Furniture from furniture charities

daveandjadea

Please only reply if you've used a service like this!

I'm long-term unemployed and about to have my partner move in with me so we'll both be living on his low income, with is barely enough to keep his head above water, then my debts are also going to hit us like a tone of bricks as soon as I come off JSA too.

I've been unemployed for 3.5 years, and a year before that I had been homeless for 3 years, so I've not been able to furnish my home - I have some basics from 3rd-hand donations or items that have literally came out of skips. He's currently living with his parents who are themselves on low-income and I have no family, so we've basically got to furnish and decorate this whole flat on nothing.

I'm looking at a local charity who gives furniture to people on low-income and it looks like we'd be able to use their services. BUT they have one photo on their site, and their furniture looks horrible...

...I know some would tell me not to be picky, but frankly I find that view disrespectful and ignorant, I don't expect finery but don't expect to have to live with junk or pay for unsuitable furniture (we both have OCD and I'm autistic so have sensory issues, thus unsuitable takes on a whole new meaning). I'd rather take the chance of catching something on Gumtree or Freecycle for a little bit more, so we can slowly build-up a nicer home, than pay to trail out to this place to find nothing suitable.

Has anyone ever used a service like this?
Have their items been any good quality-wise?
What are they like to deal with?

Barneysmom

It can't hurt to pop in and have a look, you might find it's not as bad as the picture. Our local one has some dreadful pictures on there but I know they do have some good stuff.
I should know, I have donated enough table and chair sets.

They wouldn't take my settees as there was a bit of wear on the arms which was a shame as there was loads of life left in it.

EBay is good too.

I got an oak table and chairs for £16 and it was lovely - I was so embarassed to be the only bidder :cool:

muskoka

I got a rocking chair with stool from freecycle. I'm going to re-cover it, but only because I want to. It dosent need recovering. I'm well chuffed with it. Always wanted one & got it for nothing (cept the fabric for recovering which I'll pick up from a remnant shop). Its fun & a challenge finding stuff either free or for peanuts that you can adapt to what you want.

I like to think I'm inventive (as are 000's of others on here) & get a kick out of finding ways to legitimately save money. Hence MSE..

Owain_Moneysaver

It is always going to be the luck of the draw what they have in at the time you go asking.

If you get something you don't like much you could always donate it back after a few months if you get something better.

How much is it going to cost you to trail out there, and what sort of furniture do you expect to need/get? No point in paying a tenner in fares if all you're likely to come home with is a chipped kettle and an old duvet.

capeverde

Could always take your chance with a bit of looting. Seriously, if you want something for nothing you really shouldnt be choosy. If they have removable covers, wash them, or put a throw over them. When you get a job and can afford to make choices do so, otherwise, just be grateful there are people willing to give stuff away for nothing. Bet the starving millions in africa would love to be in your position.

dottygirl

When I left a women refuge. I had nothing. I went to a local tip which had a shop attached to it. It was a lot cheaper than a lot of charity shops and you get a choice. I wish you the best of luck. You could also try freecycle. x

lrb_2

I've been in my flat for a year now and it's not completely furnished yet ( I'm after a particular style) but what I have is from charity and second hand shops and I love it, cheap, with character and green!!
As Barneysmom said eBay is fantastic to find very good deals. If you check through Lobay.co.uk and put in your postcode it will show you the items that are local to you and pick up only. You might need to ask somebody to help you pick it up, but sometimes the vendors would deliver for a small charge. Not long ago I saw a double bed in my area that was sold for only £10!!!

Barneysmom

Good luck to you both anyway
I hope you can find something you like, second hand is brilliant, I've got loads out of choice.
I've seen so many get furniture from brand new which has been destroyed before they've been paid for.

Hobsons_Choice

I wish you luck, I wanted to donate a Marks and Spencer sofa to British Heart Foundation. It had the Fire Regulation label and everything, but they wouldn't take it because the linen had worn through slightly on the seat cushions. That's how picky they are!!! BTW, was only getting rid because it was too big for the house we'd moved into, otherwise I would have had the seat cushions recovered. I put an ad in the local paper that it was FREE and was indundated with requests. It finally went to a couple just setting up home and a bit strapped for cash. They were delighted.

[Deleted User]

I used a community place when I lived in Wolverhampton. Some of the furniture was obviously a bit yuk.., but i bought some very good quality beds there and used them for some years. You go, you look and see if there is anything u can do something with. It might need a couple of visits. If you have transport, ebay is very good.., as is freegle and freecycle.

I have to be honest, I wouldn't go to the British Heart Foundation shop. When u'r buying second hand furniture because u don't have much money, I'm not sure how a person is expected to be able to afford to donate/pay £150 for a bed that would cost less on ebay (that's allowing for delivery costs on donated goods). Obviously that's a choice thing and being able to use ebay for large furniture items depends whether u have transport. I didn't and I lived for three months with a bed settee as my only item of furniture, no cooker, no fridge, the kids sharing the bed settee with me or sleeping on the floor (not enough room for all of us) because the Heart Foundation shop was the only donated furniture place around and I couldn't afford the £100 they charged for fridges, £140 for a bed, well over £100 for a table and chairs etc etc. Their prices were really quite high. It really wasn't much fun managing with so little 'stuff' with two children and did cause me to have some bad feelings about the Heart Foundation and raised some interesting questions about the morality of charities lol (is it right to price donated goods so high the obvious target audience can't afford them? I was never able to answer that one because obviously, the shop is raising money for charity).

MaggieBaking

deannatrois wrote: »

I was never able to answer that one because obviously, the shop is raising money for charity).

I think the difference there is that the BHF is raising money for charity by selling furniture - not selling furniture to charity cases if you know what I mean?

Consider it a different way - if a homeless person needs a coat he will go the local homeless shelter for one, not the nearest Oxfam shop.

The price of coats in Oxfam (I'm not sure) might be £5-£10, which is cheap compared to Marks and Spencers coats (£30), but expensive for someone who has no income at all.

The furniture in BHF shop sounds expensive compared to Ikea, but not so compared to Furniture shops.

To the OP, I think that everyone on any income should get as much furniture to "make do" as they can - from Freegle/Freecycle, gifts from friends, as cheap as you purchase it so that you have all the basics regardless of it's colour/style etc.

Then, as finances allow slowly upgrade your furniture with what you like in your price bracket, for example you could also keep your eye on eBay for items in your area starting at 99p. Perhaps you might have to wait a couple of months but you might find a bargain - my Mother In Law recently bought a pine bed on eBay for £6 for example. You might have to live with an inexpensive horrible 1970s sofa for a while, but a decent one might come up on Freecycle/at the local furniture project and you can upgrade.