I think your inspection plan makes sense. I would also open the cusion casings and see if any of the inner cushions are stained.

I buy most of my clothing used through eBay. I wash it before wearing, but I've never had a problem. The worst for me is when someone has used Febreze on a garment. To me, it stinks and it's almost impossible to wash out.

I have purchased used furniture and along with the inspections you are planning I use my nose. As Fun2 said, febreez is a far worse offender than some other odors because you can't get rid of it. It doesn't wash out or air out.

Out of the many items I have bought off CL only one home was just semi cleanish. From that home I bought a metal and glass table so I wasn’t concerned. I have been lucky I guess with cleanliness on all other purchases and met some very nice people. I wouldn’t buy upholstered furniture out of a dirty home. You will know if it’s a good safe buy after a home visit. I would look into a dry cleaning spray or foam that can be vacuumed off when dry.

I essentially do not buy anything that I cannot wash. But, if you want the sofa you can first try to find someone who can spray it with some type of disenfectant. I was an auctioneer way back and we had to do that before we could sell upholstered furniture. Maybe you can pay one a few bucks to do that for you. Then I would have it steam cleaned. Our local carpet cleaners will do furniture , too, Or you could rent a steamer and DIY.

Ya grapefruit I’m kind of that way too. Though I’m thinking if this looks clean inside and out and smells clean that I can disinfect it with below zero temperature in my garage. The air temp tonight is minus 20. I’m going to try to look at it tomorrow on my way home and then it could all be a moot point or I’ll be trying to figure out how the heck to transport it and move it into my garage. I don’t think we could get it downstairs until we can take it through the yard to the lower level door and we have about three feet of snow at the moment.

I really should quit surfing CL.....

I generally know the places near me where the money is ;). I can tell from the cl photo, what kind of house it is, what room it's in in the house (family room as opposed to little used living room), signs of pets (yes...they do lie about that), the approx. age of the piece (sometimes I can tell by the color/style), and I look for how squashed the cushions are. Of course I want to know the brand.

That's all before I go look.

If this has had 2 owners already, I would pass on it, myself. But then we have a lot of choice here.

It won't cost you anything to look, though, right?

I have been known to leave upholstered chairs in my garage thru the winter months too :) I have bought from both Craigslist and consignment stores and never had any problems. I agree with Penny regarding checking out the house/neighborhood. Hopefully, the sofa isn't sitting in the backyard!

Unfortunately our subdivision has a garbage house. Recently they sold or swapped an outside hot tub that was sitting in their garage for a few years for a pop up camper. We all watched as the camper arrived and out of the garage came this hot tub. I do not know the buyers but I was a bit surprised after seeing the outside of this house, anyone would buy/trade with these people. A lot of items can be spiffed up for sale, but I agree a look/feel for the space it has been living in should reassure or convince you to run away!!

I found a few websites when I googled "Earl's of Highpoint Furniture." Is it possible to have the seller take the cushions off and take a picture for you?

I'd have no problem buying it. Air it outside, put gloves on, lol, and check down in the sofa to see if anything is there.

In college we bought a used sofa and found three watches and $40.00. Finder's keepers. :)

ETA: they were cheap watches and didn't work.

Here’s a link to the listing. What do you think? I notice some cushions are flipped over on the side that doesn’t line up with the lower half of the piece. Makes me suspicious of what the other side looks like. Of course if any cushions had signs of wear and tear they’d put the best side up for photos. I’m still deciding if I’m going to look at it today or not. This is in a small town on the way to our cabin so no telling about the neighborhood as I might be able to do in the city. I do know it’s not located where the multimillion dollar vacation/retirement lake homes are though. Sectional

I recently bought a 3-piece set of 2 sofas and chair off my local Nextdoor. I always swore I wouldn’t buy upholstered furniture second hand either. But the price was right and they are Bassett brand and almost like new. They cake from a home in a very nice area near me and were in a type of sunroom or such so not used daily.

I did however get them home and they had a floral curry smell that I could not ignore. We let them air out for a week. DH Rented a shampoo machine and cleaned them really well. Then sprayed them all down with Odoban, let dry then aired in the sun a full day.

They are just fine now. I admit when we got them home the first night and I noticed the smell I cried a bit. But now we are glad we bought them. They run about $3,000 a sofa and I got the whole set for $500 so I think the weeks work was worth it.

The only information I could find is that, after 1994, they were no longer listed in the High Point city directory. I would probably place that sofa in the 90s, when plaid furniture was prevalent. We purchased an incredibly comfortable plaid chair in 1998 when we built our house. My son still uses it in his basement. If you go to see it, you should be able to find a tag somewhere with the date.

Thanks for the additional insights on the age. The more I think about it, including the logistics of actually getting it and the age, I think I’m going to pass. It’s not like I don’t have furniture in the room now or that it’s worn out. I just saw this, liked the plaid/colors and could use this kind of piece in my big walkout lower level room.

I really do need to quit surfing CL.

LOVE IT. I would totally buy it. I skeeve buying upholstered goods too. I did however buy a sectional on line twice. Once was stupid. I did not look well enough. the second was not stupid and I am still using it years later. that one looks to be in fabulous shape. the cushions look like they have hardly been sat on!

Boo - you’re making me doubt my decision!! The timing really isn’t good for us to actually get it though I may reconsider if it remains for sale.

:) sorry! If it is sturdy and solid and still available when you are ready you could always pay a mover. I did.

I really wanted an ethan allen sectional. the one I wanted was 7-8k. I bought the one off craigslist for 1k and paid about 300 to move it. totally worth it and has held up for years.

I would go look at it. It might turn out to be something you want or it might not. If not, it won’t haunt you. If it truly is a good buy you will find a way to make it happen. It’s nice, try to get it for $200.

Edited to add: I can’t help but think how the sofas could get a new life : )

Add some fun stuff! Light walls and bold drapes. Or, dark walls and light vanilla raw silk drapes.

Well, pros and cons in all the posts...I agree with all.

The Good:

It looks well cared for (the arm covers are still in place and look like they have been washed/dry cleaned)

Plaid is insane to upholster with, and this pattern is matched up to perfection (some of the cushions are backward and I think the arm covers are switched..but on the correct arms, even that pattern should, from what I can see, match the arm pattern.) This speaks to the quality, imho.

It's in a little used room...I see no signs of pets or kids. The room is tidy and looks to be not used much ( these things could be deceiving, but the paint color goes with the sofa, so I'm thinking it was done at the same time, leading me to think it was all done at the same time---which was a while ago, but clearly not used much).

The color/pattern/design is classic, but that's my own opinion and worth zero.

The Bad:

It's on it's second owner, and it's old. Fabric and fillings do deteriorate with age, even when they're not used.

It's 400 dollars--too much for an already second-hand sofa, no matter HOW much it cost new.

It's in a basement. Sometimes basements smell like--basements. IF the sofa has picked a smell like that up, I wouldn't consider trying to get that out.

That said, it was only listed 3 days ago. If you're not sure, wait them out. It will either be there in three weeks, or not. If it is then offer 300. I would buy it for 300, no more, no negotiating. IF it passes the sit/quality/smell test for you.

Sorry...I'm long-winded, I guess :-/

Thanks Penny - great advice - not too long winded for me

It does not matter how clean the home looks. Bedbugs do not infest only dirty cluttered homes.

I would buy it for my summer cottage in CT. In fact, the couch and oversized chair currently at my cottage came from Craigslist. I have no problem with buying used upholstered furniture. Just examine it carefully. The furniture I bought was from a tag sale where I was able to wander through the house. It was a beautiful home and everything looked well-maintained.

Lucille this is true, however if there are bedbugs the sofa would not be in the house.

Also I think the whole bedbug phobia has gotten way out of hand and isn't as prevalent as most folks think it is. Media has a hand in creating irrational fears (with everything, imho) Does it happen? Absolutely. But not as much as we are led to believe.

Use common sense and you'll most likely be okay.

Some tips I've read about/picked up when buying off CL or such place, are to wrap it in plastic or a tarp to bring home, use a U-Haul or rented trailer, leave the item outside or in a garage for a week. Clean it out there and maybe fumigate if you want.

Even metal or other type products, I always leave under my carport or in garage for several days and clean it real well before I bring it inside. There are other bugs besides bedbugs, and I give them a chance to gtfo haha

I know someone who ended up with a bed bug infestation. It was so hard to get rid of. Upper middle class single woman who traveled for work. She brought them home from somewhere.

If your garage is that cold, you have easy bug treatment at your disposal however.

You know, they should be paying you to take that sectional away. It's plaid and it's huge!!!

It's also quite nice. It would actually be pretty awesome in a cabin. It's a little cabiny without looking like it is 70s furniture rejected from the main house.

I would look at it. Smell it. Prearm yourself with knowledge of what to look for in terms of bedbugs. These critters have a magical reputation they don't deserve. They leave traces and if you know what to look for you can be pretty confident. Same for mice, cockroaches, and carpet beetles. Flip everything over. If you buy it, while it's still in the garage, pull back the fabric underneath it to examine the guts (because it would probably not be nice to do it before you bought it!)...

It looks good! Let it sit on CL for a while. Nobody is likely to buy it. It'll get cheaper. Maybe cheap enough to pay for a pro cleaning. :)

Also I think the whole bedbug phobia has gotten way out of hand and isn't as prevalent as most folks think it is.

I do not think that is correct at all and one should not have a false sense of complacency about bedbugs , if anything it is becoming MUCH more of a problem than it once was to the point of being called an epidemic, but remains a difficult and expensive problem to eradicate.

if there are bedbugs the sofa would not be in the house.

Also not true, depending on how advanced the infestation is and the actual physical reaction the homeowner has to the bites, the homeowner may be unaware that there are bedbugs in the home.

I agree with the suggestions to go take a look at it and inspect it for cleanliness. Also believe that it's probably "the elephant in the room" that won't garner much interest and the seller may very well be willing to come down on the price. Not that it's ugly, mind you -- just that it's big and plaid and takes just the right person to come along who has the ideal space for it and is able to move it.

The ole printed sofa styles are just creeping back into the scene. Anthropologie has a few as well as other high-end stores . I haven’t seen much in plaid though, except for rugs and throw pillows. I personally wouldn’t use the ottomans and would resell them on CL. Being that a lot of people have no imagination I think you will not have to pay more than $200. If the sectional is sound and cared for it could be a great buy.

A few short years ago one couldn’t give away a curved sofa on CL. Now, certain ones are selling fast. Everything old outdated is cool again.

A few things - as some of you may recall I had a HUGE bed bug scare last summer due to a visitor at my cabin who is extremely frugal and stays at cheap motels. I know ALL about what to look for related to bed bugs, not to mention carpet beetles (which she did bring into my house) and rodents. What I found out is that it can take 18 months outside to eradicate bed bugs. It's heat that kills them immediately, not cold.

I think if I'm meant to buy this it will still be around when I have time to deal with actually getting it. I was thinking these people may well have purchased it from one of the nearby multi-million dollar vacation lake homes where no one ever sat on the thing. I know I have two relatively inexpensive sofas at my place now that are 20 years old but because we don't live there full-time they are like new.

I'll keep an eye on it.

SOLD - not meant for me and I am fine with that.