Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Dining Chairs: A Life Journey

Ok, maybe the title of this post is a little dramatic and I'm sorry to keep bringing this up but it's really starting to get frustrating. Why can't I find a decent pair of chairs at a decent price? For real...

I guess I was extremely lucky to find these chairs for my future dining room for $30 and $80 respectively.





I've been scouring Craigslist in my city and surrounding areas trying to find chairs to finish the set, going to garage sales and thrift stores with no luck. It's like all the cool furniture has been sucked into some black hole never to be seen again.

I've resorted to searching Ebay in hopes of a deal but those people think very highly of their stuff if you know what I mean. Some examples:

This chair would be a good complement to the first one I found (for $30). Guess how much they're asking for this bad boy? $200! Not including the shipping. It doesn't even have a seat! Lame...




This little beauty doesn't have quite the sticker shock starting at $50. But even if no one bids on it the shipping will make it over $100 which isn't worth it to me.


This chair is a set of four made by a company called Farstroup. It would go well with the pair I found at a local shop. It must be some famous company I've never heard of because they are asking $550 for the set, not including shipping!


And this ONE chair made by Shelby Williams (some other famous company I've never heard of) selling for $250. At least shipping is included in this one.



And finally look at this. $200 plus $60 for shipping. Look familiar? Looks pretty similar to these lounge chairs I bought not to long ago. $35 for the pair!!!!!!!!



So what is the deal Ebay? Is your furniture made of gold or something? Do people really buy furniture off of here and pay the shipping costs? Because for me it's a deal breaker.

And a heartbreaker because I'm starting to feel like my grand plans for a new dining room are falling apart. I hate to start off the new year with a big pout face but can I get a break here?

And I promise this will be the last you hear about it until that fateful day I find the rest of my set!

5 comments:

ArtfullyJune said...

I know shipping can be a deal breaker on some sites.

Don't give up.... Good luck on your search for more chairs.

Dorothy said...

I know the feeling. I see all these great projects people post from road trash items. Here in my part of NM you don't see furniture on the side of the road b/c we don't have large item pickup. You have to use the dump. It makes me want to move to Texas. And flea markets here are horrible. No First Monday sort of thing. I hope you find what you are looking for =)

Anonymous said...

i agree - what's the deal ebay? Don't give up!! They will turn up. If you don't mind mismatched, you can find new chairs at furniture store clearance centers for a rather good price too. Good luck with your hunting!

Anitra Cameron said...

You have a good start, but you're right--the shipping will kill you, even if you do find what you want.

Have you tried estate sales? Most times, on the last day they'll cut prices on anything $50 or less in half, and you can pick up some great deals.

Another possibility might be to check your area for stores that specialize in selling furniture from hotels and motels. I've been surprised by how often hotels will replace their furniture, and the old stuff goes to resale.

Good luck!

Doro said...

Did you know that you can filter for location. Perhaps within your driving distance? Then arrange for pickup and take a buddy with you for safety.

On eBay, look in the left hand column and select location, then customize. You can select a certain distance from a zip code.