Where to Look
Facebook Marketplace: best for local finds, most negotiating room. OfferUp and Craigslist: good for mid-century modern and vintage. Chairish and 1stDibs: curated vintage with quality assurance but higher prices. Estate sales: best for solid wood furniture at very low prices — often sold as-is.
What to Buy
Solid wood furniture (oak, walnut, maple, teak) over engineered wood or MDF. Solid wood can be sanded, refinished, and will last 50+ years. Engineered wood: replace once damaged, cannot be refinished. Upholstered furniture from the 1970s-1990s often used solid hardwood frames — worth reupholstering if the frame is sound.
Red Flags in Photos
Missing hardware (often lost and not included), significant veneer bubbling (sign of water damage and delamination — terminal), wobble in photos (structural weakness that is expensive to fix), deep scratches in veneer that expose substrate (suggests heavy prior use).