Is this furniture value for money?

firstborn

firstborn

firstborn

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,599
Location
Nottingham
I'm looking for a sideboard and and also low table to sit below my TV to accommodate the AVR, Sky box and centre speaker. Ideally real wood in a dark finish and found the following on ebay... anyone have any thoughts on potential quality and value for money?

Sideboard

TV table

Thanks
 
I think quality is very hit and miss these days. What you often see in the showroom is not the quality that turns up when its delivered. I personally would be looking at something that had some reviews at least.

That ebay listing states buyer pays return postage, so if it turns up and its not up to standard you'll be paying a returns fee.
 
fobose said:
I think quality is very hit and miss these days. What you often see in the showroom is not the quality that turns up when its delivered. I personally would be looking at something that had some reviews at least.

That ebay listing states buyer pays return postage, so if it turns up and its not up to standard you'll be paying a returns fee.
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Ah, thanks I missed the having to pay a return fee. Which wont be cheap.
 
eBay?

Either go somewhere local or just buy from IKEA or Wayfair like everyone else.

If you really must have wood. Oak furniture land or whatever the place is that advertises on TV all the time
 
firstborn said:
Perhaps I could make my own from pallets. Take your nonsense elsewhere.
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Would certainly tick the value for money option if you did but personally I'd use reclaimed wood for indoor furniture.

Personally I have found second hand stuff is best for proper wood and gumtree was much better than eBay as the sellers on eBay tend to be doing as a business and buy cheap at auction lots to sell on.
 
I have been saddened to find that there ae no longer any decent cabinet makers who can produce decent furniture. All the furniture shops are gone and the only ones left are selling a pastiche of quality.

However all is now lost. Quality will stand the test of time and quality brands can cost a fortune when 'refurbished'. Take a look at Skovby on Ebay, which was designer in the 1970s you can buy it for a reasonable price, yet a decently kept dining table in rosewood can fetch as much as £20K in London.

Alas now if you want good stuff you will have to buy second hand
 
As a notorious tight wad I use charity shops and gumtree, this (and its fine if you hate it) solid wood tv stand was 20 quid plus some chalk paint


IMG-20210410-201340.jpg
 
Yeah the Oak furniture land stuff is usually half decent.

Otherwise see if there are any local places by all means.

As has been aluded to I wouldn't touch eBay with a barge poll, I'd gumtree over that, after that you could look at Etsy, but you'd need to make sure the sellers are decent.
 
yeah watchdog bbc have done some free advertising in the past for oak furniture land maybe with a slightly negative spin but hey ho
 
All I can add to this discussion is definitely get real tree carcass. The fake tree meat they punt everywhere is crap, probably carcinogenic, looks ***** and doesn't last being moved about, let alone used.

Never IKEA Again should be a tattoo, a rite of passage
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Would certainly tick the value for money option if you did but personally I'd use reclaimed wood for indoor furniture.

Personally I have found second hand stuff is best for proper wood and gumtree was much better than eBay as the sellers on eBay tend to be doing as a business and buy cheap at auction lots to sell on.
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I agree with Psycho. Would I chance an eBay item?

Only with the expectation that if its damaged, then I will have to return the item (like Amazon Marketplace sellers) and be prepared for the cost and grief. For items which are heavy, there is a high expectation of damage on arrival (wooden furniture, picture frames, mirrors) so I tend to stump up the cost on purchase. As it saves in the long run unless you get lucky.

The TV stand looks fine but the name of the seller, comes across as a bit cheap (I mean as a red flag).

Cotswold company is another but its mainly painted wood, John Lewis, M&S. The latter two you pay extra but there is zero quibble refund. Charity shops - have some decent stuff too! Takes more time to hunt down though.
 
I've bought a few large furniture items from eBay, though they've all been John Lewis furniture being sold, new, by other sellers. My suspicion was that they were either cancelled orders, which JL sells off to third parties, or possibly seconds.

Got an oak table for £850 (£1300 in JL), sofa for £850 (£1400) and leather chair for £350 (£650). The table had a minor imperfection but the others were perfect, and was pleased to save so much.
 
Stores can open from tomorrow, they’ll all have last years stock waiting to be cleared for this years new arrivals.

I run a man and van service, I’ve lost count of how many times you go to pick up something that looks heavy and well made then the moment you lift it you realise it’s cheap and poorly constructed.

Don’t go by looks online, you really need to inspect it up close. IKEA has its place but not in my home, I love moving it for other people though.
 
I bought an old sideboard then up-cycled it. Sanded it all down, painted it a darker blue colour, treated the top and attached legs to it. Ended up costing less than £100 in total and was a good sense of achievement :) Ill try uploading a pic in a bit
 
Guys the chap is asking about a 700 quid side board, whilst upcycling and pallet craft has its place I don't quite think it's where he wanted advice.

As others have said, looks can be deceiving, and eBay is not a cheap place to sell. I looked their name up and they have no direct website which is a big red flag as usually for a firm in this 'category', eBay is just the advertising channel and then a direct purchase is possible on their site.

Given the quality of the pictures etc. I'd be trying to hunt down the actual manufacturer.

I've found Etsy to be very good for hand made furniture but YMMV on how local they are/the style. Lots of clones appear on Etsy too, e.g. the John Lewis Calia range is entirely cloned.
 
cheesyboy said:
I've bought a few large furniture items from eBay, though they've all been John Lewis furniture being sold, new, by other sellers. My suspicion was that they were either cancelled orders, which JL sells off to third parties, or possibly seconds.

Got an oak table for £850 (£1300 in JL), sofa for £850 (£1400) and leather chair for £350 (£650). The table had a minor imperfection but the others were perfect, and was pleased to save so much.
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If you want to compare prices and savings.

I bought a dining table and chairs off gumtree for £125. That cost £1500 new 30 years ago.

How do I know this? Because parents bought the bigger version out the Italian centre for £3k circa 30+ years ago.

It's solid wood. Italian mahogany I think. It has a design cut into it and been well looked after. I bought a custom glass top for £200 to protect the finish and put it on top even though I only paid £125 for the table and chairs because it's well worth protecting its like a work of art. I did the same for a solid wood coffee table I was given for free by parents who bought again 30-40 years ago. I put new handles on it and job a good un.

eBay has its place but found local sellers better you just have to weed out 99.9% of the crap and keep an eye out for several weeks potentially even months. Due to fees it's mainly business sellers selling for a profit. Whereas on gumtree especially in affluent areas you get rich folk getting rid of stuff because they don't have a van to tip it and have no idea it's worth good money still because they don't buy anything second hand.
 
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