Is buying second hand furniture actually worth it?

[AmazingDayz]

Is buying second hand really worth it? Large furniture item? By the time you’ve actually paid for a van I’m not convinced it’s worth it. I’m trying to buy a second hand sofa that only needs delivering one mile! And it’s £80 for a man with van 🤔 literally 15 mins work but will need two men as I can’t help with the lifting as have to wait home to let them in. By the time I’ve paid for the sofa and £80 to deliver I’m better off just buying new in sale?!

Well sometimes it’s worth it and sometimes it isn’t. What you’re actually complaining about is the cost of hiring and man and van but the whole point of paying for labour is that you get something you can’t (for whatever reason) so yourself or they make it more convenient. If you can’t hire a van and drive it yourself and get a friend to help load it with you, you have the option to hire a man and van. It might only be 15 minutes work for you but their pricing will also take into account that they won’t have jobs back to back all day so realistically picking up your sofa will cost them a few hours at least.

Have you seen the second hand one in real life? If so, and you like it, and it was originally lots more expensive / better quality, then go for it. People charge low prices for second hand sofas and other large items partly because it’s expensive and inconvenient to collect them. You have to think about it as an all in price.

I had one collected before and it was £50 so £80 is a big jump! I mean is it worth buying second hand when you have to factor in the cost of delivery / collection

Why can't you help lift if it would reduce the cost?

I've been stung a few times with second hand stuff and ended up losing money so tend not to bother now unless I can be completely sure of the condition.

USA

I would shop around for a cheaper man with a van, ask on a local Facebook page? We hired one recently to move a large and very heavy item of furniture and it cost £35 including the 2 men to lug it.

Assuming it's good quality furniture and would have cost several times the price new then yes it is. We tried "cheap" new sofas and they didn't last very long before they started looking rubbish. We paid £300 for an Ercol 3 piece suite which would probably be over £5k new and it's been fantastic.

Definitely go second hand, you can get thousands of pounds worth of sofa for a few hundred because someone wants to change their colour scheme

Do you know anyone with a biggish car? My husband got our 3 piece suite in a couple of trips straped to the roof and would happily do the same for a friend for a pint. Otherwise £80 for a van and 2 men is still a better option than buying a new cheappy sofa that will be uncomfortable and last 5 minutes.

Where are you finding these second hand sofas?

My local charity shop charges around £20-25 pounds for delivery. The sofa is a good price if it's a decent one. The man and van, not so much. Ask around.

I am currently sat on one of my second hand restored Ercol dining chairs, cost £380 to buy all 4, would have been close to 4k if all bought new.

Second hand to me is getting really good furniture at a fraction of the price.

I had one collected before and it was £50 so £80 is a big jump! I mean is it worth buying second hand when you have to factor in the cost of delivery / collection

Well you do the sums and work out if it's a) cheaper b) allowing you to buy a nicer thing than you could have bought new.

I have bought a couple of beautiful solid wood pieces second hand, and 2 as-good-as new upholstered chairs that I wouldn't have been able to get for anywhere near the same price if I'd bought new.

Do you have a car club nearby? I picked up our second-hand sofa myself with a van from Zipvan, total cost £30.

I only buy new when unavoidable - for example, we had to get a flatpack dining table as the entry to our dining room is too narrow to fit a proper piece of furniture. Otherwise I love to buy at auction or from charity shops. You get much better quality pieces that way.

You can shop around for a delivery company (try getting a quote on Shiply), but I think you’re too hung up on the delivery cost - as a pp said, you should look at it as part of the price of the sofa. And if the sofa is good quality and in good condition, you’re getting a bargain.

Was advertised on Facebook. But thanks all managed to find one for £60 which seems more reasonable

Mine are Marks and Spencers and I bought them in the BHF Charity shop for £280 for two plus £25 delivery.

FB Marketplace is a great source of stuff. I sold my old sofa on there for £70.

We moved from a 2 bed terrace to a 3 bed detached last year and we didn't have much furniture. we bought two leather Old Boot sofas (would've cost 2 grand each new) for about £500, a teak dining table and chairs, a teak sideboard and a garden table and chairs with umbrella all from ebay at a fraction of what they would have cost new.

Mine are Marks and Spencers and I bought them in the BHF Charity shop for £280 for two plus £25 delivery.

I agree BHF charity shops have great deals, and their delivery prices are pretty reasonable. A family member recently bought a sofa from there for under £400, it's in great condition and it would have easily been a few thousand when new

Of course second hand is worth it. Hiring a van for a 1 mile hike is not worth it.
As a friend, get a wheelbarrow, get creative.

It’s a corner sofa!! Not carrying it one mile 😂

Good luck with how long it lasts! I’d rather pay the 80 for transporting a decent quality piece than what you’ll get new for £320

Yeah I’ve had another look at it and it is so much nicer than the new one so I’m going to just get it and I’ve found someone for £60 so not too bad.

I sold two sofas for £200 just before Xmas, the man had his own van but I know if the shoe was on the other foot I could've got a man with a van for about £30 for a mile or so if I couldn't call in a favour.

Sofas were only 2ish years old and cost just shy of £1k when new.

How much do you think the secondhand sofa cost when it was new?