Rebuying things you used to own - do you do this?

[Cinnamon Imp]

Lately I've been haunting ebay, trying to track down new versions of a pair of boots I used to own. The old pair fell to bits, but I still regretted binning them, and since women's fashion moves on constantly, the original manufacturer doesn't sell them anymore and I need to wait for new pairs to show up, either from retail discount warehouses, or people having a wardrobe clearout.

These are the boots - not my size sadly, but I've already got new pairs in brown and black, thankfully.

I also stumbled across a new-to-me version of a top I used to own, in a charity shop. Again, I'd worn the original top to death, so was delighted to get a 'new' version, but sadly, it's already slightly ripped [1] so I'm haunting ebay for a third copy of it too.

And now it's occured to me that those two dresses I binned in the massive clear-out I had to have when my husband threw me out, yeah, I want them back too, so once again, I'm scouring ebay searching by size, colour and manufacturer, with no joy so far.

Am I the only one? Is this an early sign of hoarding behaviour? Or am I just too set in my ways, and should really update my look

[1] Stupid charity shop price tag damaged the neckline, probably between me buying it and getting it home.

[zoid]

When I find an item I really like, especially clothes, I always buy 2 - and I'm a dude!

[Cinnamon Imp]

Ah, but what do you do when those two run out, huh?

And serious question - to wear consecutively, or to wear one till it falls apart, then start wearing the unworn one?

[AaronX]

Now you're just some shoes that I used to own?

[Mangetout]

I had the best umbrella ever and stupidly lost it on the train, only to find it nearly impossible to find the same type again. Just found them again this week.

I bought 3. I'll use one and put the other two in my cupboard...

SPOILER:

saving them for a rainy day

[Pine Fresh Scent]

Originally Posted by zoid

When I find an item I really like, especially clothes, I always buy 2 - and I'm a dude!

Same here. I'm still going on my first Guiness Dublin T-shirt, and still have two more mint-in-package ready for my 50th and 60th birthdays.

So, I have that going for me, which is nice.

[Seanette]

I've rebought books that I loved as a kid.

[Der Trihs]

I've rebought video games I used to own.

[LouisB]

Originally Posted by Seanette

I've rebought books that I loved as a kid.

Ditto

[Hogfather65]

Over the last few years I have done a load of this. After my divorce I was bitter and loads of time on my hands.

Started with my Band of brothers DVD box set - X bought them for my birthday - smashed them to bits and spent £50 getting the exact same set - What it was a great show and at least I bought them this time.

But I have trolled ebay and car boot sales and have dug up
books I used to read as a teenager (Piers Anthony's Xanth books)
Comics and Annuals I read as a kid (2000AD, Judge Dredd & and a Starlord one)
Games I used to play - even a play by mail (not email mind) game that is still going to this day.
T-shirts I used to own - oh ebay you are my new love..... you make me feel young again....

[Seanette]

This thread reminds me, I need to see if I can find a T-shirt shop in town that has a duplicate of a favorite of mine that's in dire need of repairs or replacement.

[Smapti]

When I was a teenager, I had an already-by-then out-of-print Avalon Hill tabletop solitaire game where you command a Sherman tank in WWII. It got lost at some point between the various times I moved around in those years. I loved the hell out of that game.

Last year, I tracked down a copy of it on eBay and paid $150 for it.

It was worth it.

[zoid]

I has a Shadowfax CD I loved in college - The Dreams of Children.
It went out of print and it took me forever to track down a perfect, unopened copy.

[kittenblue]

I'm still seething over losing an ebay auction in the last ten seconds (after no bidding activity for hours and having a top bid waaaay over the current bid) of a plastic bathtub toy I loved as a child that my daughter accidentally broke when she was two, twenty-eight years ago! I have searched for years for this toy, in flea markets and antique-y shops and online, and to finally find it, with a box (which I didn't care about) and then not get it was beyond annoying. At least I made the other bidder pay six times what I was winning it for!.

I have also gotten extra copies of beloved childhood books so that my grandchildren can each have their own copy, and I'm currently searching for other toys from mine and my children's childhoods. We don't throw too much away in terms for toys, but I want duplicates of things the kids had to share. Clothes, however, don't hold as much nostalgia, especially since I generally sewed my own clothes throughout high-school and couldn't replicate them if I searched forever!

And it's not something I USED to own, but currently own that was looking like it was being discontinued, that I went on a buying binge on to obtain enough to last through the estimated rest of my life...my favorite hairbrush. I now own twelve. And the stickers they use to indicate a soon-to-be discontinued item at the store have been removed, and the item is still being restocked...I often wonder if it is because I bought up all the stock at six different stores in the space of a week?

[FordTaurusSHO94]

I've bought video games that I've previously owned. You can download most old games to current consoles.

In the 90's, I was obsessed with Nike Air Max running shoes. I've considered buying the 95-98 versions several times.

[Student Driver]

Video games, books, comics, music, movies. And not in the sense of buying them in a new format or a download, but in the sense of buying the same item more than once. Sometimes lost, sometimes stolen, sometimes damaged or destroyed.

I do it with clothes, too. Especially after the ex-fiancee, to whom I gave everything back which she had given me. Afterward, I found that I missed several of the pieces of clothing she'd gotten me -- a well-fitted suit, a jacket, some shoes -- that I went out and repurchased them.

[Scumpup]

I've repurchased a few guns to replace ones that poverty forced me to sell earlier in life.

[Athena]

I bought a Cyclo Teacher off eBay because I had such fond memories of it from my childhood. A few year's later, my Mom found my original one somewhere, so now I have two of 'em sitting here in my office.

[tdn]

Not generally, but...

I've owned several copies of the LOTR books. I seem to keep losing them. I don't currently have a copy of Fellowship.

I had this weird toy when I was a kid, and spent mucho bucks on another one from Ebay a few years back. Ah, the high price of nostalgia!

Last December I bought the best shoes I have ever owned. I destroyed them pretty fast. I ordered another pair just like them recently.

[hogarth]

I buy a pair of Dockers oxford shoes (similar to this, except black) every two years or so, when the sole of the previous pair wears out. Maybe I should start stocking up...

[GreenElf]

I've bought some things I used to own on Ebay, and also many things I never owned but wanted to own. I usually identify something on Ebay that I want to buy right before it's price skyrockets from bargain to collectible levels, and I wind up not getting it because my snipes were too low to win an auction. It seems everyone else takes an interest in something at right about the same time I do.

[Sattua]

I've been re-buying children's books for my daughter. All the Berenstain Bears, all the Dr. Seuss, plus some one-offs I was fond of like Panda Cake.

And Bass penny loafers in cordovan. Eventually the soles crack side-to-side and they need replacing.

[Hypno-Toad]

At a Con, I bought a copy of a D&D module, The Village of Homlet. I'd gotten it as a kid but sold it years later in college. It was the very first thing I ever saw for D&D and got me into the game. It just sits on a shelf being memorable now.

[Vita Beata]

Without intending to, both DH and I forget what we own (say, in books or seasonal clothing) and repurchase the same things!

[Taomist]

I've been looking for the boots that suited me SO well for SO long. 20 bucks at Walmart 3 years ago; worn daily and with great abuse for most of that time. Still the most comfortable things I've ever owned, still in great shape. I keep hoping Walmart will bring them back; still looking, lol.

[BwanaBob]

Originally Posted by tdn

Not generally, but...

I've owned several copies of the LOTR books. I seem to keep losing them. I don't currently have a copy of Fellowship.

I had this weird toy when I was a kid, and spent mucho bucks on another one from Ebay a few years back. Ah, the high price of nostalgia!

Last December I bought the best shoes I have ever owned. I destroyed them pretty fast. I ordered another pair just like them recently.

I had Kabala when it was brand new! It was so cool playing it in the dark. I forget what was on the little cards - please refresh my memory.

[BwanaBob]

When I moved out of my parents house I regretfully sold my entire Hardy Boys collection to a used book store. As I sold it I told myself that one day I would regret it. Twenty years later I found myself buying them for my son.

[Taomist]

Last year I went online and found a few of the Reader's Digest Condensed books that I read when I was little. Still love 'em.

Also found and bought another Nintendo Shadowrun game cartridge, despite the fact I haven't owned a Nintendo system in...well, over a decade, maybe 15 years? One of these days I'll get an old one, just so I can play again the only game I ever have liked on a console system.

[HoneyBadgerDC]

I sold off things after my divorce I regretted and have since replaced them, mostly tools, also things that have been stolen seem to linger in me unless I replace them .

[MLS]

I have rebought things I still own but can't find! In particular, after I retired I decided to take up tatting and crocheting again but couldn't find the shuttle, crochet hooks, etc., so I repurchased those items. To my great dismay I also couldn't find my vintage crochet book, inherited from my mother, copyright the year I was born. I finally found it again -- on ebay -- and bought it a few months ago. Just yesterday we found the original, so now I have two. It has been my experience that if you can't find something, replace it, and the original will be found shortly thereafter.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Originally Posted by Seanette

I've rebought books that I loved as a kid.

Yep. In fact, one of the first things I did when I learned to use a search engine was to try to find some books that I loved as a kid. Sometimes they were books that I had actually owned, but were lost in the Great Basement Flood. More often, they were books that I'd borrowed from the library or a friend. I've also rebought some books that I love as an adult. I've gone through several paperback copies of quite a few books, but now I buy them for my nook.

I've also rebought toys, such as the Magic 8 Ball, which has found a home on our coffee table and actually gets some use on a regular basis.

[Corcaigh]

I've tracked down books I read when I was younger (not all of them belonged to me), as an aside, my mother often refused point blank to buy me toys, a few years ago I found Buck-a-roo in a shop and bought it cos I'd always wanted it when I was a kid, and it was one of those things my mother threatened to beat me to within an inch of my life for asking for it. So I bought it. Bluddy thing is defective, the horse doesn't buck at all!

[Lynn Bodoni]

as an aside, my mother often refused point blank to buy me toys

My sister and I always wanted Sea Monkeys (a kind of tiny brine shrimp) when we were kids, but my parents refused to get them. Both my sister and I have bought and enjoyed the Sea Monkeys as adults. Sure, the things were overhyped, but they were interesting.

I have no desire to try to buy some Xray Specs, though.

[Cicero]

This thread is timely.

I have an old pair of Puma walking shoes which had been reassigned to gardening. I'd bought new Reebok, Adidas etc but could never find this brand and sort again.

Until this morning. Had to buy a new pair of shoes and walked into the local sports shop and they were there - on sale (footwear is always on sale at those shops) - and I picked up two pairs @ $50 a pair.

[Ellen Cherry]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon Imp

Lately I've been haunting ebay, trying to track down new versions of a pair of boots I used to own. The old pair fell to bits, but I still regretted binning them, and since women's fashion moves on constantly, the original manufacturer doesn't sell them anymore and I need to wait for new pairs to show up, either from retail discount warehouses, or people having a wardrobe clearout.

These are the boots - not my size sadly, but I've already got new pairs in brown and black, thankfully.

I also stumbled across a new-to-me version of a top I used to own, in a charity shop. Again, I'd worn the original top to death, so was delighted to get a 'new' version, but sadly, it's already slightly ripped [1] so I'm haunting ebay for a third copy of it too.

And now it's occured to me that those two dresses I binned in the massive clear-out I had to have when my husband threw me out, yeah, I want them back too, so once again, I'm scouring ebay searching by size, colour and manufacturer, with no joy so far.

Am I the only one? Is this an early sign of hoarding behaviour? Or am I just too set in my ways, and should really update my look

[1] Stupid charity shop price tag damaged the neckline, probably between me buying it and getting it home.

Have you checked here for your boots?

[nion]

I, too have bought things I had wanted but could not afford at the time. My latest endeavor has been to start a laserdisc collection. Imagine my disappointment at the quality after decades of hearing about the superiority of the format. A DVD can beat out a laserdisc. The whole thing has still fascinated me and I've enjoyed the experience. I also do agree that laserdisc more captures the "theater" feel than even bluray. YMMV

[Iggy]

I just ordered an exact replacement of the pair of shoes I am wearing today.

Shoe selection here is bad and by replacing with an exact copy I can be assured they will fit.

[PapSett]

I collect model horse statues, and I do find myself re-buying some I have owned in the past and either sold or customized. (repainted/reposed, etc) Sort of a sentimental thing.

I will also buy shoes that I really liked again and again.

[SpoilerVirgin]

I stock up on or repurchase when they are lost or worn out, or may become unavailable:

Clothes
Shoes
Books
Bath and Body Products
Jewelry

Clothing or shoes that I like, I often purchase in multiple colors. Since my weight fluctuates, I also will sometimes repurchase an item I like in a different size. If it's one of my favorites, I may purchase a second one as a spare just in case. I own 10 pairs of my favorite boots, two in each of the five available colors.

kittenblue reminded me that I have a small stock of hairbrushes, since at one point I couldn't find my favorite style, so the next time I saw it I bought several.

I have also repurchased a bunch of books that I loved as a child, including The Chronicles of Prydain, which are just as good now as they were then.

[Dr. Girlfriend]

Originally Posted by Seanette

I've rebought books that I loved as a kid.

Me too, I think I'm on my third copy of The Martian Chronicles.

I had a really nice tea kettle that I forgot to pack when I moved out of my ex's place. I searched high and low for several years (this was pre-online shopping days) before I finally came across something similar.

[maggenpye]

I've asked the kid to get me a CD that I used to own. Can't find it, still want to listen to it.

I'm on my 3rd copy of Paul Simon's Graceland and Hunters & Collectors Cut.

My favourite was when I found a reference book I used to own in a secondhand shop. Not a copy, the same book, with my pencilled in notes still in it! I sold it in Wellington and re-bought it in Auckland. It's had a very hard life in the meantime.

[Sternvogel]

Originally Posted by maggenpye

My favourite was when I found a reference book I used to own in a secondhand shop. Not a copy, the same book, with my pencilled in notes still in it!

Similarly, I donated a bunch of books I had "outgrown" to my elementary school's library. Just after I graduated from college, the school closed. After the other school libraries in the district took the best volumes, the remaining materials were made available for free on a "first-come, first-served" basis. I reacquired several of my childhood favorites -- some that bore marks of my previous ownership, others simply books I had coveted for their text and/or pictures over a decade earlier.

[biqu]

I used to own a pantry full of food. I had to rebuy the contents of that pantry recently because the energy they supplied got used up in successive weekends of ultimate frisbee (not to mention my day job).

On a more serious note, the following items got stolen from me, and I went ahead and bought exact replacements: M-Audio studio monitors, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (actually the stolen copy was hardcover, and the replacement was paperback), Tivoli Model Two table radio, and two Pilot Shaker mechanical pencils.

[Seanette]

Then of course there's upgrading the media collection as a new format takes over, such as going from cassette to CD, or VHS to DVD. Done lots of that.

[SCAdian]

I also have bought several copies of various books over the years - sometimes I've lost them for whatever reason (lost in moves, loaned out and not returned, &c), sometimes I want to reread the book now and I don't want to dig through the boxes in the basement looking for it....

[drewtwo99]

The only thing I can think that I have bought the same exact version of more than once were a pair of dress shoes.

My original pair had gotten worn out, so I wanted to replace them with a new pair. I didn't particularly care for the shoes, I didn't think they were all that special, but when I went to the shoe store to pick out new shoes, I ended up buying the same pair again. There was literally nothing better, so I was happy to pick the same exact copy.

I'd love to do that with a pair of old running shoes I have. I've owned them for... wow... probably about 5 years now, and I want to replace them but I don't think I could find them again.

Now, if we count different versions of the same or similar items, then yes there have been a couple.

Spaceballs on VHS, DVD and recently Bluray.

Some video games, downloadable versions vs originals, remakes, ports, etc.

Alienware brand computers (I'm on my 3rd one).

[GreasyJack]

I once bought a bunch of parts at a U-pull-it junkyard off a car that I had junked a few months earlier, including a set of tires I'd bought new just before the thing died.

ETA: I guess more in line with the theme of this thread, the reason why I was able to do that was because I hadn't learned my lesson and bought a virtually identical replacement car.

[Doug K.]

My wife bought a book at our library's twice a year used book sale recently. When she opened it, she discovered that it was one she had donated several months earlier.

[Little Nemo]

I'm old enough I had an extensive collection of LP's which I eventually replaced by CD's. I also had a lot of VHS movies which I've replaced with DVDs and in some case with Blu Rays. Which means I probably have three copies of some movies.

I'll occasionally see a cheap paperback at a flea market or library book sale that I have but want to reread and I'll buy it for fifty cents rather than dig up my old copy.

Probably the closest to what the OP is asking about is there have been a few times I've bought a boardgame that I used to play when I was young.

[Max the Immortal]

Originally Posted by Der Trihs

I've rebought video games I used to own.

Me too, through Good Old Games and Steam; the former because I only had the Mac versions of games (MoO II, SMAC) and I'm on a PC now, and the latter because I'd rather drop five bucks than dig out my old Xbox and hope it still works (KoTOR is a bit better on PC, too).