Do you buy used or new furniture?

Discussion in Home & Garden started by True2marie • Jul 16, 2014.

  1. True2marie

    True2marieActive Member

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    The best piece of furniture I have ever received was a used couch. An ex-coworker gave me this item for free. It's lasted me for about 10 years. Conversely, in the past, I have bought furniture - new - that broke down after a couple of years. This naturally changed my mind about whether or not it's best to buy furniture off the shelves or get a sturdy used piece that'll last me much longer.
     
  2. LovelyLanie

    LovelyLanieMember

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    It really depends on what the item is. I buy my beds brand new, always. I bought a second hand end table and coffee table set, and I get a lot of compliments on how nice they are because they are of good quality. My dining room set is also used and 20 years old to boot! I gave my neighbor $500 dollars for a table, four chairs and cabinet. No regrets on that at all because it is beautiful, solid wood with gorgeous hand carving on each piece. This set will last me 20 more years, guaranteed.

    New or used furniture does not matter to me as long as it is well made, not that cheap fiber board or chip board or whatever they call it. You need to go find that co-worker fast and see if he has another couch for you, ha ha.
     
  3. Spowys

    SpowysMember

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    A lot of things you should probably buy new (like mattresses), but other things are just as good used because of how cheap/free they end up being. When I was in college I got every piece of furniture I ever owned for free off Craigslist. I had a pickup truck so it was easy for me to drive around town picking up stuff. We would put couches out on the porch to hang out and drink on. Whenever they got ratty or worn we'd just drive the pickup truck downtown and get another one.
     
  4. bmarks

    bmarksMember

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    College student here, so I'm a huge advocate for buying items used to save some money, but as mentioned above, there are certain things that are simply not worth buying used when one considers the risks and other true costs. However, it is simply amazing the things that people throw out and the things that you can get for dirt cheap simply because someone doesn't want them anymore. Dressers, desks, chairs and more make great used buys after a bit of retouching/refreshing
     
  5. misterv520

    misterv520New Member

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    I buy my furniture new, usually from IKEA because their products are so high quality and well priced. The thing is, my dad is handyman so whenever our furniture breaks, he usually repairs it. I usually only use used furniture from family members because I'm skeptical about buying furniture from strangers. Unlike buying a used car, you don't have the furniture's history, for all I know someone's dog might've peed on it.
     
  6. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Actually I'd only buy used furniture if the I know the item I'm buying is made from wood that last long. Before making a purchase I'd first evaluate the quality of the wood. I know a little bit about which ones are good so my choice would be based on that. For something which I know won't take 5 years before it breaks down then quite obviously I wouldn't buy that kind of furniture.
     
  7. forextraspecialstuff

    forextraspecialstuffActive Member

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    I buy all of my furniture new. I just like getting something in perfect condition and knowing that nobody else has used it. I have a lot of friends who are really into antiquing so I go with them often to shows and stores, but I can't bring myself to buy anything.
     
  8. Verity Darkwaters

    Verity DarkwatersActive Member

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    Most of my furniture is used, but it was in good condition. We have a few new things, but I usually try to buy what is cheap. If I can find a nice used piece of furniture I'll use it. If not I'll see if I can find a sale on new furniture. I'd rather just save money. However, my husband had these used couches that look like they're from the 70's and they were terrible. Ugly bright green and uncomfortable. We finally got rid of the hideaway bed, and now the love seat is ready to go, thank God. I think we're gonna get a new futon to replace it.
     
  9. Livvy

    LivvyActive Member

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    ...I could have sworn I'd posted in here, but apparently I haven't?

    Anyway, let's try again then. While I know it's cheaper etc, I'd probably not to be honest. Why?

    Because once my cousin took in a chair and a sofa from the house next to theirs, when they were at university. It was being thrown out, and they checked with the landlord who owned both places, so why not?

    Well for a start, it was full of bed bugs. Which infested their whole house, and in turn, our house. God that was such a painful few months. Itching and scratching without knowing why, and we had to get an exterminator out and spend a ton of money getting all our clothes treated as well.
     
  10. stacyje

    stacyjeActive Member

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    I buy all my funiture new because sometimes they dont give you a warrenty on it . I always buy ashley funiture becaseu Ashley Company offers a lifetime warranty on thier funiture. If your recliner breaks or anything all you have to do is take it to any place that sell Ashley funiture and they will repair it.
     
  11. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    It kinda depends for me.

    I just bought brand new desks. I spent way more than I probably should've, but they're great and I expect them to last for many years. It makes us both feel much happier to be in our main living space with these new additions, too.

    On the opposite side, I can't say I have ever bought a brand new dresser before...or bed...or nightstand....or pretty much anything before. It's almost always been used.
     
  12. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    There are some things I will purchased used, mostly items of wood that are older because generally they are made better. Soft items like pillows I will stay away from because of bugs. I have purchased some beautiful items that I cleaned before I brought them into my home. I spray them with bug spray and leave them sitting outside to make sure there are no bugs.

    You can save a lot of money purchasing older items, you can also make some money by purchasing older furniture fixing it up and selling it.
     
  13. tangela

    tangelaActive Member

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    I think it depends mostly on my budget. If I'm tight on budget I will definitely not be afraid to buy used furniture or take ld furniture off the hands of my relatives who no longer want it. But if I have a bit of spending money, I would not be afraid to spend some money on nice and long-lasting furniture.

    The only exception to this is mattress...I will always try to buy my mattress new, or close to new. I'm terrified of bedbugs so the last thing I want to deal with is that.
     
  14. True2marie

    True2marieActive Member

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    Let me add to my earlier post . . . I think buying used furniture is a good idea as long as it's in decent condition. Also - somethings as mentioned by some of you are a bad idea to buy uses such as mattresses. With this said, wooden furniture and other non-cloth materials are probably better a little older because of the craftsmanship.
     
  15. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I prefer buying new as much as possible, but if there were some piece that I liked in particular, then I'd strongly consider owning it even if it were second hand. It would have to be fairly unique, though, and probably also a piece that I know I wouldn't be touching too much or have to have close to me a lot of time because I'm uneasy with things that I know have been used by many other people before me. I'd most likely consider it if the piece was unique like grandfather clocks or similar types of furniture.
     
  16. plantain

    plantainMember

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    Yes, I like buying used things in general as much as possible. It's not necessary to buy a new item when I can get a used version for cheaper or free, and I'm keeping waste out of landfills.

    Next time I move I will not be bringing any furniture with me, except my mattress which is fairly new still. I plan to find all my furniture through Craigslist, flea markets, garage sales, or even dumpsters. However... I will NEVER EVER bring used upholstered furniture into my house, especially couches. A cat, dog, or human likely puked or peed on it at one point and you can't exactly clean it thoroughly. People have been sitting on that couch and farting into the cushions for years. (You gotta think about these things :p ) They're musty, germy, hold in smells, and worst of all, harbor bed bugs and fleas. I've lived in houses with bad flea infestations before and I don't want to live through that again! So I will spend the extra money to get a brand new couch.

    Things like tables, chairs, desks, dressers, shelves that are all wood/metal/glass, I am definitely going to find a used version. I just want some functional things. They don't have to be brand new. It seems downright wasteful to me to buy everything new. Waste of my money and a waste of resources. There are loads of people in any city who are eager to get rid of perfectly good, used furniture, every day. Go out and seek the deals, people!
     
    #16Jul 31, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2014
  17. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    I have not bought that much furniture yet. Everything I have is from my first apartment which my mom and dad gave to me. So my stuff range from things that they bought and things that were from someone else in the family. However, at the times that I did buy furniture for myself, I bought everything new.
     
  18. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    Right now I have one piece of used furniture, which is a couch that someone in my apartment building was getting rid and I asked them if could have it. It's been 8 months and it's holding up and not infested with anything icky. Actually my dining room table is used too. Someone in one of those fancy high rise apartment buildings threw it out and I balanced it on top of an abandoned shopping cart and wheeled it home.
    When you're just starting out in a new place, you don't always have money to buy new things. I did make sure to buy new beds because beds are a personal item that you rest your face on, so they need to be sanitary.