How to move a leather couch
December 30, 2021 4:56 PM Subscribe
We inherited a genuine leather couch which was probably very expensive when it was first purchased. Now, it has an unsightly hole in one of the cushions and I am being laughed off Facebook local groups trying to move it. So, how do I get it out of here?
Freecycle doesn't appear to be too popular in my area and the local go-to's of pick ups like Veterans of America, Disabled Vets, and Restore will not take it. I do not want it ending up in a landfill but I need to get it out of the house. Bonus points: we have a pick up truck and can take it somewhere if need be.
Freecycle doesn't appear to be too popular in my area and the local go-to's of pick ups like Veterans of America, Disabled Vets, and Restore will not take it. I do not want it ending up in a landfill but I need to get it out of the house. Bonus points: we have a pick up truck and can take it somewhere if need be.
We were in exactly this situation and unfortunately the only way to get rid of it was the folks who delivered our new couch took the old one away and likely took it to the dump. We couldn’t even find anyone interested in the leather for scrap. Good luck.
posted by rustcellar at 5:08 PM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rustcellar at 5:08 PM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
I live on a busy enough street that I can set something out on the curb and it'll disappear fairly quickly, it's almost magic. Do you have anyone nearby with a similarly magical curb?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:14 PM on December 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:14 PM on December 30, 2021 [6 favorites]
Unless you have it repaired, it's likely headed for the landfill. As you're finding, no one wants a used couch that has major damage. Offering it for free with a free delivery might get a buyer on Craigslist, but that's also a long shot.
Please do not dump it on street, people do that a lot in my city thinking it's a great, informal way to get rid of stuff that they think has value, but it's mostly the city sanitation service that comes and picks up the garbage. Also, if someone catches you or has cameras on their building and reports your license plate, you can also be fined for illegal dumping.
posted by quince at 5:56 PM on December 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
Please do not dump it on street, people do that a lot in my city thinking it's a great, informal way to get rid of stuff that they think has value, but it's mostly the city sanitation service that comes and picks up the garbage. Also, if someone catches you or has cameras on their building and reports your license plate, you can also be fined for illegal dumping.
posted by quince at 5:56 PM on December 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
I am regularly *astonished* by what things people will take from my neighborhood Buy Nothing Facebook group; if you are not a member of yours you should definitely try that should it exist in your area.
posted by charmedimsure at 6:10 PM on December 30, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by charmedimsure at 6:10 PM on December 30, 2021 [9 favorites]
Freecycle may find you someone who'd like it
posted by anadem at 6:47 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by anadem at 6:47 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah those Buy Nothing people will take literally anything, in my experience.
posted by HotToddy at 7:27 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 7:27 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you have time to spare and are a little handy, you could try to pretty-up the hole by patching it with a fun sturdy fabric and contrasting thread and try again. Sometimes people who won't take something damaged will fight over things that are creatively "fixed."
Either way, nthing Buy Nothing groups.
posted by Mchelly at 7:35 PM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
Either way, nthing Buy Nothing groups.
posted by Mchelly at 7:35 PM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
Generally the rule is that if you don't want something because it's that damaged, other people don't either. Trying to pawn it off on a charity shop just ends up with them having to dump it.
Try freecycle, buy nothing groups on Facebook, next door, Craigslist. If those don't work put it on the curb for the trash pickup- if someone take it, great, but otherwise that's a pretty clear sign that it's a piece of junk that no one wants.
posted by shesaysgo at 9:22 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Try freecycle, buy nothing groups on Facebook, next door, Craigslist. If those don't work put it on the curb for the trash pickup- if someone take it, great, but otherwise that's a pretty clear sign that it's a piece of junk that no one wants.
posted by shesaysgo at 9:22 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Have you included that you are willing to deliver in the Facebook posts? That’s a big plus for many truckless buy sell swappers. Try noting that on buy nothing groups, with an example photo included with a blanket as a throw concealing the hole. Surely someone has a porch for you to place your free couch on
posted by hotcoroner at 10:09 PM on December 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by hotcoroner at 10:09 PM on December 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
In my experience, Facebook Marketplace is different from more organized local groups, and offering delivery is a huge asset.
posted by Charity Garfein at 10:24 AM on December 31, 2021
posted by Charity Garfein at 10:24 AM on December 31, 2021
Craigslist free + offering to move will probably do it. Also nthing leather repair patch.
posted by corb at 11:05 AM on December 31, 2021
posted by corb at 11:05 AM on December 31, 2021
Craigslist's "Free Stuff" sub-forum is how I have gotten rid of some really questionable stuff in the past. (Like a mattress that had been sitting in the carport of a rented house for an unknown amount of time. It disappeared in an hour.)
"Free Leather Couch - FREE DELIVERY" in the title seems likely to do the trick, at least if you live in an area with a reasonably active Craigslist.
I would just make it very clear that you're not going to help carry it up to someone's 4th-floor walk-up or something, because that's inevitably the person I'd end up delivering it to if it was me.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:08 AM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
"Free Leather Couch - FREE DELIVERY" in the title seems likely to do the trick, at least if you live in an area with a reasonably active Craigslist.
I would just make it very clear that you're not going to help carry it up to someone's 4th-floor walk-up or something, because that's inevitably the person I'd end up delivering it to if it was me.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:08 AM on December 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:00 PM on December 30, 2021 [1 favorite]