Rob about Search and Buy

As you may know, each issue of PC-Active has a central theme. For number 340 it is ‘Search and buy’. In addition to testing a number of interesting laptops and tablets and discussing 6 apps with which you can search and buy smartly, we also discuss searching in Windows and online in detail.

Bargain hunter
I also like to search and buy, mainly on my smartphone, because I visit thrift stores maybe 3 times a year. I am (have become) a real bargain hunter and spend about 5 hours a week on this research on Marktplaats, Catawiki and Troostwijk.
On Marketplace I often see it as a game: am I the first to see a nice free offer or how do I ensure that I am the one who can pick up a (free) product? Over the years, my tricks have saved me thousands of dollars, although I wouldn’t always have actually bought all the free products. In addition, I regularly buy something and with wall decorations it hangs for a while until I sometimes sell it again. I also believe in the sustainable and circular principle behind this and regularly offer something for free.
Catawiki is a somewhat more difficult story, since I don’t know enough about art. I would actually like to take a course in art from the 20th century, so that I have a bit more insight into it.
And I’ve been sitting up for a few months now Troostwijk (Auctions). I bought a beautiful designer sofa and chairs there, lamps and a lot of ‘art’ for the wall. If I see something there that I want, I sometimes have to see it as a game and not get too involved. If a (bankrupt) design store has a lot of beautiful things (= lots) that I would like to have, it must of course be worthwhile to pick up enough lots. For example, I recently had to drive 150 kilometers each way to pick up 2 lots, because the bidding for the other lots was too high in my opinion. Well, sometimes things go well and sometimes things go wrong. This way I won’t lose these lamps yet:

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Stamps dusty?
For some time now I have also taken up an old hobby of collecting stamps and first day envelopes. In the eyes of my wife and children, it is a dusty hobby, but I look at it nostalgically. My old collection has now been reasonably supplemented (especially via Marktplaats) and I try to get my son enthusiastic about this, but he prefers a PlayStation. To each their own, I say…

Since the beginning of January 2025, Rob Coenraads, editor-in-chief PC-Active, has discussed every Wednesday in Rob… a topic that concerns him, interests him or what he is experiencing. Read more about Rob here about…