How to buy a used couch?

[pound_foolish]

Our 19 year old couch seems to be permanently dead (at least, from the perspective of one as unhandy as myself). We have vague plans to buy a residence in the next few years, at which point it might be worthwhile buying new couches that fit the space well. This means that it would make more sense buying a used couch as a temporary replacement for now. But we have concerns of bringing in Undesirables (e.g., bed bugs) with a used couch.

I'd love to hear how others would go about a low cost couch replacement, and what y'all would do to avoid potential invisible hazards lurking in used couches.

[Trifle]

For many years I would buy almost anything used EXCEPT upholstered furniture.   Then this year I got brave and bought a couch on Craigslist.   I was super picky, and didn’t rush it.   Key things for me in the ads I responded to were that it was clean, not very old, and the people didn’t have pets. 

In the end I paid $250 for a sleeper sofa owned by an older couple with no pets and no kids in the house.  It had been rarely sat on and only used twice as a bed by their grandkids.   When I was checking it out in person I looked it over really thoroughly and noted that it was clean, no stains or funny odors.  I also made a general observation of how clean their house was in general (very). 

It was a good experience and I would do it again.     

[Sanitary Stache]

We brought bed bugs home once in a mattress.  It was a bad experience. Primarily because of how stigmatized having bed bugs is.  We cooked the whole house in an over reaction.  We probably could have delt with them the same way we dealth with fleas - bomb the house with DE and clean up a bunch.  Maybe they would have come back, maybe not.  In any case, it was a terrible anxiety causing experience.  4 year later we are finally free of the anxiety.

For a while we only brought home used items we could put in the dryer.

I brought home two used mattresses this week for outdoor use. They will get stored in the basement and outside, but we will sit on them and the kids are playing on them.  I now what bedbug sign looks like now from the previous infestation, so I gave the mattresses a thorough look through with a magnifying glass and flashlight (the sign was obvious on the mattress we brought home with the bedbugs, I just didn't know what to look for).  I didn't see anything on these new mattresses, but there were plenty of hiding spaces I couldn't access.

It is still a risk that we weigh.  We specifically ask people when we take things from them if they have had bed bugs.  It is stigmatized, but not uncommon and it does have nothing to do with levels of cleanliness (except I think that cleaner households would be more likely to know what kind of bugs they have).

[Linea_Norway]

I once bought an imitation leather sofa second hand. That didn't seem to have bugs. I think leather is less likely to get them than a cloth sofa.

If you have cold winters where you live, you might wait until then and put the sofa outside for some days. I presume you can google how many days x which temperature.

[Metalcat]

What advice are you looking for specifically beyond how to avoid bed bugs?

I've bought multiple sofas used. I will only buy a piece that is currently in someone's nice, clean home, if it's wrapped in plastic in a garage, I'm not touching it.

Basically, you are risking bringing bed bugs home from any surface you touch, so if you go to someone's home to check out a sofa and you feel comfortable sitting in their home and the sofa is located in that home, then there's no rational reason not to take the sofa back to your home, because you're already sitting in their bed bugs if they have them. The vast majority of used sofas that will be nice enough for you to consider buying will come from really nice upper middle class homes where you would probably feel totally comfortable taking a seat.

For anything other than bed bugs, professional steam cleaners are cheap to rent.

[draco44]

OP, I share your concerns about bed bugs and may also be in the market for a couch in the next year or so, so partly posting to follow.

To add to the advice others have already provided for screening anonymous couches and thinking about your personal risk tolerance, my suggestion is to consider putting the word out to your immediate social circle that you are looking for a couch to buy and see if you get any replies from friends or family nearby before scrolling through the wilds of Craigslist. Your friends may not be any more likely to be pest-free than anyone else, but they do know you personally and therefore would hopefully not knowingly sell you an infested piece.

Mention in conversation or on a social media post or even a generic "how was your weekend?" co-worker encounter that you are looking to redecorate and get a new couch, and do they have any suggestions or know someone downsizing who might be looking to sell a lightly used one?

I suggest saying "to buy" because that may eliminate offers of shitty free couches worse than what you currently have, and also signals that you aren't trying to take advantage of a friend's generosity. If someone offers you a nice free couch, you can of course graciously accept.

If you aren't in a time crunch, it doesn't hurt to ask around before looking to buy used from people you don't know.

[Zamboni]

I've bought four used sofas in the past as well as several used upholstered chairs and they were all fine. They weren't great . . . at all . . . but they were fine. The price was right.

However, I've also been bitten by bed bugs in the past in two different hotels . . . I'm highly allergic and it is a really terrible experience. The second time I got really paranoid I might have brought them home with my luggage and I ended up paying for "bug sniffing dogs" to canvas my home. I didn't have bed bugs, but it's such a bad experience having them that I was just happy to write them a check anyway for the sense of relief of being sure. Some people aren't allergic and don't even know they were bit. Go figure.

So, I've decided no more super cheap hotels and no more used upholstered furniture for me because I can't really treat it to be sure there are no bugs.

In this instance I think you might be living up to your name, pound_foolish. A sofa is not meant to last 19 years and new sofas are just not that expensive. If you had a sofa for 19 years, then I feel like you paid your dues and you've earned splurging on a new one. If all you need is one sofa, then look at the more reasonably priced retailers (places like Rooms to go) and discount retailers (places like Big Lots) and pick something you actually like in the style and fabric you prefer. If you live in the Denver area, then go see Jake Jabs at the American Furniture Warehouse for 1000's of cheap but new sofa options . . . lots of places have a similar giant discount furniture retailer. Often the sofa itself is pretty decently priced but what they really want you to do is spend another $300-400 on the matching ottoman and another $600 on the matching chair and another $XXX dollars on the tables and lamps that go with the set . . . so resist that: just get the sofa. Realize that in 4-5 years when you move it will probably be time to buy a new one anyway, most likely, and you can sell it if it doesn't fit in your new space. Labor Day sales have already started in many areas, after all. I'm not saying spend $12000 on a sofa, but you can get a really nice new one in the triple digits if you look.

Also, measure your existing space, then go to a store and sit on the sofas . . . it's amazing how differently sized they are, and how one that is comfortable for one person might be very uncomfortable for someone of a different height. Once you really know exactly what dimensions are most comfortable for you, then you could even buy one online, but there's no substitute for sitting on a bunch at the store.

I'm going echo Clintin Kelly (of What Not to Wear fame) and say buy something now that fits the size you are now . . . don't wait for "someday" to get something decent.

[pound_foolish]

Thanks for all the replies!

What advice are you looking for specifically beyond how to avoid bed bugs?

I was looking for what else to look out for (which has been addressed by multiple responses), and some way of dealing with the uncertainty of bed bugs (e.g., "bring a microscope" or "if you wave a crystal with the correct frequency at it, the bed bugs will all leave and attack your archnemesis instead"). Sounds like the answer to the latter is: "either leave it out in the freezing cold, or in a v big ziploc bag, or don't even take the risk".

In this instance I think you might be living up to your name, pound_foolish.

Lol.
I appreciate the thoughtful advice from you, Zamboni, and I'm sure that DW and DD would be super happy if I just stopped resisting their request to get a cheap new couch from a furniture outlet store, or something.

[Metalcat]

Thanks for all the replies!

What advice are you looking for specifically beyond how to avoid bed bugs?

I was looking for what else to look out for (which has been addressed by multiple responses), and some way of dealing with the uncertainty of bed bugs (e.g., "bring a microscope" or "if you wave a crystal with the correct frequency at it, the bed bugs will all leave and attack your archnemesis instead"). Sounds like the answer to the latter is: "either leave it out in the freezing cold, or in a v big ziploc bag, or don't even take the risk".

There really isn't anything else to look for, pests are the only major concern with sofas. However, smell can be a big one of its been sitting near a kitchen or a kitty litter. But again, if you are inside the house where the sofa is, you will get a good sense of the smells it has been exposed to.

In this instance I think you might be living up to your name, pound_foolish.

Lol.
I appreciate the thoughtful advice from you, Zamboni, and I'm sure that DW and DD would be super happy if I just stopped resisting their request to get a cheap new couch from a furniture outlet store, or something.

I personally switched to buying used sofas after going through a few cheap new sofas that were total shit. I had had a Sklar Peppler sofa, loveseat, and chair set from the 70s that I inherited from my grandmother that I only got rid of about 10 years ago because the colour didn't work in my new house and another family member wanted it.

I replaced it with an inexpensive sofa from Leon's that started falling apart very quickly, so I replaced it with another I expensive sofa, which also fell apart quickly, so I replaced it with a used sofa and loveseat set from the 60s, which held up much, much better. The sofas had been in the formal sitting room of a wealthy Italian lady who never let anyone sit on them and kept them under protective plastic covers. I think my working class condo complex was more likely to have bed bugs than her spotless, gorgeous home. 

[Zamboni]

I agree that a high quality sofa with a kiln dried hardwood frame is much better than a cheap sofa from Big Lots. Congrats for finding exactly what you wanted from a rich person who never used it. Maybe it was quick finding it?

I can tell you from experience that most used sofas you can buy are still total crap. They are just older stinky or stained versions of the cheap ones that are mass produced. So, how much time to you want to spend looking? And how much is your time worth?

I'll compare it to buying tires. Do you buy new tires for your bike or car when the old ones wear out? Me too. Sure, there is a place down the road from me that sells used tires for $25 each. Some of them are probably pretty good! Most are probably pretty worn out and will barely pass inspection. But I'm going to use each set of tires until they wear out, so I'd rather just go with new ones. A new set of tires and a new moderately priced sofa cost about the same. Sounds like you are a "use it til it wears out" guy . . . and can justify new here.

Happy wife, happy life, amirite!

[Metalcat]

I agree that a high quality sofa with a kiln dried hardwood frame is much better than a cheap sofa from Big Lots. Congrats for finding exactly what you wanted from a rich person who never used it. Maybe it was quick finding it?

I can tell you from experience that most used sofas you can buy are still total crap. They are just older stinky or stained versions of the cheap ones that are mass produced. So, how much time to you want to spend looking? And how much is your time worth?

I'll compare it to buying tires. Do you buy new tires for your bike or car when the old ones wear out? Me too. Sure, there is a place down the road from me that sells used tires for $25 each. Some of them are probably pretty good! Most are probably pretty worn out and will barely pass inspection. But I'm going to use each set of tires until they wear out, so I'd rather just go with new ones. A new set of tires and a new moderately priced sofa cost about the same. Sounds like you are a "use it til it wears out" guy . . . and can justify new here.

Happy wife, happy life, amirite!

When I search for things online, I often use the postal code of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the city and limit my search radius to only include those neighbourhoods. Wealthy people are always updating furniture.

[Zamboni]

^Oooh, that is a great tip!

[Metalcat]

^Oooh, that is a great tip!

It's been highly effective for me.

Also, your used tire comparison is a poor one, as tires generally consistently wear, sofa wear depend on initial quality and how they are used.

It's more comparable to buying a used car, except the depreciation on sofas once they leave the store is *enormous* compared to cars. Like used cars, some used sofas are shot to shit, but also like cars, some are pristine, and it doesn't necessarily correlate with age.

Just because a lot of people are selling worn out, shitty sofas just to get someone to take them away doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of people selling pristine sofas for dirt cheap, because they also just want someone to haul the sofa out of their house as well.

[Morning Glory]

I agree that a high quality sofa with a kiln dried hardwood frame is much better than a cheap sofa from Big Lots. Congrats for finding exactly what you wanted from a rich person who never used it. Maybe it was quick finding it?

I can tell you from experience that most used sofas you can buy are still total crap. They are just older stinky or stained versions of the cheap ones that are mass produced. So, how much time to you want to spend looking? And how much is your time worth?

I'll compare it to buying tires. Do you buy new tires for your bike or car when the old ones wear out? Me too. Sure, there is a place down the road from me that sells used tires for $25 each. Some of them are probably pretty good! Most are probably pretty worn out and will barely pass inspection. But I'm going to use each set of tires until they wear out, so I'd rather just go with new ones. A new set of tires and a new moderately priced sofa cost about the same. Sounds like you are a "use it til it wears out" guy . . . and can justify new here.

Happy wife, happy life, amirite!

When I search for things online, I often use the postal code of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the city and limit my search radius to only include those neighbourhoods. Wealthy people are always updating furniture.

fb marketplace doesn't show the zip code but a lot of people have their profession or workplace listed on their public profile. I usually try to buy from people who work in healthcare (doctor, nurse, PA, etc., not students or assistants). Not foolproof but they usually have very clean homes, and it stops my mom from giving me shit about it. I've bought a few used couches and a mattress with no issues.  Sample conversation below:

Mom: "you bought a used couch, yuck, it looks old"
Me: "the guy was a doctor"
Mom: "oh, ok, never mind"

I bought a new couch from a furniture store once, before I discovered this forum. It was name brand, cost about a thousand bucks, and fell apart after five years (recliner mechanism just gave out). I've bought used ever since. I would not normally buy a used mattress but I was buying a nice oak bedframe for my son and it was a take-or-leave-the-mattress situation. It looked nice enough so I took it.

[Metalcat]

I agree that a high quality sofa with a kiln dried hardwood frame is much better than a cheap sofa from Big Lots. Congrats for finding exactly what you wanted from a rich person who never used it. Maybe it was quick finding it?

I can tell you from experience that most used sofas you can buy are still total crap. They are just older stinky or stained versions of the cheap ones that are mass produced. So, how much time to you want to spend looking? And how much is your time worth?

I'll compare it to buying tires. Do you buy new tires for your bike or car when the old ones wear out? Me too. Sure, there is a place down the road from me that sells used tires for $25 each. Some of them are probably pretty good! Most are probably pretty worn out and will barely pass inspection. But I'm going to use each set of tires until they wear out, so I'd rather just go with new ones. A new set of tires and a new moderately priced sofa cost about the same. Sounds like you are a "use it til it wears out" guy . . . and can justify new here.

Happy wife, happy life, amirite!

When I search for things online, I often use the postal code of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the city and limit my search radius to only include those neighbourhoods. Wealthy people are always updating furniture.

fb marketplace doesn't show the zip code but a lot of people have their profession or workplace listed on their public profile. I usually try to buy from people who work in healthcare (doctor, nurse, PA, etc., not students or assistants). Not foolproof but they usually have very clean homes, and it stops my mom from giving me shit about it. I've bought a few used couches and a mattress with no issues.  Sample conversation below:

Mom: "you bought a used couch, yuck, it looks old"
Me: "the guy was a doctor"
Mom: "oh, ok, never mind"

I bought a new couch from a furniture store once, before I discovered this forum. It was name brand, cost about a thousand bucks, and fell apart after five years (recliner mechanism just gave out). I've bought used ever since. I would not normally buy a used mattress but I was buying a nice oak bedframe for my son and it was a take-or-leave-the-mattress situation. It looked nice enough so I took it.

Yeah, I also bought a nearly brand new TempurPedic mattress from a doctor for $400 because his bedroom in his new house was too small for a king.