buying guide

You’ve moved into a share house and the kitchen has nearly everything. There’s a kettle, a mismatched set of mugs, and a gap where the fridge should be, with a power point waiting. A new fridge costs a lot. A cheap one on Marketplace is twenty minutes away. The laundry might be just as empty. […]

Every October the same listings turn up. A runabout on its trailer in a driveway, photographed from its good side: “always garaged, runs well, ready for summer”. A jet ski with the cover half off. A tinnie whose motor, according to the seller, “just needs a run”. Summer is six weeks away and half the […]

Babies grow out of things quickly, which is why the second-hand market is full of prams that look almost new. A pram might be used daily for a year or so and then folded into the garage, so buying one second-hand can be a sensible way to save money on something you’ll only need for […]

The listing says $900. The photos show a chunky e-bike with fat tyres and a big battery, and the description says it “goes like stink”. It sounds like a great buy for getting to work, and that price is a fair bit under what a new one costs. That price is also your first warning. […]

Every spring, the new phone launches push a wave of last year’s handsets onto Australian marketplaces, and some of the prices are very tempting. Most of those sellers are simply upgrading and want a fair return on a phone they looked after. A few, though, are selling something that will cause you trouble the moment […]