# Who buys used beds and couches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973 "2014-04-13T00:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/1 "2014-04-13T00:39:02Z")
I’m watching storage wars, and Bubba just said, “Why, that couch alone is worth $300.” I’m thinking if you have to buy a $300 couch, you can afford a $500 new couch. I also have a fairly ugly bed i need to sell. Maybe whoever is buying used couches would buy my used bed too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/2 "2014-04-13T00:46:44Z")
My experience has been that a used bed is a step up from sleeping on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/3 "2014-04-13T00:49:29Z")
I’ve bought used beds for the basement apartment in our house. If someone is willing to rent a furnished apartment, I presume they aren’t expecting the bed to be brand new. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/4 "2014-04-13T00:51:41Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve bought used beds for the basement apartment in our house. If someone is willing to rent a furnished apartment, I presume they aren’t expecting the bed to be brand new. Yeah one candidate I thought of was renters/hotels. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/5 "2014-04-13T01:09:57Z")
I got an used futon, and similar I sold it back when I moved. So I would think college students or those with poor means. Similar, I sleep on an used bed. I rent a furnished apartment, and I’m sure the landlady didn’t buy a new bed when I moved in. It’s in good shape, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/6 "2014-04-13T01:09:59Z")
I run a Facebook group that is a local buy/sell group. People buy and sell couches and bedroom sets on there all the time. Mattresses and box springs too. I sold my couch there, but just for $75. It was old and used but still oddly in good shape. Someone wanted it for their basement. Plenty of such furniture on Craigslist. I don’t know that I’d buy a couch or mattress from Craigslist but I’d buy a bed. A bed does not mean a mattress. Our group is more refined than Craigslist. Need to have a friend in the group before you can be in it, so there’s not too much skeeviness to be afraid of. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/7 "2014-04-13T01:29:45Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I’m watching storage wars, and Bubba just said, “Why, that couch alone is worth $300.” I’ve watched many episodes of Storage Wars, and the valuations that they put on stuff is often ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/8 "2014-04-13T02:05:12Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I’m watching storage wars, and Bubba just said, “Why, that couch alone is worth $300.” > > I’m thinking if you have to buy a $300 couch, you can afford a $500 new couch. Couches are one of those things whose price can vary wildly. Yeah, you can get a decent couch at Sears for a couple hundred, but you can also go to a spiffy furniture store and spend thousands! Getting rid of a mattress is such a ‘thing’ that new mattress stores always include taking the old one away in the price of buying a new one. I’ve always wondered what they do with them, if there’s some kind of _Skull & Bones_-ish secret used mattress disposal society… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/9 "2014-04-13T05:34:58Z")
About a year ago we offered our old couches and a broken chair for free on Craigslist. The couch had several cuts and tears in it but was still comfortable.A woman bought it saying she would just throw a blanket over it. Hey, when your poor and just starting out, anything works. If a leg is broken on a chair, you nail a piece of wood on it. As long as their isnt mold or isnt infested with bugs a person can live with it. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/10 "2014-04-13T06:51:34Z")
I would never buy a new item of furniture, because _older is always better_; which applies to books, houses, china and parchment, but not, alas, humans. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/11 "2014-04-13T08:08:53Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I’m watching storage wars, and Bubba just said, “Why, that couch alone is worth $300.” > > I’m thinking if you have to buy a $300 couch, you can afford a $500 new couch. I’m thinking that, in many cases, you couldn’t be more wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/12 "2014-04-13T12:14:54Z")
We have an area in our finished basement where the dogs are confined when wet/dirty. They have a single bed. The mattress is getting old, and I’m on the lookout for a used mattress. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/13 "2014-04-13T13:17:42Z")
I have a leather Flexsteel couch that new, probably retailed for at least two grand, but I bought it “gently used” off craigslist for $250. It’s never made sense to me to pay full retail for brand-new quality furniture or appliances when I have the option of spending 10-20 percent of retail for the same item used and in very good condition. There’s a big market for [reconditioned mattresses](https://www.google.com/search?q=reconditioned+mattresses&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb), although for my own personal bed, I’ve always bought new. But I can see buying a used mattress for the reasons already mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Strangeland64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Strangeland64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strangeland64)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/14 "2014-04-13T14:12:37Z")
I would be afraid of buying a strangers furniture now, because I’ve heard about bed bugs so much in the last few years. My husband often stays in hotels and it creeps me out what he’s bringing back in his suitcase. I did however just get a leather sofa and chair from my sister, but I don’t have questions about it…so I guess from someone I know and trust not to have bugs or such ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/15 "2014-04-13T14:21:53Z")
I once bought a futon for $70, from a neighbor from the same apartment complex who was leaving town. When I left town, I sold it for $70. In the same apartment, the bed I had for the first month was a rental, replaced by a hand-me-down from a coworker who happened to be from my home country. It went to a family of 10 which had previously slept spread between one queen-size and a sofa. I’ve also received and eventually handed down a sofabed: from my parents, and to a friend of my brother’s. This friend of my brother’s was a school teacher, in the process of moving out of her parents’ home with the clothes on her back (they hadn’t even let her take her books). She squeed over my microwave as if it was the best kitchen ever: it was her first appliance and indeed, for several months, her whole kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/16 "2014-04-13T14:25:23Z")
Well, people ‘rent’ the use of ‘used beds’ every time they stay in a hotel, right? Hospitals somehow manage to keep their ‘used’ beds from being an issue. And if you’re not at home, and you’re sitting on a couch, it’s a ‘used’ couch, right? So I’m not sure who buys them, but everybody clearly uses them. Often. Without a second thought. So I’m not seeing any reason to judge others over something so demonstratably silly, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/17 "2014-04-13T14:26:40Z")
Our basement rec room couch and the bed we use in one of our spare rooms are both used. We will be selling a bedroom suite of child’s furniture soon and I have no doubt it’ll sell - probably to a young family starting out. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/18 "2014-04-13T14:27:04Z")
You know, in the late 80’s, I furnished my apartment entirely with used stuff. Now days with bedbugs all over the place, I don’t think I’d do it. A place doesn’t have to be dirty looking to have bedbugs. I don’t think I would trust used furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/19 "2014-04-13T15:08:54Z")
I’m a bargain shopper, too. I have bought used couches and other furniture, mostly from consignment shops. Why pay $1000 when I can get something nice for $250 or maybe less? My house is nice looking, but not like someone who buys whole rooms of matching furniture pieces. I have bought used beds before, too, but would spring for a new mattress or accept a family hand-me-down before getting something from a stranger. I’d rather keep my spare dollars in the bank than in a couch to coffee table. Plus, I have a bunch of kids who tend to junk those kinds of things up. I will be much less angry if a kid spills juice on a $30 chair than a $200 one. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973/20 "2014-04-13T15:49:05Z")
Isn’t it actually illegal in some places to sell used mattresses? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-buys-used-beds-and-couches/685973.md?page=2)