Furniture is one of the things that families spend for and with the economy these days it seems that families are looking more at buying used furniture because they are cheaper than brand new ones. Further, not only is used furniture cheaper, you can also buy brand name furniture for the fraction of the cost that you'd spend when you buy this first hand.

There are a number of places where used furniture can be found. You can visit garage or yard sales, and estate sales where you will be able to find great furniture from people who are redecorating or are selling their stuff because they are moving out of town.

You can also find such furniture in thrift stores such as the Salvation Army, used furniture stores, church bazaars, charities holding sales and even online furniture stores and auction sites such as eBay and Craigslist. Even when the goal is to save money on furniture by buying second hand there are still times when you don't get value for your money because you bought the wrong type of furniture.

• Many people end up wasting their time, effort, and money returning used furniture they just bought when they later found out that the product did not fit the design of their home, when the product is bigger than the extra space they have, or when the product's color clashes with the rest of the furniture. Hence when buying second hand furniture, take note of the interior design of your home, and the size of the available space.
• When you buy second hand furniture, you should check first every nook and cranny of the product you have your eye on. Look for breaks and cracks, torn upholstery, and protruding objects and if you assess that they can still be repaired or brought back to life and refinished then by all means buy that product.
• Refinishing gives new life to your old furniture by sanding away dents, bumps, and scratches and make them look more stylish than their original forms. In refinishing, you can do the following: repaint and re-stain. You can also do antiquing to make furniture look like antique, you can re-sew the upholstery, and you can add other embellishments.
• When looking at buying a whole ensemble of furniture that has been used before, also see to it that you're choosing pieces that mix and match each other. You will want to avoid projecting a sloppy design sense by seeing to it that the pieces coordinate each other.
• Don't only look at the lowest priced used furniture from that lot, you should also see to it that the furniture can still be used or can be converted into another type of furniture. For instance, you can convert rectangular coffee tables into chairs.
• If the furniture has decay, infested with wormwood, or has incurred water damage, then it's not a worthy investment.
• Don't hesitate to evaluate the smell of the product; if it reeks of pet urine, mildew, or it just smells funny then you might want to steer clear of such used furniture.