Sunday 27 May 2012

eBay Purchase: Kitchen Dresser

Here it is.
 I'm in love....


I happened to stumble upon this kitchen dresser last weekend on eBay. It was a buy it now auction which was perfect 'cos we needed more kitchen storage pronto! I dashed to the kitchen to measure the gap we had and well....it was meant to be.

Its a 60s dresser already painted in Annie Sloan Old White paint and has beautiful carved detail on the front drawers and doors. And it fits like a dream.

I now have a place to store my baking ingredients and our pots and pans! The drawer on the left has been allocated as the 'junk' drawer (you know the one....old keys, batteries, receipts etc.) Everyone's got a junk drawer, right?! The right side drawer is now home to all my fabric kitchen items such as napkins, aprons and tea towels.

I am SO pleased with it - it couldn't be more perfect.

I strongly recommend eBay for bargain furniture. It takes a while to sift through the crap / wholesaler listings but you really can find a few gems and at very good prices. I prefer to Buy it Now - as its quicker and I don't have that worrying niggle that someone is going to outbid me!

A few tips for buying larger items on eBay:

Try a few different search words, for example, for kitchen dresser...Also try 'vintage dresser', 'old dresser', kitchen storage' etc. You'll get different results each time.

Sort you search results by 'Distance: Nearest First'. Our dresser was only in Solihull which is about 15 minute drive away. Its surprising how close you can be to a few gems. Luckily, my Dad has a van which our dresser fitted into (just!). Make sure you collect your item in suitable transport - with blankets to protect it from knocking against the sides and ropes to keep it on place if need be.

Persevere. It may take a few days / weeks to find exactly what your after. Keep checking the same searches each week as all listings average at about 1 week in length - so each week there should be something new. Don't expect to find exactly what you want straight away - that only happens on rare occasions!

Add anything you like or to your Watch List. This makes it easy to compare prices of similar items and keep track of when auctions are ending. I also get emails on my phone to let me know when listings I'm watching are due to end. Although, as I said above, I do prefer to Buy it Now.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask the seller any extra questions for measurements or extra photos. You're a potential customer!! If you do buy an item that needs collecting...make sure you email the seller straight away to let them know if you've just paid, or if you would prefer to pay on collection, get their address and a mobile number - in case you get lost!!

Happy bidding!!

Looby xx