I've Come To A Conclusion

[nicebloke1]

I often visit charity shops / second hand shops, and it would be more than possible to furnish a 2 bed house/ flat for around £1000 including white goods if you set your mind to it and be careful.

But forgetting the £1000 for a second. I saw the best bargin ever yesterday in a charity shop ( it is a larger shop and sells lots of furniture.

2 large (real leather) chesterfield  settees perfect condition £350 each.  Any thoughts?

[MargoTester]

Did they have a fire resistant label on them

[nicebloke1]

I've just looked them up online margotester. The make and style. Oskar Tetrad, appears they are over 2k each. These didnt have a mark on them anywhere, infact they looked little used and for someone to have given them to charity must have been pretty well off.

[Tilly2]

We donated our brown leather three piece Chesterfield to our local hospice charity shop because it was not very comfortable. The cusions were too hard and even after five years use didn't soften up. 

They took it to the shop and as they were unloading it a passer by bought it for £400. It didn't get in the shop!

 

[Tilly2]

^cushions^!

[nicebloke1]

Some are not that great for comfort. Looking again online they look more like the £1500 one. They range from around £900 to over 2k

[naomi24]

//for someone to have given them to charity must have been pretty well off.//

 

The previous owner might have died.  The only thing I buy from charity shops are Christmas Cards (from my local hospice shop) and perhaps the odd book.  I don't want other people's cast offs.

[nicebloke1]

Many moons ago most chesterfields were made from connolly leather ( very soft) I had 2 years ago when first got hooked. But you really need to work on them for a real softness, it becomes an ongoing task. But i must say these 2 in the shop yesterday were pretty comfortable. And for anyone starting a home a real steal at that price.

[davebro3]

I don't frequent them unless I'm looking for something specific that I don't mind buying used. Last was a small trolley to put my printer on - £10.

[pastafreak]

Do you buy everything brand new Naomi?

I've bought from charity/secondhand shops with great success over the years. When just first moved into my post divorce flat, I couldn't afford everything new. A bed...yes. But my down filled sofa, fridge and a few other bits were not. The sofa lasted until my dog ate it...6-7 years. The fridge lasted about 12. I wasn't complaining. 

More upmarket are the victorian dining table, wardrobes, and oak chests of drawers. Oh...also a lot of collectable art pottery.

If I wanted leather, yes I'd buy at least one of those chesterfield sofas,

[gulliver1]

13.11..Naomi "and perhaps the odd book " Did you buy that very odd book   "Unleashed" from a  Charity  shop .Two for a fiver.

[naomi24]

Pasta, yes, I buy everything new.  I give anything I want to get rid of to the charity shops though.  I never sell stuff.

[barry1010]

I like the look of Chesterfield sofas but don't like sitting in them.

I like chairs and sofas to have high backs

[MargoTester]

I think perhaps you misunderstood what I meant nicebloke. We wanted to give our old suite to a charity shop and they wouldn't take it because it didn't have the original label on it stating that it was fire resistant 

[pastafreak]

Lol Naomi...so someone else can have your cast offs.🤔😂

[naomi24]

Yes, Pasta, if they want them.

[nicebloke1]

This shop is partly affluent if you like, and also a uni close by with uni flats here and there. I believe a lot of furniture is sent to this hub from other shops. A lot of the other furniture is solid oak, they have some, what use to be very expensive furniture, and always in pretty good order.

They wont have political books gully :○)

[nicebloke1]

Margotester. Dont know how it stands with leather chesterfields regarding fire risk.

I would think leather dont catch fire as quick as bog standard soft material. After all every sofa is built with timber frame. So it must be something to do with covering. Leather would smolder for a long time befor taking hold.

[naomi24]

It's the same for leather as for any other material.  The shops require the 'fire resistent' label to be there.

[Canary42]

LOL at pastafreak's dog eating the sofa.

I quite often frequent charity shops and from time to time am quite happy to buy stuff there. Indeed on a couple of occasions I've bought things I've been specifically looking for and not found anywhere else.

[bednobs]

I cant think of the last time i bought anything from a charity shop.  Not snobbishness,  i just never go there