Lots of things I've gotten for pocket change from yard sales have served me well for a long time. I have an 8-cup glass mixing bowl/measuring cup that I paid maybe $1 for at a yard sale. Unless I drop it and break it, I expect it to keep on going, possibly longer than I do. I may someday wear out my old Tevas, which I got for $1 because somebody's kid outgrew them. For those into crafts and crafting, garage sales can also put the serendipity of found objects into the mix.
Quite a bit of my apparel is "pre-owned." Advantages of buying used, besides the tremendous discount, are that it's easy to see in advance how something will hold up (if it's going to wrinkle, stretch, fade, etc., it will have done so for the previous owner). There is generally no packaging or trash to contend with. It doesn't have that weird department store sizing smell. And if something does get destroyed in the wash or end up irreparably stained or torn, I'm only out the $1 I paid.
The basic toothpastes, the $1 kind on the bottom shelf, with the not-so-shiny packages, tend not to have Triclosan in them. Read up on the stuff, and decide for yourself, but I strongly prefer to avoid it. (Personally, I also like the taste better.) Antibacterial soaps seem to have quietly disappeared, but I avoid them for the same reasons: added cost, and an ingredient I don't really want.
I also aim for cheap (if not cheapest) if I know I'm likely to lose or damage an item or have it "borrowed." Pens and sunglasses are definitely in this category.
Items I already own are a different sort of cheap, so I go on using them as long as I can, and repair things when possible. In the case of shoes and clothing, I relegate older ones to getting dirty or sweaty, so the newer ones stay presentable longer.