Don't Rush. Let It Find You. And Always Haggle.

Don't rush.

If there's one rule I'd give anyone shopping secondhand — whether you're looking for a bed frame, a coffee table, or a bookcase — it's those two words. Don't rush.

Yes, the budget might be tight. Yes, you might have eight boxes of books still sitting in a corner waiting to be unpacked (guilty). Yes, you might be sleeping on a motorised air bed wondering when life is going to start looking like you imagined it would. But rushing in and buying the first thing you see almost always means buying something you don't really like, let alone love — and forgetting to check the quality while you're at it.

Just because you're shopping secondhand doesn't mean you have to settle for the bed frame with the split in the leg or the rusted metal frame that looks like it's been weathering a storm for the last century. Take your time. Think about where this piece is going and how it's going to function in your home.

Will it need a paint job? No problem — that's what chalk paint is for.

Did you measure your space? Honestly, I rarely do. I've become quite adept at eyeballing my house and knowing whether something will fit. My husband doubts me every single time. Then we get it home and it fits — usually with a millimetre to spare — and I look at him and say I told you so. Every time. 😄

What about the pieces that speak to you but you're not sure where they'll live?

Those are the best ones. Not if you ask my husband, mind you — he will always try to talk me out of it and I will always say it'll fit somewhere. I genuinely don't know why I take him with me. Half the fun is turning up home with a couple of new op shop finds just to watch him roll his eyes and know he's cursing me on the inside.

But in all seriousness — when you're shopping secondhand, let the furniture speak to you. Don't buy something simply because you need a coffee table if it doesn't speak to you. There are thousands of coffee tables in the world, but the right one will find you. And it's usually when you're not looking for it.

I'm six months into my new place and have only recently found a coffee table duo I love. Not because I hadn't seen any — I'd seen quite a few, new and secondhand, that I liked. But I didn't looooove them. So they're weren't coming home. The right one was out there, it simply took time to show up.

And one more thing — haggle.

Yes, haggle. Whether it's an op shop, Marketplace, a garage sale, or a retail store — always ask what's the best price they can do. The listed price is almost always sitting between $20 and $100 above what the seller actually wants for it.

And yes, you can haggle in retail stores too. The Good Guys, Early Settler, Adairs — if the sale price doesn't feel right, or if there's even a small flaw (even a dirt mark I know I can wash out), I'm asking. Always. Retail stores have a bottom line they can go to, and you'd be amazed how low some will go even when something is already on sale.

Always ask: "So what's the best price you can do?"

You'll be surprised.

(But don't haggle me. 😄)