Exp.with renting furniture?

March 12, 2016 4:20 PM

Hi; Thinking of getting a couch & love seat at a rental place. Has anyone gone down this route before? If so,please share your exp doing this-the bad & good. I know of I rent it full term that I will pay prob double. Thank you :-)
posted by LOOKING to Work & Money (8 answers total)

Renting furniture is great if you need to furnish an apartment for a few months or have a large crowd to entertain on a weekend. I've not rented personally but for business and it's always been fine.

Like you said, if you rent full term, or rent-to-own, you'll be paying much more than the pieces are worth. Likely far far more than double. It's one of the dumbest financial decisions you can make. Someone steals your rented thing? Tough, you're still on the hook for payments. You're on a payment contract and the thing breaks? Again, tough.

But for short term needs? It's fine.

If you need a couch but can't afford one right now, you're much better off with Craigslist until you save up to buy the couch you want.
posted by phunniemee at 4:36 PM on March 12, 2016 [7 favorites]

I've rented for business - it has been a fine experience. I would never do it for a place I was living in for myself, it would be cheap enough to get things on craigslist and have the bigger items delivered. Don't forget about the mandatory insurance that they require - my normal renter's insurance would not cover it in the fashion they required and I had to take out a second policy. Also, don't forget about the pickup and delivery fees. It all adds up to a considerable amount.

I rented for three months and on balance I'm pretty certain I paid about 1-1.5x the retail value of the items. Mr. Arnicae says he thinks it was more like 2.5x the retail value. Go with craigslist and find someone to deliver it for you. :)
posted by arnicae at 4:53 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

We rented a room of furniture when our house was on the market rather than have a empty room. Worked for the month or so that we needed it, but generally not something I would do under other circumstances. Pricey, as noted. Also, not really the quality you would want for long-term living--boring choices & inexpensive (cheap) quality.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 5:34 PM on March 12, 2016

Best answer: I don't know anything about renting furniture and only popped in here out of curioisty. But I do want to say something about the "If you need a couch but can't afford one right now, you're much better off with Craigslist until you save up to buy the couch you want" idea - be cautious when with buying furniture, especially things like couches, off of craigslist because of things like bedbugs and even roaches (there many not be any roaches present but roaches leave a scent that attracts other roaches). A couch is one of the riskiest things you can aquire off of CL so this is probably not the best idea.

Sorry I can't help with the original question but please keep that in mind.
posted by atinna at 5:37 PM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]

I have never dealt with a furniture rental store, but I have rented furnished apartments, which is pretty much the same thing but without needing to have a separate contract. For short term needs, this is a great option. But as even the most cursory glance at the math tells you, it's a terrible approach over the long term.

I have had a number of employees who have patronized rent-to-buy places, and from what I could see the business model is pretty much predatory, more like a payday lender than renting equipment or party supplies or whatever. There may be exceptions to this, and again in certain situations it might make sense, but I would proceed with caution.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:47 PM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you have access to a pickup or other large vehicle, an excellent way to get inexpensive furniture is to hit up estate sales an hour before they close. They often give extreme discounts at that point. I got a fairly nice sofa and loveseat for $60 at one. They typically require you to remove the items before the sale ends, so you need to have a vehicle ready rather than plan on renting something after you strike the deal.
posted by Candleman at 6:25 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

be cautious when with buying furniture, especially things like couches, off of craigslist because of things like bedbugs and even roaches (there many not be any roaches present but roaches leave a scent that attracts other roaches). A couch is one of the riskiest things you can aquire off of CL so this is probably not the best idea.

FYI, I asked the furniture pickup guy what they were doing with the upholstered furniture they were picking up from us (because he said they would be "inspected and cleaned" and then be out the next day because it was a busy time of year). He said cleaning was literally a spray bottle of diluted alcohol. So, maybe not any safer than craigslist...
posted by arnicae at 9:14 PM on March 12, 2016 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your comments :-)
posted by LOOKING at 1:51 PM on March 14, 2016