How to Buy Furniture for Less using Craigslist

As any student or post-grad can report, money can be tight. With a little imagination and creativity, you can furnish your apartment and still stay on budget.

Here are some tips we used to furnish our 2-br apartment in 2 weeks

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet / Phone
• Truck (rental)
• A helping hand

1. 

   Create the "shopping list" and set priorities.
   Start with the bedroom, then kitchen and then the living room

2. 
   craiglook.com - search for used furniture and electronics

   Sites with classified postings will have most of the furniture and electronics you need - for 10-20% of what would be the market price.
   
   It is important to start looking for furniture and electronics early, so that you have the time to plan the budget and can arrange a pickup before you actually move in.
   
   Some classified site let you search nearby classified postings by ZIP or area and even set up alerts - so that you receive an email every time the item you are looking for is available for the right price.

3. 
   Diamonds Furniture - economy mattress store

   No matter how much money you are going to spend, buy a new mattress !
   
   It's not only more hygienic - used mattresses may contain bedbugs !
   
   Check nearby local stores - they will have same mattresses for much less price than big-shot brand name shops.
   
   $250-300 is a decent price for a queen-sized mattress.

4. 
   Budget.com - economy truck rental

   Rent a truck or van if you don't own one.
   
   Compare rates of rental companies in your area. Be aware that rental companies charge you for:
   
   1) Per-day or per-hour use.
   2) Miles travelled.
   3) Insurance.
   
   Check with your car insurance company to see if you need to buy an insurance from the rental company (depends on the truck's size)
   
   Make sure to compare all 3 rates before you sign up for the service. It may be 2 times cheaper with one company than with another.

Tips & Warnings

• Craiglook.com - the site to search for used furniture and electronics
• Diamonds Furniture - the mattress shop (queen sized mattress for $250)
• Budget.com - they offered the best price for the truck (2 days - 60$)
• avoid paid classifieds sites or paid classifieds search software - they are not worth it
• buying a used mattress is not a good decision
• if renting a truck - check with the truck rental company to make sure you understand all the charges

Resources

• Search all Craigslist for used Furniture and Electronics
• Best priced mattress store
• Economy truck rental

[spatel]

on 1/8/2009 thanks that was useful

[diamonddust1985]

on 12/28/2008 Nice. Sometimes you can even get stuff for free

[mariastraza]

on 12/27/2008 Good post. I wish you could share more details on all other sites you used to look for classifieds

[flower-girl]

on 12/27/2008 Awesome. Thanks for the tips !

[Dancingfool]

on 12/27/2008 Thanks for the tips! And I love Pacey!