So S has decided to move across the country. Realizes that it is not cost effective to take his mostly Ikea furniture with him. Other than craigslist, which I am not sure he is willing to go through, are there any other ways to get rid of furniture easily? I suspect he may just leave it all on the curb, but it would be good cheap stuff for someone starting out if he could sell it off. (My suspicion about him not wanting to use craigslist is the idea of having complete strangers come into his apartment.) Is it even legal in NYC to leave several pieces of furniture on the curb?
Anyone have kids moving to NY that would want some inexpensive Ikea furniture?
Is he in school? Many colleges have a “free and for sale” facebook group that would be ideal but you have to be added since they are closed groups and you may need a valid school email address. Have him ask a student if he knows any. Sometimes these closed groups also are formed in neighborhoods, etc.
Or he could post pics on HIS Facebook page to his friends. My son sold all of his stuff before a long distance move that way. The only ones who contacted him were friends…and some friends of friends.
Not sure if I can post links but check the Facebook group Gypsy Furniture. It has thousands of young peopple looking for, and selling, furniture on the cheap. I got my bed there for about $80, my roommate sold a lamp for $30, etc.
One doesn’t necessarily have to have potential customers/recipients come into the apartment. When I gave away computers or sold stuff on CL, I always either met them at a nearby public venue or if the item was large, have them call me when they showed up and I bring it down for them to take away immediately.
Worked pretty well not only for convenience/security, but also for weeding out the uncommitted flakes.
Most friends dealt with the furniture issue by posting inquiries among their friends/social media contacts to see if they wanted first dibs…then CL.
Technically no. However, in practice…I’ve seen furniture left on curbs.
However, property/building owners do tend to frown strongly on it as having furniture on their curbs will likely mean heavy fines/sanctions for them from the city.
This was illustrated by some posted notes on buildings left by angry property owners/landlords filled with expletives against people who dumped furniture, electronics, and other disposed items on their curbs.
He can list them on CL, just put it under “Free Stuff” and put “Curb Alert” on the title and where the items will be available. When we spent a summer in Cambridge MA this was a very common thing to see on the curbs there after the academic year is over.
D1 just got rid of a whole apartment full of furniture because she bought her own place and decided she wanted all new. She sold through CL ( although she said there are many people trying to get rid of IKEA furniture on CL and some of her stuff was IKEA), sold to coworkers who were just starting out and needed furniture and, finally, called Salvation Army. Rather than place furniture on the curb, SA will pick it up and take it away. Of course, this is a donation, so S will not get any money. But better than it going in the junk yard and it goes to people who need it presumably.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I would be happy to have him give it away also. There is a Goodwill just around the corner, but they don’t take furniture, and the other pickup website we tried specifically excludes Ikea. Part of the problem is he is on the 4th floor which makes it awkward to even get it out of there. We hired some help to move him in.
I will suggest he try internally within his building to see if anyone wants anything, and like the Gypsy Furniture and free curb alert ideas. The kid has lived in NYC for almost 2 years and really has no friends there, hence the move to where his friends are.
That may work also. I thought he was waiting until the end of August, but now he plans to move toward the end of June, and we have a wedding in a few weeks to deal with first! I guess my fear is that we arrange a pickup and for some reason the Salvation Army doesn’t show up. If they would come and haul the stuff down 3 flights of stairs, that would be great!
Onward, we must have cross posted. He has a studio on the upper east side (E 88th)- bookshelf, dresser, desk, small kitchen table with 2 chairs, couple of night stands, sofa, full size bed (I’m not expecting people to want the mattress or sofa necessarily but he’s getting rid of it all)
I’ve had a whole wall of Ikea bookshelves/TV & stereo shelves, china cabinet for years, so no, it’s not all that crappy. We’ve had Ikea dressers from the days when our kids were little that have held up well also. His stuff is not bad for first apartment, basic furnishings, but it’s not heirloom quality! His sofa is very nice and comfy (and probably a home to roaches)
Thanks, @mamabear1234. A lot of furniture these days isn’t built to last very long so I thought it interesting that Ikea seemed to be singled out as something that wouldn’t be picked up.