apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i just scored two great baumritter loveseats! so excited, but now i need to figure out how to collect them.

my only complaint about ebay is the lack of a single standard shipping option. i think it would be great if there were an ebay shipping option.

You are so missing out. We bought a Heywood Wakefield dining set with dogbone chairs for $1250 (in LA they go for tons more), a Paul McCobb credenza for $300!!, a Heywood Wakefield coffee table for $75 (the person didn't seem to understand how putting Heywood Wakefield in the listing would have increased the bidding) and so much more. Viva Ebay!

I found a beautiful France & Daverkosen chair for $225. It didn't have cushions, which is why I think the price was so low. Turns out the chair was a prototype or early production run by Ole Wanscher for some of his later designs - it's a knock-down, whereas the later models were designed to ship in one piece. I've seen the later models on eBay for between $600 and $1000, so I'm guessing mine is worth at least that much.

I haven't bought furniture yet - my aunt bought two end tables that were a nightmare to try and get delivery on and she ended up getting her money back.

I have bought tons of crazy stuff though. One of those first things I bought 11 or 12 years ago when ebay was just getting started was one of those machines that dispense toys in the little plastic pods. I had it delivered to my then-job, and everyone was confused with "um ... WHERE did you get this thing now?? e- what???" I don't ebay much now because there's just too much on there ... I get distracted. I do occasionally buy some vintage magazines or whatnot for inspiration. It amazes me what people have held onto over the years and are now selling.

I agree that large eBay purchases can be really daunting, but I haven't had a bad experience yet. Most people aren't out to scam anyone, and you always have to conduct some research regarding value, condition, shipping charges, feedback, etc. When in doubt, assume that the condition is a bit worse than specified, request more photos, and ask specific questions.

My biggest purchase was a set of 6 Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chairs for just under $400, including shipping.

i actually bought a saab 9-3 on ebay.

no furniture just yet - but best home decor purchase was an authentic swiss army blanket. it's soooooooooo neat.

The one that got away: Nelson saucer bubble lamp that sold for $21. In perfect condition. Oops.

Brandy, I agree. UPS, FedEx and Greyhound Package Express could federate with eBay and offer pricing discounts to sellers pending the auction outcome and buyers choice. In some cases, greyhound package express is way more economical than UPS ground or FedEx ground and is the only shipper in some remote towns.

In the past few months I've won 4 major purchases, including a tribal rug, 3 chairs, and a cocktail table base. The sellers have all been responsive and did excellent jobs packing the items. Shipping time varried, but was reasonable in every case.

In all, I'm pleased with the quailty of each item, however I do feel that the three of the four sellers left out information that I specifically asked about. In no case would the truth have been a deal killer.

For example, in the photo, the medallion in the center of the rug that I bought appeared to be persimmon red (slightly orange). I asked if this was the case. The seller affirmed. When the rug arrived I was a little disapointed to see that the medallion is in fact pink. Not strawberry red that is arguably not pink, but watermelon red. I think most people think of watermelons as being pink, no? (ecept white and yellow melons, but those are mutants).

In any case, my point is that I think that unless you've seen the item in person, you should be prepared to be a little flexible with the actuality of your purchases. If you need a color to match precisely, don't buy on ebay. If you're not prepared to refinish and recover, don't buy on ebay.

I bought a "White Leather" Sectional sofa off eBay from a store in New Jersey.

The store said it had down-filled cushions - they were chopped foam. The store said it was brand new - it had chips in the base and a mark on the "Leather" (I think it's mostly vinyl or bi-cast - it's definately not warm or soft like real leather...)

I did get an excellent price, the shipping was reasonable and the seller refunded me the difference that it would have cost me to have new down inserts made for the pillows - so I think I did alright in the long run.

My comfort level with eBay is fine, especially if the seller accepts PayPal, which has significant buyer protection services. This summer I bought an gorgeous Eames lounge chair and ottoman (actually a period Plycraft copy) in decent shape for $300 including shipping. Hubby was so ticked that the only way I could assuage him was to give it to him! Now it lives in his office and I'm all jealous. I wouldn't hesitate to make another big eBay purchase.

Other than that, the craziest naughty-off-the-budget decor purchases on eBay have been a pair of 1920s French art deco songbird metal & marble bookends, and a very good-condition and large 1930s hooked rug... both about $100 including shipping, and both of which I just had to have. ...I buy fabric/ linens/ textiles there all the time too. You can get great upholstery fabric, if you're so inclined.

I bought a photobooth on ebay. It was totally on a whim, and it turned out to be too big and too heavy to be in my second story flat. And after research I realized it's not super easy to just have around (changing chemicals every couple weeks, etc.). It's been hanging out in a shipping container for a couple years now. I keep thinking someday I'll have room!

ebay is my decorating source. i don't see much difference in relying on seller photos and those of other online or print catalogs. the description and the seller's rep (and return policy) are KEY.

expect condition issues as these are mostly used items. be ready for projects. ask questions. some sellers will even take phone calls. any doubts - let it go to another bidder.

some of my scores:

a pair of carlo di carli walnut lounge chairs ($8000 on 1stdibs) for under $1000 shipping included.

a set of jens risom dining chairs, purchased one at a time, at an average cost of $85/ea including shipping.

a large abstract painting (48x58) by bay area artist raimonds staprans, which is pictured in his museum retropective catalog, for less than 10% of it's gallery price.

assorted lamps, pottery, fabric. christmas gifts for everyone on my list.

i just bought a risom floating bench, 6 feet of fun, for much less than the ralph pucci reissue....and an overman swivel chair (which will need to be slipcovered) for my god daughter's bedroom.

my one miss: new bedding from a seller with lots of positive feedback. i expected too much and got something only okay.

My largest (and best) ebay purchase was a 1998 Honda Civic that I bought in 2000 for $8000. I was a bit nervous about buying a car based only on pictures without any verification of its working condition, but I had my mom drive me from Davis to LA to pick it up and put over 100,000 miles on it before selling it in 2004. It was a great car. Sometimes I wish I still had it.

We bought an antique farmhouse sink for our previous house on ebay (see it here: http://flickr.com/photos/halfmad/220516021/) It cost us $78, vs. $1400 we were seeing elsewhere. We picked it up on the way back from a vacation (it was in a neighboring state). That thing was HEAVY but looked fantastic. I miss it!

I also "accidentally" bought a molded plywood Herman Miller rocker, meaning I put in a bid thinking I would surely be outbid and....wasn't. I like the chair, but you have to be careful if you're not entirely sure you want something!

I got a Kofod Larsen chair with its original upholstery for under $200 -- the seller hadn't listed the designer on the auction so it didn't get much traffic. I also got mint condition 1960s hardware for my whole kitchen for $10 including shipping. Ebay is also great for linens, curtains/drapes and random artwork. I find it's helpful to read the recent feedback comments for sellers -- I stick to ones who have 99% positive and higher.

does anyone have a strategy for how you search for items? e.g., if you're looking for something specific (e.g., eames, wakefield, mid-century), do you use that as a search term or do you dig around hoping that someone has no idea what they're selling and so therefore didn't put that as a keyword in their posting?

that's how i find deals on craigslist - basically find untagged items that are under-priced because the seller has no clue that it's a wonderful piece. they just think it's something old that was owned by their parents/grandparents.

first ebay purchase = a car

5 years later, no problems = good deal

largest ebay purchase; a saarinen tulip oval dining table (absolutely brilliant knock off by an italian manufacturer) for 1200 Euro. Top is real carrara marble. Incredibly good experience

I bought a Heywood Wakefield bedroom set (dresser, nightstand, full size headboard/footboard) for $775 and paid $100 for delivery. I just search for what ever I want and narrow the results to within 200 miles to make delivery or pickup easier. I've had great results with Ebay.

peaceyall:

I found the Kofod Larsen chair by just searching for "Danish chair." If you make a search more general, you might turn up things you wouldn't ordinarily see. You can always filter the search after you see what it turns up. Also, make sure you try common misspellings, like Haywood instead of Heywood. People sometimes just forget to proofread. I got a great leather Orla Kiely bag for a fraction of retail because the seller had spelled the last name K-e-i-l-y.

I'm never buying furniture on ebay again! Both of my furniture buying experiences have been awful. I bought a Kagan style chair that was destroyed in shipping (thank goodness it had been insured). The worst though was buying a vintage sofa from a seller with a reasonable amount of positive feedback. 2 weeks after my $500 payment cleared they disappeared, never to be heard from again. Didn't answer emails, calls, and took their other items down. I realized that the item had never been shipped after the 30 day mark and ebay was unable to help. I finally had to use the fraud services through my bank to get a refund!

palindrome is right ; misspelling searches are great. you can also use the asterick (*) to get all letters for common errors
(as in H*ywood or "kof*d lars*n").

Oops, I meant molded fiberglass above, not plywood.

I'm finding the misspelling thing doesn't work like it used to -- eBay must have added software that gives you results for common misspellings, because I've accidentally made typos and gotten the result I was looking for anyway.

Totally forgot we also bought an orange Preway fireplace on eBay for $100! It was within driving distance to pick up.

I bought Lunch with Nate Berkus for me and three of my friends along with a custom-designed Nate Berkus Hudson cube chair.

I rarely sit in the chair (any buyers?) but I still have great memories of sitting with Nate in the table smack center at RL Cafe just off Michigan Avenue. Worth every dollar and it took lots and lots of them.

I bought an art deco vanity off ebay about 4 years ago - it cost $185 and shipping was about $65 or 70. I love it - I don't think it's particularly valuable, or a very fancy designer, but it fits my home and my taste perfectly. I would totally buy furniture again.

i have purchased a lot of home furnishings off of E-Bay, and had great experiences. 2 large Persian rugs, an Art Deco armoire, 8 General Fireproofing Steelcase chairs (in separate auctions) that i use as my dining room chairs, several fabulous mid-century modern lamps, a great mirror for my side board, a beautiful white painted dresser with glass knobs, and some weird and wonderful barkcloth that i have made into curtains for my bedroom. i've bought cheap art (postcards, prints, originals) and the frames to hang them. E-bay (with a little help from Target, Ikea,, and craigs-list) has furnished my house.

When Sotheby's sold items through eBay, on two separate occasions I got incredible deals on African pieces that didn't sell at their big NYC African/tribal art auctions. These were real, provenanced pieces and I paid less than a third of the Sotheby's auction's lowest low-estimate. (I know because I then bought the used auction catalog on eBay.) That was really cool. While I've bought a lot of other cool stuff on eBay, I think my other favorite deal has been Oriental rugs, especially antique ones from fairfaxrug.com. You've got to get a sense of how the guy the describes them before you buy one; don't buy the first one that looks appealing. For example, go to his eBay "store," and search "super super fine" (one of his descriptions for particularly nice, high-quality rugs). I also like the "signed" ones. (You can search for "signed" rugs, using that as a search word.) The rugs usually sell for $9.99 (seriously), and really all you pay is that plus the exorbitant (usually, ~$190) shipping. I love the rugs I've gotten, I've had pretty good luck getting the ones I wanted, and I've never paid over $200 (that's with the shipping). At that price, you could almost throw one in the backyard or on the back porch if you had a party! Lately I've been a little obsessed about who made the rugs and under what conditions, but if you can put that out of your mind (hope I didn't ruin this for anyone by saying that) these rugs really are a steal.

There are so many cool things I bought on eBay. I just remembered a couple more: I got these really cool early 1900's colonial African postcards. I also got these bizarre "Tijuana Bibles" after I saw a book about them at Powell's bookstore on Lincoln. Basically, they're little smutty cartoon porn books from the 1920's-40's with Dagwood/Blondie, Olive Oyl, Popeye & Bluto, Mickey/Minnie --you get the picture. Here's the Wikipedia link--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tijuana_bible. Unfortunately, all these little items, though much beloved, were temporarily (I hope) misplaced last time I did some remodeling.

A 1969 Honda CM91 (motorcycle) :)

Ronnie O!!! I have totally bought rugs from fairfaxrug guy on Ebay. OMG!! His stuff is so great. I emailed him and asked if I could come look at the rugs and he said ok (I live in the DC area). I never went, but his shipping was fast and I couldn't be happier!