It's a Steal: Find Fantastic Used Furniture
Published: 01/19/2010 by Lauren Elizondo
If you’re anything like me, you love a good deal - especially if it’s on items that originally cost multiple hundreds of dollars. That’s why I get so excited when I find quality used furniture for a fraction of the manufacturer’s price.
I like to tell people that my successful bargain hunting traits run in my blood (when my dad unleashes his haggling fury, kiss your goods goodbye). But mostly, I just like to buy things on the cheap so I’m willing to do a little extra searching. Does that make me a penny pincher? Probably, but I rather have an entire bedroom set for the cost of one full-priced bed frame.
You don’t have to be the child of a bargaining baron to master good steal skills. Heed these insider’s tips about where you can find the best furniture deals and you’ll be sitting pretty (on a designer couch) in no time!
Secondhand Stores
Stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army and one-of-a-kind thrift stores are a great place to start your search for your new favorite furniture focal point. Most thrift stores price their furniture to sell because they have limited floor space. For instance, my friend just bought a couch for $10 at Goodwill, as well as a $6 vintage chair in mint condition that is currently selling on the market for $50!
I’m not guaranteeing you won’t find a bunch of shabby pieces, too. But if you can look past the worn-out cushions, scratched surfaces and broken shelves, you might just spot a great steal!
Garage Sales
This is one of my favorite places to find furniture; namely, the 100-mile Garage Sale that is held annually on U.S. Hwy. 61 and 35 along the Mississippi River in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Luckily for me, I live in the Twin Cities and have easy access to this never-ending road of rejected possessions. But you know what they say, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasures.”
The key thing to remember if you plan on finding furniture at a garage sale is to search early in the day. Quality furniture marked at eye-popping prices won’t last long. Get a jumpstart on garage sales by checking out the newspaper and bulletin boards in the city in with which you plan to search. Sometimes people list the types of items they will be selling. Unfortunately, prices aren’t usually listed, so you might just have to get out there and pound the pavement.
Conversely, sometimes when you go to garage sales on the last day near the end of sales hours, people slash their prices. While it’s usually easier to bargain during this time, there typically isn’t much nice stuff left. If you don’t mind fixer-upper furniture, you might want try this.
Estate Sales
Estate sales are very similar to garage sales, but sometimes you can find higher-valued furniture at estate sales. I personally like checking out estate sales for vanities and armoires because I am a fan of vintage furniture.
It’s wise to plan out what you are looking for and how much it costs at retail value before buying used furniture, however. Estate sales generally tend to have higher sticker prices. It’s no deal if you get bullied into buying a used couch for the same amount as the original price tag.
Craigslist
Both my end tables and coffee table I found on Craigslist.com and I couldn’t be happier. Even though the pieces were originally from Ikea(which is already pretty inexpensive), I got them for half the retail price and they were barely used!
While you might enjoy the furniture hunt by foot, Craiglist is much more convenient if you don’t mind looking at prospective furniture in one-dimensional, sometimes blurry photos. Craigslist’s used furniture directory is easy to use and is constantly updated, giving you the most current deals.
*** Tell V-Local readers where you found your favorite used/vintage furniture!
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