Picking up furniture you bought online, step by step

Second-hand furniture from online marketplaces costs less than new and keeps good pieces out of the bin. The hard part is getting it home. Here is how to do it in five steps.

1. Ask the right questions before you pay

• Exact measurements: height, width and depth, and for sofas the depth with the cushions.
• Photos of the weak spots: the back, the underside, the legs and any damage mentioned.
• Does it come apart? Legs, headboards and bed frames often unscrew. Ask the seller to take them apart before you arrive, or bring a screwdriver and an Allen key.
• Where is it? Floor, lift, parking in front of the building, and a phone number for the day.

2. Make sure it fits

Measure your own front door, hallway, stairs and lift, and compare them with the piece. A sofa that is wider than your door can often still pass on its end; a wardrobe usually has to be taken apart.

3. Check it on the spot

• Look for cracks, stains, smells and wobbly joints.
• Open every drawer and door, and unfold sofa beds.
• On beds and upholstered furniture, check the seams for pests.
• Pay only once you are happy, and keep the listing and your messages as a record.

4. Load it safely

• Two people per heavy piece. Lift with your legs, not your back.
• Wrap corners and glass in blankets; take out glass shelves and drawers and carry them separately.
• In the vehicle, stand tall pieces against a wall and strap them; mirrors and table tops travel on their edge, padded.

5. Settle it in

Clean upholstered furniture before it goes into the room, put the legs and screws back, and check that it stands level.

Tip: agree a pickup window of an hour or two with the seller rather than an exact time: traffic is hard to predict.

Bringing it home with AtlasMove

In the AtlasMove app, set the seller's address as the pickup point and your home as the destination, pick the vehicle that fits and see an estimated price before you confirm. You can follow the driver on the map until the piece arrives.