If you need a sofa or bed for your new apartment or home, you may consider turning to Craigslist. This online classifieds website has a large selection of new and used items for sale, including furniture. Although you will surely find good deals on capes and used beds, what are the pros and cons of doing so?
The professionals
Cheap prices! As stated above, you are likely to find good deals on Craigslist. This is because most sellers are not in it to make a profit. They decided to buy a new bed or sofa and now they need to do something with the old one. What they decide to do is recoup a small amount of the money paid by selling on Craigslist. On average, you should pay less than half the cost of a new one when buying used.
They are easy to find. Craigslist.org allows you to search or browse the website. Start by looking for your local page (which you can do by choosing your state and city). Then use the search box on the left side of the page. Whether you are looking for a sofa or a bed, you can find it. In fact, you can find many of them. For even more options, download and use a Craigslist search program that allows you to search multiple locations and categories at once (something Craigslist.org doesn’t allow).
The cons
Bedbugs. Bed bugs are something we don’t want to think about, but we must. It’s tricky because some of the cleanest people in the world have bed bugs. You may have heard that in July 2009, the state of Colorado canceled its Great Sofa Roundup due to bed bug fears. This couch switch went on for nine years before stopping this year. If college administrators are willing to cancel a very successful program due to fear of bed bugs, it should be a concern of yours as well.
Transport. If you go to, say, Metro Mattress, and buy a new mattress, chances are you’ll get a good deal on delivery. In fact, many stores launch free delivery. This is unlikely to happen on Craigslist. Most sellers will state “you have to come get the mattress” right on their post. This can be a problem if you drive a small Geo Metro. Your best bet is to offer to pay a friend with a truck $ 10 to help you.
As you can see, buying used capes and beds from Craigslist.org has its pros and cons. If you decide that the pros outweigh the cons, remember that you can use a Craigslist search tool to find the best deals with ease and with little effort.