-- Patricia F. Doering, Editor

--Patricia F. Doering, Editor, Second Hand News

        Welcome! We are delighted that you found our website and we sincerely appreciate your interest in our inaugural online newsletter, Second Hand News! Although we deal in second hand items, this particular online "item" is brand new! Soon to become second hand, of course, followed by third, fourth and fifth (hands) as hopefully more and more people read it!       

    In order to provide you with background information, Second Hand News was originally published in 1993 as a printed guide to San Diego thrift stores, resale and consignment shops, antique stores, specialty shops, book shops, where to repair your collectibles and lots more. This 48-page guide included a Calendar of Events and Rummage Sales along with out of town special events. It began as an outgrowth of my personal love of bargain hunting which began here in San Diego over thirty years ago. While attending a rummage sale on the waterfront, following a discussion about the city’s rummage sales and related events, someone asked: "why don’t you publish something on this subject?" After two years of research, the printed copy of Second Hand News was launched. It grew from only 36 pages in a 5x7" format with only twenty-five advertisers to around 48 pages with one-hundred advertisers six years later. Nevertheless, it barely made money and in 1999, I sadly decided to cease publication.   

    In the meantime, I moved most of the content of SECOND HAND NEWS online in a continuing attempt to provide a resource on the internet for this kind of information. Yet it was very difficult to maintain the site and keep it current without funding. With this issue and the simultaneous upgrade of our website, http://www.bargainlink.com, we are pleased to announce the sponsorship and participation of the City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department. Their involvement allowed us to implement a major undertaking -- that of bringing you what we have learned over the years about bargain shopping--which is, in effect, recycling at its best--in an effort to save you lots of money! With their assistance, we have been able to add extensive information and provide you with what we hope is a very easy format to access the kind of information you are searching for. (We are also indebted to U.C.S.I and Sabine Meyers, the webmaster who helped us enormously in our struggle to redesign the site.) Part of that redesign includes the addition of a Discussion Board where you may post messages and information about thrift stores, charities, recycling, antiques, collectibles, pawn shops, repair, swap meets, rummage sales, salvage and surplus, used furniture and vintage shopping. Included in that section is a Buy. Sell. Trade. area where you can post what you are looking for, what you are selling or what you would like to trade. The Discussion Board is aimed at giving you a forum for your opinions and it is designed to help others buy, sell and trade perhaps more effectively.

        For those of us who are addicted to garage sales, rummage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, and more, the true excitement comes from the "thrill of the hunt." There is something very exhilarating about finding something unusual, something old or valuable -- before anyone else finds it! Treasure hunting in San Diego -- in fact, treasure hunting throughout the United States--takes knowledge, perseverance and lots of energy. To find these treasures, you need to know where the bargains are, as well as when and how to find them. That is exactly what Second Hand News hopes to accomplish by launching our redesigned website and our linked newsletter. The newsletter will be published quarterly with an increase in frequency planned for the future. And the website will be updated on a regular basis, adding more information and providing you with information you may not be able to obtain anywhere else. In the meantime, send us your comments or suggestions. We would love to hear from you.