If you just moved or you are living on your own for the first time, money may be tight. You want to fill your home with gorgeous new furniture but your on a budget. Use this beginner’s guide to buying and selling furniture online to score a great bargain.
You can even earn some extra cash by getting rid of any items you have before the big move.
We recently moved from a 3 bedroom house to a 5 bedroom house. Needless to say, we don’t have enough furniture to fill up every room.
It’s best to go slow when you are looking to buy new furniture. Pace yourself! Don’t feel like you need to get everything for your home at once. Focus on getting a couple of bigger items at a time.
When looking for higher priced items like furniture, I always start my search online.
There are so many hidden gems that people just outgrow or have to get rid of because they are moving and won’t have the space for it.
Here are my tips for buying and selling furniture online so you can get quality, stylish furniture for the best price.
Post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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Buying Furniture Online
Consider your Location
If you live in a large city, you will be able to find more new items as well as brand names. If you live in a rural area, you are more likely to find some awesome vintage finds.
Consider searching not only your city or town but also those within driving distance. Focus on big cities as they will have more options and availability for your specific item.
Use Several Apps for your Search
You will usually find the best deals on sites like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Nextdoor. I personally like Facebook and Nextdoor because it is easy to see the person’s profile and send them a message instead of having to give out your phone number or email.
Offerup and Letgo are easy to scroll through. They also have identity verification and in app messaging for a safer shopping experience.
If you are looking for more expensive or vintage finds, sites like Etsy, eBay, and Amazon may be your go to’s.
The sites you use will depend on your personal preference and what kind of style you are looking for.
Scoring the Best Furniture Deals
Know What to Search For
Do a little bit of research online to find your specific style of furniture and the brands you love to narrow down your focus. Searching for furniture online can be very time consuming so you want to narrow down the search as much as possible.
When you go to look for furniture on your preferred site, type in the specific style and/or brand name.
Keep in mind that some sellers may misspell words or terms so use different variations. If you are looking for a dresser you may use terms like: dresser, wardrobe, armoire, chest of drawers, etc. as it may pull up items that were listed incorrectly.
Know when to Pounce
If you are looking for something specific, check the sites every single day. Most of them will be able to save your searches to make it easier for you.
The best time of the day to do a search for bargains is on Sunday nights. This is the time when most people will list any items they may have left over from that weekend’s yard sales.
When you find an item that you love, don’t wait. Make your message stand out by letting the seller know you are serious about purchasing this item. Let them know exactly when you can pick it up.
If they have left a phone number on the listing, use that and text them. They are more likely to see your offer first over those that just emailed or sent a message in the app.
You can always give a lower offer but know that you may not end up getting the item. If it is a new listing, don’t low ball the seller if you really want it.
You can offer a lower bid if the item has been listed for several days. Do a quick search to see what other similar items have sold for in the past couple of weeks. They will give you an idea of what a fair offer should be.
When you go to pick up the item you are going to buy, ask if the seller has anything else for sell. We went to buy a table and chairs from a seller and found out they were moving and had a bunch of other items they just hadn’t listed yet.
We scored a great deal on 2 bookcases from them because they wanted to get rid of as much as possible!
Know What can be Fixed
Always make sure you look closely at the item before you purchase it. Be realistic about what you can fix and what you can’t.
Anything that smells like cigarette smoke or other strong pet odors won’t be salvageable. You can’t get those types of smells out. Pass on anything that has signs of mold, bugs, and drawers that don’t move properly.
You can always fix things like scratches, switching out outdated knobs, or drawers with musty smells.
Selling Furniture Online
If you are the one moving and want to get rid of some old furniture, you can use these tricks to get the most money for your items.
Take GOOD Photos
The photos are everything when trying to sell something online. Take a photo of the item in the daylight against a solid background. Remove any and all clutter out of the picture.
Write a Good Description
Be very specific about the item, include measurements and any flaws that the item may have. People know they are buying used and are usually OK with a few scratches and dents as long as you make them known before they drive all the way to buy the item.
Make sure to use different variations and spellings of what the item is as some people may call it something different ex: entry table, entryway table, console table.
Set a Good Price for Both Parties
Do a search to see what similar items in similar conditions have been selling for in the past month. Price yours a bit higher to anticipate haggling. Make sure you also factor in the site’s fees if there are any.
Outsource Selling
If you have a lot of items to sell due to the death of a family member or a big international move, you can outsource to a third party like Everything but the House.
They will catalog everything for you and handle pickup, listing, and shipping of all items. Their fees aren’t listed on their site but the consultation is free.
Buying and selling furniture online can be like a treasure hunt. There are so many bargains to be found, you just have to put in the effort to score the best deal.
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