Want to know how to work the Web on behalf of your home? Pay attention.
Two weeks before closing on her first home in suburban Washington, Olivia Doherty saw an ad on Craigslist for the couch of her dreams: simple lines, neutral color, plush fabric, terrific price.
The posting, with photo, went up at 8 p.m., and within minutes of its appearance Doherty shot back an e-mail making clear she wanted it. Right now. Grabbing her brother, she bolted from their parents’ house, jumped in his truck, hit an ATM and arrived on the sellers’ doorstep with $200 in hand. By 10 p.m., the deal was done.
A few days later, she scored a pair of end tables for $37.50 each (retail value, $260 each).
Doherty, a public relations associate, and her husband, Seth, a Navy petty officer, have a strong sense of style and an equally strong aversion to paying retail, or even discounted, prices for new furniture.
The couple and countless fellow cyber-shoppers have strategies for snagging bargain furnishings on the Internet. Some intrepid trollers have filled an entire home or apartment for what it would cost to buy one brand-new brand-name sofa.
Much of this nest-feathering is done through sites such as craigslist.org and freecycle.org. Another site, newcomer swapthing.com, relies on barter–a rug for a crib–rather than sales or giveaways.
Whatever the Web sites, the operative words are speed, cash, brawn and “as is.”
Those who have never ventured into the Internet world of previously owned furnishings would do well to heed the advice of canny Web shoppers. “If you don’t respond within five to 15 minutes of a post, it’s either physically given to someone or spoken for,” says Amanda Wimmer, whose Washington walkup is a case in point. Her favorite deal is the $200 three-piece white sectional sofa that looks a lot like a $2,500 Pottery Barn model. Although Craigslist posts giveaways as well as sales, Freecycle is anti-cash. The site is about ecology as much as economy.
Elizabeth Buchbinder happily Freecycled high-end furniture she had bought 25 years ago because it took up space in the Georgetown basement she wants to redecorate.
“It costs a lot of money to have someone haul a sleep sofa, a very heavy three-piece bookcase unit, a coffee table and end table up a flight of stairs and take it all to the dump,” Buchbinder says. “I was much happier giving it to people who needed it.'”
– – –
Work the Web
To get what you want:
— Check sites several times a day, starting in the morning for items posted the night before. Good stuff can go within minutes.
— Friday is a busy day for postings, in anticipation of weekend sales.
— When you see something you like, reply ASAP, preferably by e-mail; phone numbers are rarely provided in postings.
— Pick up your purchase as soon as possible. Most sellers, fearing no-shows, sell on a first-come, first-served basis.
— Take plenty of cash, because most sellers won’t accept checks.
To get rid of what you don’t want:
— Think seasonally: Lawn mowers and hammocks sell well in the spring; artificial Christmas trees do better in fall.
— Give full descriptions and detailed dimensions. Specify where you got it if it’s a name store. Reveal all defects.
— Post clear pictures. Buyers are likely to scroll past ads with blurry or no photos.
— Give a deadline for an item’s removal; state whether you’ll bargain.
— Keep a backup list of potential buyers to call if early responders don’t show up.
[ THE WASHINGTON POST ]
