Why is it so difficult to give furniture away?

Grammaretto

It's weird isn't it. Why are people so fussy.
I'm the same and have far too much.
I posted a few things on gumtree for sale and sold 2 old radiators. The rest is still here and I doubt I can give it away
On the other hand I am looking for an old kitchen unit for my workshop. Do people give these away?

Yes.
I gave mine away on - freecycle.

We recently offered a fairly new sofa and two armchairs to a local charity - they were very fussy indeed and came to inspect before they sent a van to collect them. I can understand this though, as so many people use charities to unload things that are hard to get rid of, and unsaleable. Our furniture is mainly restored second hand. I like Ercol - but have bought only two new pieces from them over the years as the prices are astronomical. Having seen how beautiful this furniture is, and how well made, I couldn't settle for anything else, so ebay has been my furniture supplier for years.

Are there any furniture projects in your area? They can collect furniture and give it to people in need.

But there are more people getting rid than there are those who can take things. My mum had a large rosewood table and eight chairs. She paid a lot of money for it and didn’t want to throw it away. She persuaded me to take it, as I have a separate dining room and had children at home at the time. It took up most of the room and because it was highly polished the children couldn’t use it for drawing or similar, and we had to either keep it covered (so not seeing it’s beauty) or risk spoiling it. The constant juggling of placemats was a pain, and the room lost a lot of its functionality as a second sitting room. We got rid in the end, but I didn’t expect young people to want it. My mum was quite upset as even though she didn’t want it herself (and nor did I) she thought someone should be grateful for it as it was expensive. It doesn’t work like that though.

Calendargirl

AmberSpyglass

Young people aren’t the dumping ground for your hideous furniture!

It’s not all hideous, and if they can’t afford anything else….

Often hear about domestic abuse victims who are rehoused in places with not a stick of furniture. Surely a use could be found for some items in that situation?

Totally agree - I often see posts on Facebook from people who have just been rehoused and have literally nothing. Surely taking someone else's unwanted furniture - even if it's not what they would ideally choose for themselves - would help to get them started and until they can afford to get something else?

AmberSpyglass

Young people aren’t the dumping ground for your hideous furniture!

It’s not all hideous, and if they can’t afford anything else….

Often hear about domestic abuse victims who are rehoused in places with not a stick of furniture. Surely a use could be found for some items in that situation?

Had the same problem with a whole range of dark brown Ercol Old Colonial furniture a few years ago when we came to clear my late Mother's house. All in lovely condition, and the three piece suite had even been recently re-upholstered, but no-one wanted to buy any of it. British Heart Foundation eventually took it all away for free. Tastes have changed, and young people in particular seem to be more into the IKEA type of style.

We're currently facing the exact same situation with my inlaws' house. They always bought decent quality items, but trying to get rid of stuff isn't proving easy. We might end up having to get someone in to do a house clearance. In addition, my MiL spent a fortune over the years collecting Lladro ornaments, and I appreciate tastes have changed and people maybe don't collect them any more, but it seems a shame to just give them to charity.

Nothing gets wasted it’s all passed to charity or my kids will take it and send theirs to charity

But that contradicts what others are saying, that charities don’t always want the stuff.

I think it’s great if they do take it. Win win all round.

Google selling vintage mid century furniture UK.
I found these..
Not sure if it's of any use, but good luck!

retrovintageonline.co.uk/furniture-buyer-uk/
www.isyourhouse.co.uk/stuff
www.vintagehomestores.co.uk/sell-to-us

You can always tell an antique dealers house. The only "new" things we have are the white goods and tech. All my furniture is inherited, bought from auctions or imported from abroad. I would not have modern furniture if you paid me, It simply does not have the quality.

Young people aren’t the dumping ground for your hideous furniture!

W e never had second hand anything when we got married.our families bought us the furniture we liked from shops like Habitat ,The Danish centre and Behar carpets ,we had a suite beds carpets and small items like bedside chests an sside tables etc.
My parents moved just 3 tmes in their marriage and refurnished each new house when they moved with new furniture that suited it .Like me they changed furniture quite often
I would rather do without than have something I wasn't really happy with,compromises dont work for me ...even now .I change furniture quite regularly .Since we moved here we've probably had 8 or 9 suites in 33 years and 4 in the 15 before that .Nothing gets wasted its all passed to charity or my kids will take it and send theirs to charity
.I couldn't live with old furniture I like things to be modern and fashionable .the only old...er things here are my OH and me .I'm the same with clothes too .
I'd rather spend my money on the place I live than hotels and holidays ,that way I get to enjoy it every day

I think the fact that places like IKEA and Argos sell modern furniture cheaply means that many younger people would rather have something new and fashionable than an old piece - even if there is no comparison in the quality.

Furniture can be tricky to shift for the reasons already mentioned (transport being a main one - you can't put a sofa in the back of a car), and also because modern houses often have smaller rooms, and people are less likely to have designated dining rooms that can take large tables that don't fold away. The trend is for open plan living. Even things like bookcases are out of fashion, as everything gets downloaded now. We recently had a fruitless search for bookcases to line a wall, and in the end had them built for us. The only ones we could find in shops were in places like Oak Furniture Land, and they were made for lower ceilings and were more for display than books, as the shelves were fixed and too far apart for what we wanted, which was lots of book space.

Also, the 'traditional' way of setting up home on marriage is less popular too. Both partners are likely to have had homes before getting together, so will have furniture of their own, even if the homes were rented. It is a shame for the planet, but I think it's understandable that young people want to make their homes theirs, rather than in the fashion of decades earlier.

It’s amazing how different some of this old furniture looks after a lick of paint. Suddenly it’s distressed/French chic. We have painted a lot of ours. It’s such good quality in comparison with the new tat which isn’t cheap.
Such a shame that people don’t take a anything old/second hand, preferring new. We couldn’t afford new and When we married in the late 60 s everything we had was second hand, we were grateful and took what was offered or paid for it in second hand shops. We didn’t have the money and were saving every penny we could.
As for what to do there are charities which collect furniture items, our local hospice for instance, but they can be picky about anything upholstered.
A table and chairs can look fab if painted and I do sympathise with how you are feeling.

So very sad that much loved furniture of a high quality is so difficult to either sell or recycle. My sister, who is in the process of down-sizing, is currently experiencing obstacles when offering a dining room suite & dressers for sale with a local auctioneer. If they’re unable to sell it they will recycle, which means ‘chopping it up!’ 😔

I think that is is often difficult to marry up those who want to gift something and those who need it because furniture is so bulky, with concerns about safety and so on. It's much more awkward than donating clothes. We do have a specific place to donate baby equipment where it can be checked and passed on, but like so much provision it is patchy.

It is also awkward sometimes, to fit older bulkier furniture into small houses & flats. I remember visiting one family who had been given a lovely old comfy 4-seater sofa. They could fit nothing else in their little living / dining room - a small box to put a tray on when they were eating (on the sofa). No room for any sort of table. And no room in the 'kitchenette' for a table or chair. Everything happened on that sofa!

lilypollen

A pet gripe of mine especially as we are supposed to be in the middle of a financial crisis for many people. I tried in vain to give a cot bed away on Freecycle, eventually it went to the tip. I can't give away a vgc sofa bed which currently retails for £400. I took me months to sell a Stokke high chair which had hardly been used by our grandchildren.

Surprising, isn't it.

Our upcycling centre will take some furniture but not mahogany, even more modern items.
We used to rub down and paint old furniture if we couldn't afford new and my God-daughter shabby-chics old furniture now.

Teak G plan used to sell for a good price on Ebay.

It's not just frustrating, it's bad for the planet that so much good stuff cannot be recycled and ends up at the tip.

Witzend

Have you tried the British Heart Foundation? They recently took a large and very heavy solid dark oak sideboard, which TBH I wasn’t sure anyone would want.

I was going to mention this charity, they have collected furniture from us in recent years.

A pet gripe of mine especially as we are supposed to be in the middle of a financial crisis for many people. I tried in vain to give a cot bed away on Freecycle, eventually it went to the tip. I can't give away a vgc sofa bed which currently retails for £400. I took me months to sell a Stokke high chair which had hardly been used by our grandchildren.

We have had similar problems getting rid of good quality furniture of elderly relatives. I think it is so sad. A relative who ran a care home had lots of G planfurniture in a shed. Eventually, with the blessing of her boss, I sold it for her on Ebay and the proceeds went into their funds but she wasn't allowed to do it officially. Why?? When a relative died most of her furniture went in a house clearance. Surely there are young people somewhere who would appreciate good quality goods.
I agree though about leaving things outside. I once left an old, but working, sewing machine outside my mothers house. I was going to put it in my car to take to the skip. As it disappeared I put the instruction manual out the following day. That went too!

Have you tried the British Heart Foundation? They recently took a large and very heavy solid dark oak sideboard, which TBH I wasn’t sure anyone would want.

Freecycle has worked for me, and you could put one piece at a time outside the house with a sign saying " please take". This was the way that my daughter and her husband cleared their junk filled house purchase .
Another daughter has a lovely family dining table and chairs donated by the grandparents of friends - vintage ercol - which looks great and is a perfect ( modest ) size for a small dining room.

I've had success with Freecycle - and with leaving things on the edge of my drive.

A lot of people who would welcome second hand stuff have no transport, or money to arrange it, so any offers to deliver locally help.

Strangely, I've found that dismantling larger items helps, too, maybe because they can be picked up and carried away.

We've had the same trouble with both mothers furniture when they went into Care homes. In the end we went to a small market town with a niche Antique shop that jumped at the Clearance offer we paid a small amount for one and in the other they found pottery that they actually paid us for. Yet the Ercol and G plan was not as popular.
In our region, you can phone the Council and they send a group of people who refit flats for the homeless they even took a freezer and fridge without electrical checks.