Scan the pages of Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) or try the "used" option on Amazon.com and you'll find a thrilling assortment of "preowned" stuff—such as books, CDs, DVDs, even electronics—for way-below-retail prices. I regularly buy great stuff in "like new" condition without the hassle of a bidding war on an auction site.
But I recently read a report on MSN Money that offered a list of goods never to buy used. The list featured several electronic products that actors use regularly—including laptops, DVD players, and camcorders. I don't completely agree with the list or its reasoning.
When it comes to laptop and desktop computers, a store or manufacturer's warranty is definitely something I advise getting. But if you can find a cheap used one, I think all of us—actors and commoners—need a backup computer. At some point, everyone will suffer a computer breakdown; it's nearly inevitable, no matter the make or model. And the computer's warranty will do you little good while you scramble to have it repaired, which will probably take days or weeks.
Within the last year, my commercial agents have gone electronic: All my audition appointments are now sent to me via email, along with a simultaneous text message advising me to check my email. There's no phone call. This is not a trend that will go away like the Hula Hoop. More and more, our careers depend upon having a computer, not just to facilitate self-promotion but to get auditions.
So if you find a good computer deal on Craigslist, it could be a career-saving investment, but with the following caveat: You must be able to take it for a test run before buying. Ask the seller if you can see how it starts up, surfs the Internet, and runs, say, a word-processing program. If you can't do this, don't buy.
Remember, it doesn't have to be as spiffy as your main computer; this is just your backup. Testing it requires a trip to the seller and a way to carry it home, obviously. But for a couple of hundred dollars or less, it's worth buying, even if you use it only a few weeks a year—or never.
Experts warn that a DVD player's lasers will eventually wear out and cost more to replace than the unit is worth. I agree. But the truth is that most of us overbuy when it comes to these little machines.
As someone who has hooked up many DVD players for friends over the years, I've discovered that the off-brand $35 player works just as well and as reliably as the $200 name brand, albeit with fewer bells and whistles. Mainly it's snobbery that leads us away from the cheapest units, figuring if it's that cheap, it must be junk. So in this case there's no need to buy used. Just go for the bargain; you won't be sorry.
If you're looking to watch movies in high definition (HD), however, you'll need a high-definition TV and a compatible DVD player that together will show off the technology's full, gorgeous effects—and those will not be cheap. You'll find HD-DVD and Blu-ray players (two competing formats, like VHS and Beta were in the 1980s) for no less than about $350 (Toshiba has a model for this rock-bottom price). Most players will cost even more, some considerably more, though those prices will come down in time.
The problem with buying a used camcorder is that it's insanely expensive to repair once it's out of warranty. When the zoom on my Sony camcorder became sticky, the company helpfully offered to fix it for $500. But you can purchase a wonderful camcorder for well under $300. Most of us buy units that cost twice or three times that much and offer special effects we won't even use—because we can add the same effects when we edit the footage on our computers. So why pay for those extra features? You shouldn't.