Furniture may not be necessary for you to live, but one of the things that makes life more livable is the presence of comfortable and comforting furniture. Not only does furniture provide us a place to sit, sleep, eat and socialize but it helps decorate our homes, show the world our affluence and give us something that will last through a long period of our lives.
Furniture may not be needed for survival but almost everyone has to admit that it is a very good thing to have.
The problem most of us face when it comes to buying furniture is that it can very expensive. While the cost of furniture is mitigated by the fact that it will last us a long time and it’s not an expense we have to deal with very often, this doesn’t change the fact that it can be expensive.
A good dining table can cost over five hundred dollars and once you buy chairs for it you can easily spend over a thousand dollars. Beds, couches, and even end tables can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars and that is a steep price for almost everyone. The good news is that while furniture is going to cost money there are things you can do to find cheap but well made furniture.
Look Online
The internet is a great place to find good deals on just about everything including furniture. While you can definitely find good deals on furniture on the internet you need to be willing to overcome the fact that you can’t test it out. Also another thing to consider about shopping online for furniture is that shipping can get expensive.
Look in the Classifieds
The classifieds are a great place to find well made furniture for a really good price. The problem here is that of course most of it is probably used, but don’t let this stop you. Good quality furniture can be quite rugged and even if it has been used it can still look and feel good.
Keep an Eye Out for Estate Sales and Similar Events
An estate sale is when the entirety of an estate is put up for sale. While there are professionals that will show up looking to get the best price they can on furniture, you can walk away with some very nice stuff for a really good price if you play your cards right. Along with estate sales, storage units can also be a good place to find furniture.
Buy Handmade Furniture
A lot of people have the idea that handmade furniture is the most expensive, but there is a little known secret people can take advantage of. When someone orders handmade furniture but never pays for it, the business that made it is often willing to let it go for a fraction of the price.
Because a lot of handmade furniture is custom made, they know that they can’t ask full price for it. Keep your eyes out for this and you will find some really good furniture for a fraction of what it would normally cost.
Look for Going Out of Business Sales
Getting into the furniture business is expensive and a lot of times furniture stores wind up not being able to make it. When they are closing their doors they need to get rid of as much of their inventory as possible and this means they slash prices.
Find the right going out of business sale and you can potentially furnish your entire home for only a few hundred bucks.
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Warren Stevens enjoys writing and sharing his articles on a broad range of topics, from furniture, to luggage, even to tech news.
Really useful article. I live in the Balkans and what I usually do to find cool and old furniture is looking at the classified and drive all over my country to find some interesting stuff.
It usually doesn’t cost too much
My wife and I live in Ohio and our first pieces of furniture were gifts from my mom. Mom had purchased them at an estate sale. We have gotten several pieces of furniture from estate sales and on the classifieds. I would say your advice is right on the mark from our experiences buying furniture! Great advice and keep it up!