An interior with second-hand stuff? No, obviously not a junkyard, but a fantastic interior with tasteful second-hand furniture. One of those living rooms where you immediately want to look at and touch things when you enter. Would you also like a unique interior at a bargain price? Then check out these tips! This is how to find the best furniture on Marktplaats.
You can find the most beautiful furniture on Marktplaats!
With the restyling of our interiors, I have added a Marketplace addiction. I can totally lose myself in this app. The advantage of this hobby is that I have become extremely handy in finding beautiful second-hand furniture and accessories for a good price. The house has never looked so tasteful and decorated before! And all with second-hand stuff. How I did it, I will tell you now!
Marketplace interiors: create a mood board for your interiors
In order to search for nice items on Marktplaats, it is of course important to know exactly what you are looking for. And by that I mean a more detailed answer than ‘a black couch’ or ‘an office chair’. The first tip is: make a mooboard! This can also be done perfectly well with Pinterest. A mood board helps you to get a better idea of your missing items, but also to discover a line in the furniture you already have and that you might be looking for. In our case, we were looking for things made of natural materials (rattan, bamboo), handmade Moroccan and Berber items and a few vintage showpieces. So besides that mood board, you will immediately discover a second tip in this story: work with the stuff you already have, it's more sustainable ánd cheap. Don't like your furniture(s) anymore? See if you can can pimp. DIY!
Good searches Marketplace
Okay, listen! Because I am convinced that my rather detailed search strategy is the reason why I find so much cool and unique second-hand furniture on Marktplaats. Follow the step-by-step plan below and I bet you'll start finding great stuff on Marktplaats too. Are you thinking search now? OK, let me explain step by step in case you are relatively new to finding second-hand furniture online. When you search for something on Marktplaats, the app gives you an icon (magnifying glass with star) in the top left corner to save your search term. You can use the search bar to search live, but you can also save your keywords. Think ‘seagrass basket’, ‘girls’ closet‘ or ’Persian rug'. By saving your searches, you get a daily overview of new ads that meet the criteria you have given to your search. That way, you will always be the first to know!
Golden tip to find more great stuff on Marketplace: set searches!
Roadmap for finding second-hand treasures on Marketplace
- Think carefully beforehand: is it an item you necessarily want to collect or is it something that can also easily be sent by post. Pick it up? Then narrow your search circle to a maximum of twenty kilometres. Send it by post? Then set up a nationwide search again, with no distance restrictions from your home. Note: you can edit this after entering your search term. Then click ‘Refine’ at the top left.
- I always get all worked up over ads of new stuff. Nowadays, Marktplaats is also used for selling new stuff. I am consciously not looking for that, which is why I always tick ‘used’ and ‘as good as new’ in the condition section. I consciously do not tick new. I do the same with ‘Refine’.
- Now the real detective work of your search can begin. Let me take as an example a Berber rug, a popular item in many interiors. We will assume for a moment that you are looking for one. Start at the beginning by setting the most obvious search terms, for example: ‘rug’, ‘rug’ and ‘carpet’. After all, you always have people who keep their ads very general.
- Now we are looking for a Berber rug. So we add more search terms into the mix: Berber rug and Berber rug make sense.
- After a few days, you may notice that sellers also use other terms in their Marketplace ads. Add those terms to your searches as well. In the case of rugs: Moroccan rug, Moroccan rug, vintage rug, Scandinavian rug, Kilim rug, Beni Ouarain rug, wool rug Marrakech, boucherouite. So I deliberately add search terms that are factually incorrect or contain language errors, but produce good hits.
Don't waste time on Marketplace bargains that don't exist
The second-hand market is maturing and the rising demand for second-hand stuff means that prices are higher on average than a few years ago. In addition, people also know better and better what they are selling and what this is worth. So get used to it: finding treasures at bargain prices has just become harder. Better go to a flea market for that, check out the shopping tips! Man man man how often - and for a long time - I have gone in circles searching on Marketplace because I could not accept that certain items just did not sell for a lower price. So to avoid this frustration and waste of time, my tip is to do some good research beforehand on the average price of your intended treasure. For instance, I quickly saw that the four vintage webbing Thonet chairs that I had my eye on all cost around three hundred euros on Marktplaats. So instead of looking in circles for a cheaper set without success, I preferred to spend my time in finding the nicest set for that price. And I found it. In Alkmaar.
Contacting a Marketplace seller is (not) how you do it
I'm a Marketplace buyer, but of course I also regularly slip into the role of seller. (Sales tips can be found here, by the way.) And communicating kindly (in full sentences with a salutation and a closing), bidding realistically, replying quickly, explaining why you are dying to have something and emphasising that the deal with you can be closed quickly, just helps enormously in getting a showpiece your way. Especially when there are many hijackers on the coast.
Another anecdote! For instance, the other day I found the rattan sofa of a lifetime on Marktplaats: IKEA special edition by Piet Hein Eek for sale less than ten kilometres from my house. I had to and would have that one for our new study. This also fitted the mood board picture perfectly. The seller wanted an offer. I deliberately asked him what his target price was, as I didn't want to offend him and lose my chance. He didn't respond. So within a day, I put in another message: that I really wanted the bench, was happy to make an offer, but did not want to bid too low either. I also mentioned that I was interested in a chair he was offering (also from that line by Eek) and that I could pick it up today as an ‘almost-neighbour’ - the latter was a bit of an exaggeration, though. The seller responded that he was overwhelmed with responses, but if I could drop by tonight and take both pieces of second-hand furniture for 150 euros, the deal was done. And I didn't say no to that of course....
Gorgeous furniture from Marktplaats: vintage bow cupboard, designer chair by Piet Hein Eek and the rug.
Always be alert and pay wisely on Marketplace
You increasingly hear nasty stories of Marketplace scams. And while the chances of it happening to you are slim, you obviously don't want to experience it. How can you make sure you don't fall into a scammer's trap? There are a number of signs that you're dealing with a Marketplace scammer, often you'll notice it in the coercive communication about paying and separate requests to pay other than the usual Marketplace route. This is what you can look out for:
- Check how long a seller has been active on Marktplaats. If the account has only existed for a few weeks or months, be extra careful.
- Check if the seller has good ratings/stars.
- Always pay with a payment request or straight across in the app and especially do not use payment links or other crazy requests. Also caution when transferring money to an IBAN account.
More second-hand shopping tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Treasure hunting at the flea market! Use these tips to find the best stuff for a bargain.
- Looking for unique vintage furniture? Then definitely check out The Vintage Vibe!
- This is how you find real gems in the thrift shop: thrift shop tips.
- Can't find second-hand pearls nearby? Then how bad is it to order something online? You can read it here.
Photo credits: Angela de Vlaming.
