Where do you buy second hand furniture from

[ellieb0bs]

As the title says really!

I'm buying a house on my own after a separation. All I have is a lovely mattress, some garden chairs and limited funds so I wanted to try and get a few second hand bits. I've tried Facebook marketplace but it seems to have been taken over by hundreds of entries by the same sellers for brand new sofas/beds for £30 (so I assume they are scams). I've also been watching the local buy/sell groups which are full of MLM posts.

Where else could I try? Where would you advertise if you were selling a decent used bed, sofa or wardrobe?

Freecycle although I think it's better in some areas than others, it's great round here but things go quick!

Also if you have a British heart foundation furniture shop nearby we have got some great stuff from there.

British heart foundation (and probably other charities) do second hand furniture charity shops, might be worth checking if there's one near you.

Also I share your pain re FB marketplace ours is the same nowadays and it's hard to tell what is legit or not.

The heart foundation has furniture stores in various towns
www.bhf.org.uk/shop/home-stores

Ebay -we sold a, never used, double spare bed on there when we needed the space for toddler bed.

Face book market place.

I was going to say British heart foundation furniture shop too, don’t know if there’s one you can get to? Usually good quality and robust pieces of furniture, I bought a beautiful freestanding bookshelf and small dresser for my home office from one, and a bed for one dc when they “graduated” to their own non-shared bedroom, all excellent condition

I do get quite a kick walking around our one...some gorgeous stuff

I put decent stuff on eBay.

Another one for BHF and they deliver, which was a big advantage as far as I was concerned. Try your other local charity shops too.

Ebay
Gumtree
Shpock
Local selling groups on Facebook - or local eco community groups for freebies

I wonder if you can block the seller on Facebook Marketplace so you only see listing from other sellers?

Always put my unwanted furniture on Gumtree

I've bought a lot on ebay over the years just be really careful with your measurements (I bought a sofa that was perfect for the space but too wide to go through the door ).

In order to avoid courier costs set the filter to nearest first

EBay and Etsy

I was going to recommend charity furniture places as well. Our local hospice one has some lovely furniture in, especially table and chairs, wardrobes etc.

Some of IKEA stuff isn’t that expensive.

Nextdoor.com doesn't seem to have been infiltrated by commercial sellers pretending not to be.

Congrats on escaping!

Google charity furniture shops yourcity. When I did that for me I got bhf, scope, mind, sue ryder, ymca etc so there's plenty where I am. Hopefully it gives you similar results for you.

We have a local antique centre that has plenty of fairly modern bits and pieces cheap, otherwise local general auctions, garage sales, car boot sales.

general auctions

Find your local auction room. You can pick up great stuff for virtually nothing.

Emmaus emmaus.org.uk/your-local-emmaus/
Gumtree
Freecycle/Freegle
Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups.
Local auction houses and vintage furniture stores

Wow thanks so much. Didn't expect so many replies.

I'll definitely try charity shops and I have used BHF before but had forgotten about them. Also going through some of the sites recommended now.

EBay local collection only

What is it with mattresses on Facebook marketplace?! All the sellers with new items look so dodgy, I hope too many people don't get scammed. I did sell a great mattress from a spare bed recently, got snapped up for the bargain it was. So keep your eyes open, things do pop up.
I second British Heart Foundation, I got a lot from there when I was in your shoes. There is also a charity in my town specifically for victims of DA, that has its own warehouse and deliver too, fantastic help.

Vinterior - which would explain the username.

Also the small ads in your local paper ... I got a two seater leather sofa with electric recliner seats, practically brand new, for £30!!

Is there a warehouse kind of antique / second hand centre, might be called an emporium or something like that. Often in an old factory unit or the like. Usually lots to.look at stacked high for a good dig around. If you live in a student area there might be places with second hand office supplies and basic bedroom furniture. I agree IKEA can also be v cheap.