# Help me sit on something.



## Trip (Oct 3, 2006)

I need furniture for my new apartment. I have NOTHING. I need chairs, tables, and a bed would be nice. But I'm not too picky.

Does anybody know anywhere to buy EXTREMELY cheap furniture? I'm talking desks for $20 cheap. Are there any secrets I should know about buying furniture? Help!!!


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## nixgeek (Oct 3, 2006)

Target or Walmart would be two places to try if you're in the US.


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## simbalala (Oct 3, 2006)

Try a place like Goodwill. You won't find good things on every visit but from time to time some good stuff comes in. If there's one fairly close you can swing by frequently and check out the current stuff. There's a place like Goodwill here and they won't always take desks anymore, they get so many.

You can also try Freecycle.
http://freecycle.org/


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## Natobasso (Oct 3, 2006)

Yard sales!


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## Trip (Oct 3, 2006)

Wrong forum, don't know how that happened. ::sleepy::


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## fryke (Oct 3, 2006)

Moved the thread to the Café. I guess that's what you intended?  ... Either way: Find a company that dissolves or replaces its office furniture. I've got my magnificent desk from my mother's workplace when they got new furniture. It's a great desk: It just was too old and heavy for them for some reason. I think I've paid about 20$ for it. Similar: Office chair. It's a simple one but I've got it for free there.


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## Trip (Oct 3, 2006)

fryke said:


> Moved the thread to the Café. I guess that's what you intended?  ... Either way: Find a company that dissolves or replaces its office furniture. I've got my magnificent desk from my mother's workplace when they got new furniture. It's a great desk: It just was too old and heavy for them for some reason. I think I've paid about 20$ for it. Similar: Office chair. It's a simple one but I've got it for free there.



Thanks for the move. 
How do you go about asking a company for their used goods? Do I just walk in and say "Hey, if you guys every feel like throwing stuff away gimme a call?"

*simbalala*: That freecycle thing is very interesting. And who knew there'd be one right in my town?!


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## lbj (Oct 3, 2006)

DI (Deseret Industries) should be right around the corner.  If you're after lawn furniture, hurry up to the Centerville store...I just dropped it off.


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## eric2006 (Oct 3, 2006)

If there's an Ikea nearby, I'd check that. Nice looking furniture, and nice prices. Plus, it's new stuff. They might deliver, but it'd probably be expensive. This is the kind of desk you could get for $20 there.


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## simbalala (Oct 3, 2006)

eric2006 said:


> If there's an Ikea nearby, I'd check that. Nice looking furniture, and nice prices. Plus, it's new stuff. They might deliver, but it'd probably be expensive. This is the kind of desk you could get for $20 there.





> product description & measurements
> Particleboard, Foil, Melamine foil



The thing with second hand is that sometimes you can find an old, really solidly made piece of furniture that someone else just doesn't need any longer. The Ikea thing is cute but it's not much more substantial than a cardboard box. Take a big piece of particle board, lay it horizontal and put something heavy on it. Then have a look at it a couple months later and measure the bow.


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## symphonix (Oct 3, 2006)

Hee hee, here's the first two threads to come up for me today:


			
				Trip said:
			
		

> Help me sit on something.
> I need furniture for my new apartment. I have NOTHING. I need chairs, tables, and a bed would be nice. But I'm not too picky.
> 
> Does anybody know anywhere to buy EXTREMELY cheap furniture? I'm talking desks for $20 cheap. Are there any secrets I should know about buying furniture? Help!!!





			
				Akkarin said:
			
		

> Well I am sitting on a new shiny Mac Pro here with 30" cinema display ...



I suggest we merge these two threads.

On a serious note, though, its really worthwhile finding second-hand, solid furniture for cheap. Quite a lot of furniture around our house is stuff that was picked up for arund $10, then sanded, primed, and repainted - at which point my wife then likes to mosaic it. I have a bedside table that I sanded back to a raw finish, then stained with Estapol and fitted new handles. Total cost $15, looks awesome.

Also, for some things, the only reasonable option is to make your own furniture. My TV and stereo sits on a cabinet that I custom made; which means I got to put the TV at *exactly* the right height, with *exactly* the right amount of space underneath for stereo, DVD and Video equipment. Its on big castors and has the powerboard and cables in a compartment inside, which means I can unplug it and wheel it to another room at a moments notice.

As for Ikea, I'm a pretty big fan of their stuff. Its really stylish and priced reasonably. If you have one nearby, check it out.


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## eric2006 (Oct 4, 2006)

simbalala said:


> The thing with second hand is that sometimes you can find an old, really solidly made piece of furniture that someone else just doesn't need any longer. The Ikea thing is cute but it's not much more substantial than a cardboard box. Take a big piece of particle board, lay it horizontal and put something heavy on it. Then have a look at it a couple months later and measure the bow.



This is true. I replace the sliders on by Ikea dresser once a year because they fall apart. Ikea basically gives me the new sliders for free. (All the other stuff I've gotten works fine..). I put up with this because:
1. It's dirt cheap
2. It looks cool
3. I enjoy repairing things

Yes, older furniture can be more substantial, but:
1. It's old
2. It's usually smelly
3. It usually does not look cool (the notable exception to this is the old, Scandinavian couch in the living room.)


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## Trip (Oct 4, 2006)

Well, at least nobody has mentioned anything similar to FedEx Furniture.


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## Rhisiart (Oct 4, 2006)

Whatever you purchase, make sure your computer chair supports your lower back. 

It's best to get a chair that pushes into your lower back above the belt line, so you sit a bit like Groucho Marx. 

I have one of these that I pulled off a refuse skip and after a thorough clean, it now provides me with a virtual back and neck pain free existence (no RSI either).

I have posted a pictures of a BADLY designed office chair.


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## Lt Major Burns (Oct 4, 2006)

http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/

http://utah.craigslist.org/

craigslist is apparently becoming the new eBay, it's just tons of easy classifieds in your area. it's also good for furniture


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## reed (Oct 4, 2006)

Salvation Army.
 Walmart dumsters.
 Watch for tornadoes, take a drive to the area and see what's left.
 Any heavy office building restorations in your neck of the woods? Again, dumpsters.


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## lurk (Oct 4, 2006)

Also look into craigslist.org and google for any freecycle lists in your town.


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## Trip (Oct 4, 2006)

reed said:


> dumsters.



Quite.


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## reed (Oct 6, 2006)

This is no joke Trip, I furnished my apartment when I was in college (I was living alone at the time...of course) with garage sales, the local dump (very good stuff), and the local used furniture places. It just takes some on site investigation. Good luck. I didn't mean to be such a cad.


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