Buy a Used Xbox

I'm a father of two, but that doesn't mean I wear my pants under my arms and talk about video games like they're poisoning our youth's minds (well, some games are). I'm all about some game time with my friends. Granted, I don't have as much time to play these days, but when I do, I still enjoy it very much.

I'm not a "fan boy" of any certain console, but I only have experience with a couple of the top three, and the most used of the two is my Xbox 360.

If you're unfamiliar with everything the Xbox 360 can do, let to start a little list here for you.

• Play the latest "next generation" games in hi-def
• Play online multiplayer matches with your friends and the rest of the online community
• Watch movies on DVD (upscaled!)
• Watch movies and TV shows with Netflix
• Connect to your home network to stream your favorite music, videos, and pics

So as you can see, you can do quite a lot of things with this one device. It's no wonder the Xbox is so popular. There's one thing that pretty much all video game consoles have in common, though, and the Xbox is no exception. That one thing is cost. Consoles like the Xbox aren't cheap when you buy them new. And don't forget the games! At around $60 each, you can drop several hundred dollars a year on games (depending on your habit, of course).

Also, while the Xbox 360 is a great console, it has had a few bumps in the road since its release. The most notorious of its problems is the Red Ring of Death (RRoD). It's a known hardware issue that's recognized by Microsoft, so if you have an Xbox that's still under warranty there's no need to fret. But if you've had your Xbox for a while and suffer these symptoms, you'll have to pay to have it repaired or simply buy another Xbox. (read: When to Buy a Used Xbox)

The popularity of the Xbox 360 and its long production life means there are lots of used Xbox consoles out there. So if you're in the market for one, consider buying a used Xbox instead of one off the shelf. You can save lots of money this way as long as you're smart about it.

Used Xbox

Just like with any used item, a used Xbox isn't that hard to find if you look in the usual places: yard sales, craigslist, eBay. My suggestion, however, is to stick with eBay unless you personally know the person you're buying from. If you end up buying a used xbox that's been banned from Microsoft's Live service or one that suffers from the RRoD (see above), you're not going to have many courses of action.

I like buying used items from eBay because you usually have a way counteract a negative experience. If you completed your purchase with PayPal, you've got another layer of protection and stand a good chance of getting your money back.

Before you go bounding away to eBay, check out a site that's already done a bit of the work for you. One of the tedious things about eBay is wading through all the "spammy" auctions. If you click over to BuyUsedGear.com, you'll be able to see the best auctions all on one page. They use a filtering process that sifts through eBay auctions to bring the best to the front so you can browse more easily. When you're ready to buy an item, you're taken to eBay to make a bid and/or pay for your used Xbox.

If you're thinking about getting a used Xbox, I hope this has been some help. Leave a comment or question below!

Buying a Used iPad for Christmas

Am I really about to talk about Christmas already?  Yep, I am.  Since this is going to be a "thrifty" blog, I'm going to talk about ways to save cash.  Since saving cash does not involve buying things at the last minute around the holidays, I hope to talk you into getting a jump on things now.  Christmas will be here before you know it, folks.

So I'd like to talk about iPads today.  If you haven't heard, Apple makes this magical little device that lets you surf the web, listen to music, read your books, watch movies, and check your email all from a large, slim touch screen.  If you've ever used an iPod touch, the experience is similar except the iPad has an interface more suitable for a tablet and more power "under the hood."

Granted, these items aren't cheap when bought at retail.  They easily cost as much as a standard laptop, so unless you or whoever you might purchase an iPad for is a big Apple fan, the iPad may not make sense at first glance.

But remember, this is a thrift blog, I'm not going to suggest you buy one of these brand new off the shelf.  I want you to buy a used iPad.

You save some pretty serious cash if you decide to pick up a used iPad, somewhere around 20%... and how often will you see a 20% iPad sale at the Apple store?  If you guessed never, you'd be right.

You may be wondering where to find a good used iPad for sale.  Let me advise you to skip over craigslist right now before we go any further.  There are just too many people out there running scams to get your hard-earned money and with craigslist, there's absolutely no protection if someone sells you a bad unit or if they just decide to grab your cash and run.  Instead, I recommend going with online auctions and making your payment via PayPal.

Everyone has heard of eBay, I'm sure, and that's where I'd like to send you.  But before jump over to endless pages of diluted listings, try going over to BuyUsedGear.com first.

The folks at Buy Used Gear are using a pretty sophisticated filtering system to pull only the best eBay auctions.  You can visit just one page and see all the best used iPad auctions at a glance.  If you think you've found a deal and want to bite, you'll be taken to eBay to place a bid and finish the transaction.

At this point you may be say, "Ok, this is pretty cool and all, but why now?  Why so soon?"  The answer lies in supply and demand.

The iPad is going to have another huge year this holiday.  The closer Christmas gets, the more scarce used iPads will be, which means they will cost more and more.  Your best bet is to go ahead and secure a used iPad now and save yourself both some cash and a few headaches.

I hope this has been helpful.  Come back later for more updates on how to save big on used items.