Interested in taking advantage of some of the great furniture deals on eBay? Before you start bidding take a look at this quick guide to buying furniture on eBay, to make sure that you get the right item for you, at the right price.
Although it may sound obvious, it is vital to know exactly what you are looking for before you start searching.
It is all too easy to impulse buy an item of furniture which will end up being completely unsuitable for your home. Firstly, measure up the area in which you want the furniture to go - for example if you are looking for dining chairs, measure not only the available space under the table but also how many chairs will fit comfortably on each side. One other thing that people often forget is to measure the width of doors (or windows) that the item of furniture will need to pass through to reach its destination - if you are unable get the furniture into a room then it isn’t going to be of much use!
When it comes to searching for the furniture itself, you can save yourself a lot of money on delivery charges - which can be expensive for large items - by searching by distance. Enter your postcode into the ‘distance’ filter on the left hand side of the search page and you will be able to find items that are situated within 10, 25 or 50 miles from you, so you can collect them in person from the seller.
Before you commit to bidding on or buying an item of furniture, be sure to eek out as much information from the seller as possible. Message them via eBay’s in built messaging service and get as much information regarding measurements, quality or any damage to the item as you can - remember they are the ones trying to sell to you, so they should be more than happy to furnish you with the relevant details.
When buying anything on eBay it is vital to investigate the seller. Check how many of their auctions have resulted in positive feedback, whether or not it is their first auction and whether they offer a money back guarantee. If you find that you are dealing with an eBay shop - a specialist seller of furniture, as opposed to an independent seller auctioning off their unwanted items - be sure to check their terms, conditions and returns policy, as they can vary from shop to shop.