tips on using ebay for home furnishings
Over the past few years my opinion on buying second hand products has completely changed. A naive, snobby me really didn’t want to consider owning things someone else had already put their mark on. Fast forward to now and I really couldn’t be without the ebays of this world. I’ve bought more from there than any other retailer and got some absolute bargains including brand new items at 80% off RRP. Here is a little run through of how I’ve done it.
Please note this post contains affiliate links.
so, where do you start?
For me it started with Pinterest and realising so much of what I liked was antique rather than brand new. Living in London at the time, all the specialist dealers were far out of my price range so I started looking on eBay to find suppliers who were elsewhere in the UK. Although it’s relatively easy to build a website, many dealers turn to the auction site as it has a reliable customer stream.
To use eBay properly you need to know what you’re looking for, it’s not the best place to browse. I wrote lists, saved bookmarks and worked out sizings of everything and anything I wanted. The rest is history…
who sells on ebay?
This was the bit that changed the game for me - the idea that ebay was simply filled with people trying to sell off their worn out, unwanted items. There are loads of brilliant different sellers using ebay for a host of reasons. The bulk of people fall into the following categories:
professional antique sellers
furniture resellers (more on this later)
people moving abroad who need to offload items
people downsizing/changing decor
I really love the personal stories behind some of our items. We bought an incredible West Elm bed from a couple who’d only had it a year but needed a smaller bed in order to fit a cot into the room. A brass lamp of ours came from a restaurant who had accidentally over ordered for their own space.
In terms of professional sellers, I’ve had some real wins. We regularly go to antique markets like Sunbury and Ardingley and have found some of our favourite stalls also have eBay accounts. I’ve listed a few further down this post.
We’ve also had great success using furniture “resellers” - these are accounts that sell surplus stock, refurbished or like-new returns - or when there is a made to order product that is cancelled half way through and still needs to be sold. We’ve bought mattresses, sofas, appliances and electrical through sellers like these and have never been let down.
tips and tricks?
I guess this is the bit everyone wants to know; how do you find a bargain? I have to say, it takes some work. I once set an alarm for 6am on a Saturday morning so I could get up to place a bid on a kitchen table (which we won). But here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way…
Make sure you always search under “antique furniture” as well as “furniture” for whatever item it is, as sellers have to select one of the other in a listing.
Most furniture will be collection only, so set the search to your local area (I do within 25 miles for most things, more if it’s really special)
Be specific in your search terms, eg: “3 drawer oak chest of drawers” rather than “chest of drawers.”
If you really want someone drop them a message with your best and final price and offer to collect immediately - a lot of people need the item gone.
Search under specific brands, style, product lines - I found my Swoon armchair by searching for the exact fabric, style and brand.
Set timers for auctions so you won’t miss out, and have a firm maximum. You can use third party bidding tools but I’ve never done it.
Get ideas of courier quotes for further away items while the auction is running, I list my jobs on uship and find it very reliable.
If you’re worried, eBay’s rules and regs are so stringent it’s very uncommon you’d ever be screwed over - we’ve only had problems once and it was sorted in minutes when we relayed the problem to eBay themselves.
recommended sellers?
So, here’s my list of people I’d wholeheartedly recommend.
Antiques:
BPM Reclamation - great for woodware, period pieces
Mill Barn Furniture - a lot of antique commercial (pharmaceutical and retail) furniture as well as some mid century pieces
Ash Pash - A developer who sells items he finds in the houses he works on, pre renovation
Vintage Signs - a brilliant dedicated seller for vintage signs
Emmaus Hertfordshire - a charity local to us that sells great furniture and accessories
Resellers:
Clear Cycle UK - has Swoon, Made, Cox & Cox as well as a host of electricals and appliances
Big Furniture Warehouse - really good for lower cost furniture and industrial pieces
Oliver Bonas Outlet - exactly what it says on the tin, often has their furniture but it goes very quick
Mario Furniture - a quality and trusted reseller of well known brands: John Lewis, Swoon, Made, Loaf etc
Also, as I am often asked here is the link to our mattress supplier. I have a number of friends and family who have bought these (as well as us) and they really are great. We put in an offer about 10% lower than the price they were listed and it was accepted.
The green armchair is from Swoon Editions, sourced through eBay for £250. A steal compared to the typical retail, which I had to pay for the second (albeit with a first purchase discount) and wait over 12 weeks for… I’ll do a separate post on how I use eBay as so many pieces from my home are via the auction site. This armchair took me a while to find, but as soon as it came up I snuck an offer in and got it. In case you want to get it too, the armchair is called the Sutton Chair and is in Fern Easy Velvet.
So thats all, folks! This interiors stuff is all very new for me, so thank you for reading. I’m enjoying it more than I thought, I really love the research and hunting that goes into making a house a home. Hope you are finding it all helpful.