Am I the only one has an irrational dislike for buying sofas, armchairs, and loveseats from Craigslist? At least when it comes to antique stores, the merchandise has been looked over and any reputable store knows better than to try to sell poorly maintained furniture. But when it's individual people, I just don't trust them as much. Who knows what people have done on or with the furniture? I did say it was "irrational" because even if the stuff ends up at an antique store, it's the same issue. It's just that when it comes to sofas, loveseats, and armchairs I'm a little more trusting with a store vs. a seller on Craigslist.

In addition - Try different words that have similar meanings:

If you're searching for a credenza, also try "Sideboard", "Buffet" or even "Server". If it's a dresser you want, also try "Chest" - "Wardrobe" when looking for an Armoire - or "End table" when looking for a nightstand (and vice-versa)

In the Midwest, folks often will use the word "Couch" or "Davenport" when referring to a Sofa - "Hutch" when referring to a China Cabinet - and in lots of places people will call it a "Dinette" when referring to a small table & chairs.

eh, I feel a little nervous with upholstery, too. If I ever went that route, I'd buy a cheap sofa on CL though and pay someone to reupholster it with my own fabric. And re-stuff it. And probably sprinkle some holy water over it or something for good measure!

I found about 75% of the stuff in my house from craigslist, including my dog! I highly recommend (if you're running firefox) greasemonkey craigslist image preview. Seeing pics on the main page makes finding the good stuff 1000x easier.

I just found a sofa on Craigslist (well, Kijiji, but same thing) today. It has a great design, was originally custom made and I got it for 1/4 of the price I expected to pay for a sofa. Sweet.

These are all great tips. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to buy new because there's so much great used stuff (provided you have a way to transport it.)

I just went the Craigslist route specifically because I wanted something cheap to reupholster. I bought a sofa with awful upholstery - holey and with beaten down cushions - but the frame was sturdy and expensively made. I reupholstered it in the fabric I wanted and had new cushions made. I couldn't have bought a comparable new sofa in the style and fabric I wanted for what it ended up costing me to reupholster (closest new sofa price - designer net cost, not retail, to what I wanted? $4000. What I paid, including fabric, reupholstery, Craigslist frame, and dinner/beer for the guy friend who helped me load it into my van? $1600).

But yeah, unless I was going to reupholster, I wouldn't do upholstery from Craigslist...

what about the firefox extension craigslist pre-fetcher? That's my favorite tool for craigslist searching!!

"Am I the only one has an irrational dislike for buying (upholstery) from Craigslist ... Who knows what people have done on or with the furniture?"

Well if huge bloodstains are still on the piece, chances are that the ritualistic pagan sacrifice occurred fairly recently...
Otherwise, any previous owner likely did exactly what you've done on similar pieces of furniture.

But hey - the more folks like you who are put off by pre-owned furniture, the more pieces available to people like me who don't really care!

except the Noguchi table is not made by Herman Miller, the Arco light is not designed by Achille Castiglioni and the Saarinen side table is not made by Knoll. If you are going to thrift buy the right pieces. There are cheap finds out there.

In the end it all looks like a waste of time.

I share goodpanda's dislike...

"Otherwise, any previous owner likely did exactly what you've done on similar pieces of furniture." <-- ...and that's why. ;)

I would say that you can get a pretty good idea about the piece you're buying when you show up at the house. Is the house clean? Does it smell like smoke? These are some of the cues I use when I buy something from the list.

@k2yhe - I guess that's part of the problem for me - I don't have a ton of time, and we only have one car. So if I'm going to trek out to your home to see your furniture (nevermind the fact that you're a complete stranger and could be an axe-wielding murderer with good taste in furniture) I really don't want to take a gamble that you've been a 3-pack-a-day smoker for the past 10 years or that you've lied about your description somehow. With stores, there's reputation on the line, and reputable antique dealers and collectors really take care of the things they procure, and won't buy things that reek of smoke.

yep I'm weirded out by CL upholstery too. I DO think my fears are irrational, especially since I know other people buy upholstery from CL all the time with no problems. Besides worrying about what other people did on or to the cloth (and I do!) I also worry about things that might live inside the upholstery....cockroaches (or their eggs), bedbugs, etc. It's probably irrational, especially if the home/apartment it is coming from looks clean....but ... still.

With a wooden table or shelf, you can easily wipe it down and give it a good scrub, but upholstery makes it harder.

Oh, and another tip for searching CL is one I discovered on accident...try mis-spelling a word in your search engine. Though I normally try to screen items based on the grammar and writing style of the seller, spelling errors can occur and it's a great way to find (mistakenly) buried gems!

And from those of us SELLING on Craigslist:

Make a counter offer BEFORE:
1) You have asked for an address
2) You have asked for directions
3) Seller has offered to help you get the item into a cab
4) You have set up a time to come see/purchase the piece

Buyers on Craiglist are VERY fast and loose with commitments, and seem to forget REAL PEOPLE with lives are the ones selling items. Please be considerate.

And goodpanda, BUYERS can also be axe-weilders, too, so the seller is also not without risk at the time of transaction.

I've been a lover of craigslist for years. most of our furnishings have come from craigslist and I've done a lot of selling as well.

I'm on the site daily with my special keywords: vintage, eames, knoll, retro, ikea & velvet.

i'm been searching for a velvet couch for a few years...but there aren't a lot of them that are posted.

plus, I've found it a HUGE help when I locate ikea items...because the closest store to my home is Minneapolis. This has been so great to be able to snatch up items I've had on my 'wish list' without the roadtrip.

goodpanda, good things to think about, but can I tell you about the bedbug infestation a woman I know got from a chair sold by "reputable" Newbury Street antiques dealer? There was no other path into the house for the bugs, which turned out to be a nightmare, as well as hugely expensive to exterminate. Not to say that the dealer was shady, but if you are dependent on their having "clean" furniture, be prepared.

That said, there had been a veritable bidding war on a chair I recently sold on craigslist. I was thinking most people might be worried about it's being upholstered and used, but there were over 40 responses. Lucky for the buyer, I had owned it for three years, having purchased it at an estate sale in Sudbury. They got a fantastic deal on a unique chair for under 100.00. Something you'd never find at Crate and Barrel or some such reputable dealer.

I agree with patrick (the other one). I just sold some furniture on CL for the first time, and it's been pretty nerve-wracking trying to track people down and get them to actually commit to coming to pick up the stuff. I had one guy today who was three hours late. I apparently have nothing better to do than sit around waiting for them to show up. (They did turn out to be nice people when they finally got here, though) No axe-murderers yet, thankfully.

lookie what i found today...

http://ragamuffindesign.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/fantastical-restore-finds-downtown-charleston-sc/

I prefer the anonymity of eBay to the face-to-face nature of Craigslist. But I understand that for large items eBay is not too practical.

Ok I am new to google alert feature and tried to set up the site:boston.craigslist.org keyword as mentioned, but I must not being doing something right.

Example I typed mine site:mycity.craigslist.org vintage, but it isn't working. Should I have put a period between org & studio? I know there is stuff since I setup the alert because I have looked. Please help this google illiterate, as use google reader for my blogs I know I would love the alert feature. Thanks:)

Another nifty thing you can do is after you do a search on CL, with either the orange RSS icon in the address bar or the one at the bottom of a page, you can use that feed address in any RSS reader. I have a page on my iGoogle that's just a bunch of queries into Craigslist. Great time saver.

I've scored my dining room table and chairs, 3 bookcases, several el cheapo Heywood Wakefield pieces, various enamel topped tables and storage cupboards, a nice pair of Eames chairs that were ridiculously cheap, some other retro chairs (including upholstered ones!) and a Carter Brothers scoop chair. I think at least 3 of them came from the AT Scavenger posts too. My problem is now my condo storage is filling up with things I like and buy, but have no room for yet :P

"My problem is now my condo storage is filling up with things I like and buy, but have no room for yet :P"

That's called "Hoarding"
Please see the earlier AT post on this subject before it gets out of control...
;-)

@ patrick (the other one): no kidding about scary potential buyers! We're trying to unload a piano ($300) and a guy emailed me, left his number, and asked me to call about it "early in the morning". I did, and he was obviously inebriated (at 9 a.m.) and very rude, couldn't remember who I was, etc... I informed him that I was unavailable to show it at the (unusual) times he requested. That guy was not coming into my house, no way, no how.

If you have concerns about a SELLER, ask them: do you have pets? Small children? Are you the original owner? How long have you had it? How often has it been moved? Ask before you take up their time, and yes, PLEASE show up when you say you will.

Wow, thanks to the user who suggested prefetcher!

I have bought and sold dozens of furnishings on CL. I have been in people's houses, they have been in mine, I have pet their dogs, helped load and unload. No issues with weirdos because I can usually tell from their writing style if they are friendly or not.

Only a couple misfires. Once a vintage dealer sold me a dresser that I later realized reeked of perfume. He would not take it back. Or sometimes you drive an hour to pick something up and THEN the seller tells you about some damage to the piece.

Once I was selling a dresser and a man and his very pregnant wife bought it. My husband helped them load it into their car, but then they realized they didn't have anyone to help get it into the house (wife too prego to lift). My husband liked the guy, so followed them home to help unload it. They sent us a card and a photo of the new baby who had been born the very next day.

People are nice. At least in California.

I'm on the side of the pro-Craigslist folks, but my experiences have only been on the buy side. I've actually only had very good exchanges and have actually met very nice people. A few of my rules (that haven't already been mentioned in the original post or earlier comments) - there has to be at least one good photo of the piece; ask for specific dimensions; only make arrangements to see it if I'm pretty sure I will buy should it live up to expectations as I don't want to waste anyone's time (mine included); be prepared to pay in cash and take piece away that very day.

@SweeetTea --

I agree - I've only had good Craigslist interactions here in SF.

My latest one was the purchase of a Broyhill Brasilia dresser from a dealer. When he was delivering it, we heard some clanking inside - I opened the drawers and found some loose buttons, a safety pin and a couple of vintage perfume sample vials, so the previous owner was obviously an older lady...

Several months later, I needed to remove a drawer to retrieve a necktie that had dropped back behind the drawer - I soon discovered that the previous owner had the same problem...
...because I found that the dresser still contained one of her lacy slips!

On my Craigslist, you can also find items by searching for "chester drawers," "rod iron," and "armwa." If you search for "Mid-Century Modern," you will find IKEA or IKEA-inspired knock-offs (probably from Value City or Walmart). Search for "vintage" and you will find 1980's crap.

I think bepsf and I know the same dealer of well-perfumed-old-lady dressers.

haha, i aways get a kick out of chester drawers and rod iron.

and worse than perfume is getting half way home and realizing your broyhill brasilia dresser steal was sprayed by a cat. can't BELIEVE i got that smell out!

http://ragamuffindesign.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/craigslist-find-mid-century-modern-dresser/

Sorry, but Craig's List does creep me out a bit. I'd buy from CL before I would sell. But I've had great luck with ebay, even with the larger pieces. You just have to research different moving/transportation/shipping options. I've actually dealt with some of the nicest, most accommodating sellers.

(As for upholstered items, I do understand the apprehension. Dirt, food, bugs, blood, other bodily fluids..... Ugh.)

Like Sweet Tea, I've met the nicest people and have had very nice experiences buying and selling on craigslist.

However, like Trish1980, I don't go into people's houses, or invite them into mine. I figure both sides are more comfortable that way, so it's always worked out fine.

I think the flakes and oddballs really show their colors right off the bat - sometimes you can tell just reading their ads!

I get a kick out of all the mis-labeled woods: i see knotty pine called oak or labeled "hard wood" all the time.

My rule is to not post things in the Free section, because you'll immediately get 50 responses from people lurking in that section. My first few experiences told me they were folks I didn't want in my house, so now I'll post with a nominal amount, or I'll leave the item outside my door.

I once bought a Pottery Barn Charleston couch with slipcovers for $200 on CL, then got a matching chair and ottoman for $700 from another seller. Bought replacement slipcovers on eBay, then sold it all 9 years later for more than I paid for it.

Totally agree you can gauge buyers/sellers by their communication. If selling something and the only thing the buyer's email contains is "Will you take $50???" they get no response.

My favorite keywords are "wing" (if you're not one of the upholstery haters) and "teak."

I've had great success with putting "I would like to buy the [item]" in the subject line instead of the auto-generated subject when you click on the email link. It helps you stand out and shows you're serious.

I've just had a round of great CL interactions in the DC area. Most seem weird just because they are so completely normal.

I see that "hard wood" ad all the time on Craigslist. Just not in the Household Goods section.

Searching for "rot iron" and "bombay" yields plenty of hits around here. :)

Also keep in mind when searching for brand names that people will often say a piece is a particular brand when they either aren't sure or all just lying to get people more interested. I see people saying their stuff is from Ikea all the time when it's really from Kmart.

@perkiplus Where I am it's "rod iron" and "dinning room" and "bedroom suit" haha

Sometimes, the best deals are the ads with the least information. If the seller puts the words Knoll, Eames or Mid-century modern in the listing, they probably know what they're selling and how much it's worth. If it just says something like "table", the seller has no clue what it is. You've got to sort through a lot more junk to get to good stuff, but it can be worth it.

For what it's worth, I've only had great experiences both buying and selling on Craigslist in Boston. So many great pieces out there. I bought a matching crate and barrel coffee and end table last month for $50, and they are beautiful. Also bought the most adorable vintage upholstered chair with the intention of reupholstering, but have fallen in love with the mustard-yellow floral after all.

goodpanda, you can set your searches to "furniture by dealer."

Patrick toO LOL! I've never searched for Hard Wood...

I have purchased a lot of furniture for my home on Craigs (almost my entire house) but I absolutely HATE selling on Craigs. I'm not a craigs flake I don't understand why the people who answer my ads end up being flakes... i wish i had a flake detector because I have spent countless hours emailing, sending photos waiting around etc all to have people not show up at all or show up with half the money when the price is clearly stated.

the best searches and scores i've made are a result of misspellings. chester drawers is a good one, crodenza is another one, eems etc. (misspelling on ebay is also another gold mine).

The Grease Monkey extension for Firefox is a great CL timesaver - shows you the pics with the description, so you can see everything at once.
I use CL all the time and for the most part have had very good experiences. My biggest complaint is the flaky buyers - those who say they are going to show up at a certain time and then stand you up. I once gave away a washer and dryer for free on CL, and the first woman to respond agreed to meet me that afternoon. I rearranged my schedule to be home, she didn't show up, and then had the gall to call the next day to see if I still had it for her!

thesmilequeen: It depends on when an item with "vintage" is added to your city's site. If you selected "as-it-happens" you should get an email once a listing with "vintage" is added! You have the format right. You can test it with something generic like "dining" or "kids" to make sure it's working first.

I am a huge fan of Craig's List and Estate Sales! Great tips.

Here in the Ozarks, if you see "modern" in a craigslist posting, it's nearly guaranteed to be standard 90's Home Depot horrific.

I agree that the vast majority of sellers and buyers I've encountered are very nice. I just had a unpleasant experience yesterday, though, when a potential buyer sent me an email to "call him" about a desk I was selling. I called and left a msg to the effect that he was welcome to come and see it some time over the next two days, but that I was moving and wouldn't have my cell phone on me for most of that day. At the end of the day I see he's called and I call him back and he launches into a screaming tirade about how he rented a truck from a carshare service to pick up the desk that day and that he had to return it and there's "REALLY bad karma" between us and that I'm a terrible person and owe him $40 for the truck rental and "who in this day and age doesn't carry their phone around with them??!?!?!" Um, the girl who told you in the message she wasn't going to carry her phone around with her that day. Who on earth rents a truck to pick up a piece of furniture: 1) not knowing where the seller lives, 2) not having agreed upon a time & place to meet the seller/knowing the seller's availability, and 3) not knowing if someone has purchased the item in the time between when the seller left you a message and when you called them back? What a nutjob.

In terms of craigslist tips, I totally agree with tequila red and buddyrooster about the greasemonkey preview script...it is awesome! Also, in terms of searching for different keywords, I like using the multiple keyword search syntax instead of individual searches: {sofa|couch|sofas|couches|sofabed}

Totally saves time!

I have no additional shortcuts to offer - but I love craigslist and have been using it for years - both buying and selling. Using common sense is most important. I always ask via email about smoking and pets (even though I have a cat of my own). Expect a certain amount of flakiness ;) buyers and sellers alike.

That being said, bedbugs have become a recent here in temperate Seattle, and so now I am very cautious about any "soft" items, ex. chairs, sofa, futons, etc. Mattresses are something I was never willing to take from strangers anyway. And my understanding is bedbugs can hide out in wood too, but a visual takes care of that, and a couple "casual" questions beforehand.

Safety is important and I respect their comfort level as well. When I bought a pair of riding boots and it was clear via email the person was a fellow equestrian. When I got to her house(daytime), I offered to try them on the porch, when invited in, I went, and perched comfortably right next to the open front door. Purchasing a bike lock(evening) I stayed in the common hallway. When I sold some slippers, I was fine meeting the woman at Starbucks. I sold my motorcycle helmet, and had the guy meet me outside my work. Worst selling? Costume angel wings - so many flaky buring man people, low ball offers, no shows, weird calls. Funny in retrospect only ;)

I just wanted to add a little bit to the authors ideas here. I use Google Reader which is a very nice RSS reader. For those who don't know what that is, it is a central repository for collecting data off the internet that uses RSS like most blogs.

First off I am using google chrome to surf the web and the RSS subscription Extension (also by google). There are most likely other things similar to this for other browsers. What it does is puts a little Orange icon in the corner of my address bar anytime the site I am on uses an RSS feed.

Then I went to my local craigslist and searched for something I commonly look for "mid century modern". When the craigslist search comes up I click on the aforementioned orange icon which points me to google reader (if you don't have an account it is free) and there is an icon that says subscribe. I click on that icon and now my reader.google.com page populates with every new listing on my local craigslist that fits my search. You can add as many searches as you want. Just do the search then subscribe. Once you have them all setup then you just go to reader.google.com sign in and all your searches are there. I also subscribe to things like apartment therapy this way. It lets me star posts that I want to go back and read later and keeps everything I like online in one place.

@patrick (the other one) Yes, CL buyers can be exceedingly flaky. But making a counter offer before you've seen the item in person? That doesn't make sense.

Um, I'm not going to waste my time, and the Buyers, for an offer I would not consider entertaining AT ALL. Like $10 for an item for which I am asking $65... ESPECIALLY considering the hour or so involved...

One more idea / resource: 3taps.com will let you search across craigslist categories and geographies. You get search results in real time, and can compare them to other sources such as eBay and Indeed.