been bought by other consumers. For example, Angus states that he frequently uses his tools and sometimes repurposes materials left over by other consumers for his projects:

“I have some tools, devices, or stuff to re-use. I buy the material I need to complete a project.

In my last ible: I found two speakers on the road one night, they were left in the garbage. So I bought the new surrounds to repair them.” (Angus, male, interview).

Angus's example shows that though prosumers need to buy materials for their projects, it is sometimes possible to repurpose second-hand materials. In the above Angus shows that he was able to repair a second-hand product for one of his projects rather than buy a new commercial product. This reduces the cost for prosumers’ projects. Kerwin, Sloane, Silas and Angus demonstrate a feature of many prosumers: that of looking for alternatives to

140 mainstream consumption. This involves identifying cheaper, second-hand and/or found materials for their projects. Rationalisation of the cost of projects on Instructables seems relevant to prosumers as consumers of components rather than final products sold in the market.