When to Buy Cheap, and When Not To

There comes a time when every family needs new furniture for one reason or another. Either they are just starting out, or they have hand-me-downs that are getting a little too gross. Well when we moved into our first apartment some items were given to us by family and friends ( like our couches) and others we had to purchase ourselves.

We made some great purchases, and some not so great ones. I, of course, would love to help prevent you from making some of the same mistakes we made. 

We didn't have very much money to put towards new furniture, but we needed to get the piles of clothes off the floor and into a dresser. We also needed a place to eat our meals that wasn't the floor of the living room. We didn't want to go into any debt doing it.

We bought the most awesome table and 6 chairs ever off of craigs list for $100. An older couple had decided they wanted the RV lifestyle, so they wanted to get rid of most of their belongings. They were moving out the next day, so we got a great deal! The table and chairs are solid wood and in great condition.

Then we decided to find a dresser. We went to IKEA. We hadn't heard much about their furniture, except that it was a pretty good deal and you had to put it together yourselves. We spent $250 on a red dresser, that looks really nice. But is by far one of the worst purchases I have ever made. The bottom of the individual dressers are made out of particle board, so they can hold almost no weight. In IKEAs defense, we also bought night stands there that have held up very well. The particle board in those is surprisingly much thicker, despite the fact that it needs to hold a lot less weight then a dresser.

Our horrible dresser

The thin particle board

Clothes shooting out the bottom of the dresser

My take away from this experience is this:

• You should buy good quality furniture, that is durable and will last long. Otherwise it is money down the drain, when it doesn't hold up!
• This rule is valid even when there are children in the mix. Don't think that you shouldn't buy nice things because children will ruin them, it's just the opposite. You should buy quality items, so they can withstand children.
•  If you can find quality, inexpensive furniture second hand don't pass up the opportunity even it has a few dings in it. It is a lot less money to refinish a table or a dresser then to buy a new one. 
• Always be safe when buying second hand, especially off of websites like craigs list. I talked to a few potential sellers on the phone, that I just didn't get a good feeling from. So we decided to opt out of those purchases. The couple we ended up buying our table from ended up living right down the street from the house I grew up in, although I had never met them. 
• If you don't find a great opportunity right away, give it some time. For example, use large plastic bins to hold your clothes, until the right deal comes your way. In the end this will save you money and time! In our case it would have saved us $250, plus the hassle of buying a dresser 2x!

What is your experience buying second hand, or would you prefer to buy brand new items?