Come to Think of It... Buying Pre-owned Is the Greenest Way to Buy
- Feb 4, 2010
- Buy Green
- Libby Reder
This fall, you might have seen a set of advertisements that eBay ran that all ended with the “Come to think of it – eBay” tagline. The point of them were to remind people to think of eBay for its wide range of really great deals, and not just on quirky collectibles, but on high quality used and new merchandise, too.
The ads had a couple big themes. First of all, I personally thought they were pretty hilarious. The TV ads featured funnymen Jim Gaffigan, Kevin Hart and Ian Michael Black. The one on the treadmill was definitely one of the more popular ones. You can check out the whole set at ebay.com/cometothinkofit.
The other thing that many of the ads had in common, especially when you looked at them through a green lens, is that they also spoke to the idea that the greenest product is the one that already exists.
It’s always tricky to pick a favorite child, but one ad stands out as a green favorite – the drill ad. In it, there’s a shiny (green-colored) drill standing proudly on workbench. The text reads: “One new drill for Phil. One less drill for mankind. Buying pre-owned is the greenest way to buy.”
By buying pre-owned or vintage items, you’re not asking the planet to produce something new for you, which often times means preventing the use of lots of precious resources that go into making it, but also the emission of a good amount of pollution into the atmosphere. So, what is a great deal for customers also ends up being a great deal for the planet, too.
Of course, the big question remains – if what a person really needs is a hole in their wall, and not actually a drill, does everyone need their own drill? But we’ll tackle that one another time.
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