What “cheap” item has lasted ages for you?

34 comments

1. Sssshhh, you can get flogged around here for suggesting Vimes isn’t the king of economics!

   For me – a Ryobi drill. Wanted to upgrade it, but it just kept working. Eventually the gear selector broke; great I thought, good excuse to go for a Dewalt. Nope, little bit of superglue and it was working fine again.

   Didn’t eventually justify as the bearings were going, though that was mostly me using it to ‘cut’ sideways, which it’s not meant to do I suspect.

2. I still use the alarm clock I had back when I was in high school, I’m 38 now and it’s still working well

3. I’ve got BHS cotton pjs, bought in the sale. They’re at least 20 years old, probably nearer 25 and wouldn’t have cost more than £5.

4. I bought a fake Lacoste t shirt from Turkey 10 years ago, apart from being slightly faded it still looks pristine.

5. I bought a fake Timberland belt for about £4 in Crete in 1993, it’s showing signs of heavy use, but still going strong.

6. One of those 5 quid led head torches. Only about 5 years old but comes in so handy.

7. Last pack of condoms I bought has lasted a decade.

8. I have £2 Primark Ts which have lasted me a decade

   £5 Silverline screwdriver which lasted me 15 years

9. A fake levi belt that I bought in Turkey when I was 14. It was genuine thick leather. Doesn’t matter that it was fake, it was clearly quality craftsmanship as that thing lasted me up until I was 40.i was genuinely gutted when the buckle pin snapped.

10. Bought a vest top from Matalan in 2002 as part of their women’s world cup range. The print is almost off and it’s stretched a bit over the years but it’s just so comfortable. I wore it yesterday. Pretty sure it was £6. It was definitely under a tenner.

11. A lot of Primark clothing is underrated. I have jeans from there I’ve had for 2-3 years and they still fit well and the colours never faded. Cost about £10.

12. I got a £5 dress from Primark in 2014. I wear it all the time, and it’s only just starting to have a few loose threads. In hindsight it must have been in the sale, or I’m misremembering the price, because its lined as well which would have made it more expensive, even for Primark standards!

    Also a nighty from Primark from 2016 which is still in good condition.

13. Your mum lol

14. I’ve still got a plastic colander I bought in Woolco I when I was 20. I’m about to be 59.

    The only deterioration is where I melted it slightly a couple of decades ago.

    I also still have some napkins/serviettes I bought around the same time at BHS, still going strong.

15. I had a pair of old leather boots from the army navy for a tenner. Those things lasted me years while airsofting. Only replaced them because they went “missing” (stolen by my stepbrother). They were abused by the previous owner(s) and then abused by me. Always had nice toasty dry tootsies, whatever the weather.

16. My mug.

    My mother bought it secondhand in the late 1980s, before I was born, for pennies. It’s a Dudson, just a generic buff-coloured mug with brown around the rim to mimic a salt glaze.

    It’s vitrified china, like they make toilets out of. I’ve dropped it from chest-height on concrete before now and it fucking *bounced*. Bloody thing has got to be close to forty years old, and it’ll probably outlive me.

17. £10 boots hairdryer. Lasted me 15 years. Best hairdryer I ever bought.

18. Nail scissors from Superdrug that I bought in the late ‘90s for £4.99. Black plastic handles.

    Those things are still as sharp as the day I bought them and I use them at least once a week. They get used for many things (aside from cutting my nails); to cut labels off clothes; to open packaging; to cut through moisturiser/lotion bottles so I can get to the stuff inside that won’t squeeze out. So many uses, and so strong! They even work just as well when using left-handed for cutting the nails on my right hand! I wish I’d bought a second pair.

19. My dad is still wearing a t shirt from Next that I had at sixth form college. I’m 49 now. Still washes up well and hasn’t shrunk or got misshapen.

20. I still have a winter jacket that I got from my first job as a teen.

    It’s made for -40c freezers so it’s pretty snug to wear in the winter.

    Looks brand new.

21. My little cheap knife I use to peel potatoes/apples/pears. It probably cost about 75p so long ago I can’t remember when I got it – definitely more than 20 years. I’ve never found another knife with such a perfect combination of thinness, bendiness, and stubbiness.

22. I needed a screwdriver … 6-ish? years ago and I found a swappable one with half a dozen bits in Poundland. Back when everything in the shop did actually cost a pound.

    The bits were apparently made of cheese and have been replaced with a decent set (which was basically free because I needed some drill bits and the set had screw bits too) but the handle is a nice little ratchetting screwdriver that’s still serving me very well.

    That’s not exactly “ages” for a screwdriver but for a multi-bit screwdriver with an actual mechanism in that I bought for a quid, I think it’s doing pretty well.

23. I bought a T-shirt in a Kuala Lumpur market in 2000. Cost 2-3 quid tops. It’s still the same colour, hasn’t lost its shape and feels great.

24. My Nan bought me an electric whisk for £5.99 at Wilkos 15ish years ago. She’s not alive anymore but the whisk is.

25. I cracked my relatively recent crown work I had done on my front tooth when I accidentally bit down on a bit of roast chicken bone.

    Went to the dentist who put on a temporary crown to give me time to arrange a permanent one. Was told this temporary one is softer, not secure, and not to bite down on it when eating because it won’t hold. Strictly temporary.

    That was 5 years ago. And I can eat normally, never had any trouble.

    (I’m aware I will have to get if replaced eventually).

26. A Goodmans microwave, 18 years old. It squeals momentarily on start up but hasn’t burst into flames yet.

27. I have a Primark duvet set that I bought around 10 years ago that still looks as nice as when it was new. Can’t have cost me more than a tenner.

28. I’m wearing a £3 Primark vest from maybe 2007. Some of their basics are bomb proof.

29. I had a £20 pair of Primark Boots and my god they lasted so long and were so comfortable.

    There was a week in Vienna where I almost did 60,000 steps in them and they were insanely comfortable.

    I have since got rid of them as they got muddy but my god I miss them and been looking for the same ones since.

    Edit: Muddy as through a muddy feld after heavy rainfall to the point even when I tried to clean in and out the mud was still stuck everywhere and they were no longer presentable or donatable.

30. My broom I’ve had it 20 years and I’ve maintained it that entire time.

    It’s had 14 new heads and 17 new handles

31. A check shirt I bought in H&M in 2011 it’s still going strong now.

32. I bought an old electric carving knife for £2 from a car boot sale around 10 years ago. Still works as well as ever.

    It’s made by Hinari, who used to make those alarm clock CRT TVs that would wake you up with your favourite TV channel.

33. I bought a black and white striped blouse/shirt for about a fiver in the sale at Etam when I was 18/19.

    Wore it to work last week.

    I’m now 48.

34. A faux leather sort off padded biker style jacket from ASDA – cost around £20 wore it constantly, was so soft, looked real lasted -14yrs. Sadly I had to ditch it as the ‘leather’ started crumbling off & left a trail when I walked anywhere.