What Happens After You Purchase Preloved Furniture From Carousell?
For most of us, shopping on platforms like Carousell has become quite a norm for looking for preloved furniture that is in good condition. Heck, if you are lucky enough, you might find preloved furniture in pristine condition but selling at more than 50% off the original price. This is not surprising, given that Singaporeans love to change new furniture every now and then (that’s why the 2nd hand furniture market is so lucrative).
But while buying a 2nd hand furniture is easy given the number of platforms available, the biggest of which is Carousell, what happens after you decide to purchase that bulky furniture that you have carefully selected? The next thing that you will need to consider is the moving of the preloved furniture to your house or even to your office. You see, while there are some Carousellers that offer you a free delivery service to your house, some of them might require you to self pick up at their place. This is actually the most common option for Carousellers since they do not have to engage anyone to send the item to you, hence reducing cost on their end.
So for this case, unless you own a large transportation company or you have access to a lorry or van, it can be near impossible for you to transport the bulky preloved furniture by using your regular sedan car. So the next most obvious step will be for you to engage a moving company to deliver the preloved furniture to you.
What to note when transporting or choosing a moving company.
Before you engage a moving company, there are some critical questions that need to be answered before you decide on one so that your interest is best met by the moving company.
1. Reputation or reviews, or are they legitimate movers
Of course, you will need to ensure that the movers itself are legitimate movers, as some of them may simply be a moving broker. Also, always make it a point to read the reviews of the movers before you decide on them! Google is a good platform to find the reviews of the moving company that you are looking to engage.
2. Do they offer insurance coverage?
Most of the time, the moving company should have insured against damages to the preloved furniture that you are getting, but always make it a point to read the footnotes as there are some terms that might be missed out upon. Some moving companies do offer added insurance too, but at a cost. Hence, we will suggest that you opt for the added insurance only if the item that you are purchasing is highly valued.
3. Does the item require disassembly and reassembly?
If you are looking into moving your bulky items from Carousell, note that not all moving companies provide disassembly and reassembly services. In some cases, the item will require the disassembling of the furniture into smaller components before transporting them, so to ensure the items can fit through narrow passageways or into lifts. This might be a critical question to ask if the item is really huge, so do ask this question!
4. Level of experience of the movers
If possible, always ask the moving company about the level of experience of the movers itself. This is to ensure that your items are well taken care of during the entire delivering process. Note that it is not an uncommon practice for movers to engage part time or temporary workers as movers, and this is especially true during the current pandemic. There are also a couple of on demand moving & delivery services that would let any common man become a partner. Some may be experienced however do take note that not all their delivery partners are experienced in handling furniture. It is best to check with the moving company to assign an experienced mover during the transportation process so that the preloved furniture does not receive any scratches or other damages.
5. Ask them questions: do they protect the furniture with bubble wrap?
This is perhaps the top question that most people will ask the moving company. Sometimes, it really isn’t your fault that the items are damaged during transportation. It is just that the mover, during the delivery process, did not adequately protect the furniture. There are many ways at which the furniture can be protected. From using bubble wraps to using plastic shrink wraps, find out from the moving company about the method that they are using so as to protect your new furniture during the transportation. This will be extra important if you are delivering a high valued product.
6. How do they handle complaints?
It is near impossible for any moving company to be perfect, hence it is unavoidable that the business receives complaints. Do check with the company if they have any claims that are made against them, and what is the usual process for this. This is a critical question to ask so that you know how the moving company handles customer services. You can also ask them how many complaints have they received for the past few months, but take this information with a pinch of salt as not many of them will answer truthfully.
8. What is the main mode of transport?
Last but not least, a good indication of the moving company’s capability is the size of the fleet of vehicles that they have. Always make it a point to ask about this too. The main question, however, is to ask the moving company about the main mode of transport for the preloved furniture. Will it be a van, lorry, or the huge commercial truck? This will be critical as you wouldn’t want to engage an open-air lorry to transport your wooden furniture as it might subject the furniture to the weather.
Making astute choices
Buying pre-loved furniture might be a favorite hobby to many as the cost is low while the item can be in a pristine condition. But all of these will come to fail if the moving company does not adequately protect your furniture. Hence, asking the critical questions above will help you save a lot of money and trouble when it comes to receiving your preloved furniture in its intended condition.
