Every few years families are faced with buying new living room , bedroom, and dining room furniture, appliances, and a washer and a dryer. The cost of these items can easily run thousands of dollars if you purchase all those products new. There are discount furniture stores that can trim the cost somewhat but still it is outside the budget of many people to completely replace the main furnishings and appliances in their home simultaneously.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN PURCHASING USED FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES
I am sure in every area of the country particularly in the larger city areas , there are many second hand stores with some of the products you might be looking for. But I am sure you have found that most of the items are well used and priced almost as much a comparable new item.
A good place to start looking for home improvement furnishings and appliances is Craigslist for the area you live in. The advertisers on Craigslist usually include a photo of the product they are selling and provide a phone number and email address. A search for the town you live in can isolate the items closest to where you live so you will not have to drive abnormal long distances to see the advertised items You can search for couches, hide-a-beds, futons, washers, dryers, stoves , bedroom sets, etc.
Look for ads that say the people are moving and need to dispose of the items listed very soon. There appears to be more items that are newer and quite possibly still have some life left in them available from people that are moving. Make an appointment to go see the items you are interested in. Make an offer on the products if the seller has not stated the asking price is firm. Many times you can get the products at a greatly reduced price from the original asking price. Look at the number of days listed at the top of the Craigslist page for the individual item. If the item has been on the market for two weeks or longer , there is a good chance you can make an offer and they will accept your offer because they are anxious to get rid of the item and stop the calls. There are businesses in many of the larger cities that only sell used appliances and will guarantee them for 30 to 90 days. That gives the person some assurance that they are getting some value for their money.
Habitat for Humanity has thrift shops in many of the larger cities that accept furniture and appliances and may have something that serves a families requirements or expectations. Goodwill and Salvation Army have thrift shops that are usually pretty well organized so you can see if they have items that still have enough use for your purposes. There are also many Church auxiliary thrift shops that vary in the quality and organization of the products from area to area that may have some good items available at a reasonable price.
A combination of used items and new items may be the best solution. If you stop to assess the life of a stove , refrigerator, washing machine , and dryer , it may be best to buy new items that are on sale or reasonably priced. Certainly mattresses should be purchased new. There are many different qualities of mattresses. They may range in price from a $150 to thousands of dollars depending on your tastes. Couches , chairs, dining room furniture, side tables , bed frames and headboards, may be more conducive to looking for used items.
The point of this post is that a family can save money and still furnish a home they can be proud of.
THIS MONTH’S INCOME OPPORTUNITY IS A USED BICYCLE BUSINESS:
Recently I decided to buy a used bicycle to ride at my son’s home when I visited them. I have purchased several bikes in Colorado and Arizona listed on Craigslist. There is a large number of bikes listed in Craigslist.
I saw an ad in the Colorado Springs Craigslist for a Specialized Expedition 21 Speed Bicycle 2013 model in good condition for $150 in like new condition. That bike cost $483 new. I called and agreed to meet the advertiser at a storage shed complex at his rented shed. The bike looks like new , I offered him $110 and we settled for $115. The bike looks like new , no wear showing , and rides great It has a special Swedish gear indicator. This fellow had several bikes in his shed and had another customer there. He explained to me that he was an engineer for a large corporation, but decided to start a part time bicycle business. He said I sell about ten bikes a a week with an average profit of $50 or about $500 profit each week. He explained that he looked at Craiglist for bargains and went to garage and estate sales that had bicycles, to get the bikes. He commented that so many people just want to get the bike out of their garage so are willing to negotiate.
I would suggest that you stick to quality lower priced bikes like Schwinn, lower priced Trek, Diamondback Wildwood, and Specialized Expedition bikes. Specialized makes high priced bikes made of titanium that cost several thousand dollars. Specialized makes a lower priced quality line of 21 speed bikes also. Diamondback bikes cost from $200 to $400 new depending on the model , some are hybrid meaning street and mountain, and mountain bikes.
BASED ON THIS INFORMATION IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE IS A CRAIGSLIST AND A LARGE SUPPLY OF BIKES THEN POTENTIALLY YOUR FAMILY COULD HAVE A GOOD FAMILY BUSINESS THAT ALL MEMBERS COULD PARTICIPATE IN AND MAKE SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH.
I have started a bicycle business in Arizona where I live in the winter marketing used bicycles purchased on Craigslist. The name of my business is “Pops Cycles” . I hare rented a storage shed and have seven bicycles for sale. I have to list them one at a time. Craigslist has a rule you may not advertise similar items until a waiting period of 48 hours so to get seven bikes on Craigslist will take about fourteen days.