But what other online sources exist that have great deals or collectibles that you don't know about? When conducting an online search, the results that are ad-oriented aren't likely to be what you're looking for. We've sniffed out some of the other online sources for outdoor furniture -- maybe some are up-and-coming while others are "secrets." Hope you find what you're looking for! Let us know.
EBay: Everything Under the Sun, From Garden Gnomes to Pool Homes
If you're buying outdoor furniture off eBay, make sure you know what you're doing and understand what everything means. Pay attention to shipping fees (an online calculator is sometimes included) and whether or not the description of the patio furniture includes full disclosure of its condition, age or years owned, brand name if available, where it's been stored off season, etc.EBay offers a search option for local auctions -- you indicate how many miles you're willing to drive to pick up your winning item. Try this type of search first if you want to completely avoid shipping charges for heavy-weight items.
Craigslist: Like Classifieds With Pictures
In the mid 1990s while working at Schwab in the San Francisco Bay Area, Craig Newmark started a an e-mail list for friends listing local events. The aptly titled Craiglist spread to other regions, and by 1999, Newmark focused on the website full-time.To find outdoor furniture on Craigslist, go to the main page and locate your area. Besides providing other services -- like job listings and personal ads -- Craigslist is more like what the local classifieds section of newspapers used to be, with more detail. Like newspaper classifieds, people use abbreviations and often misspell words, and the photos aren't exactly Architectural Digest quality. But the stuff advertised is just around the corner, whether you're in Des Moines, Dublin or Dubai.
Kijiji: Brought to You by EBay
This site seems like a cross between eBay and Craigslist -- sort of. While Kijiji is searchable by terms -- "wrought iron patio furniture" or Brown Jordan patio" -- are a couple of suggestions, it doesn't seem to have nearly as many listings as eBay or Craigslist. Perhaps it just needs time to find its niche.In case you were wondering, “Kijiji” (pronounced key-gee-gee) means “village” in Swahili. According to its website: "This word captures the essence of what we are creating — a community where members can connect with one another to exchange goods, ideas, and services." Kijiji is part of a much larger village known as eBay.
ECrater
ECrater's motto: "Cater to your sellers and buyers will come"ECrater showed up in 2004 and its "selling point" is that there are no fees, which might be attractove to eBay's longtime merchants. A search for patio furniture on eCrater brought up results ranging from a pair of entryway lion statues to several new patio sets and even a vintage Barbie patio and garden set. Most of the listings seem to be for newer items, and the prices I saw weren't exactly "steals." Still, it's worth a look, and you never know what you might find.
Oodle: Combing the Web for You
Oodle is like the Expedia of online classifieds. Posting an ad to sell something is free. According to its website description, Oodle will post your ad on hundres of classifieds sites. It reportedly gathers more than 40 million listings from more than 80,000 sources.Oodle allows you to conduct a regional search, which is good when you want to inspect the outdoor furniture in person and avoid paying shipping and handling fees, which can be quite costly for heavier items like furniture.
A search in my zip code for "patio furniture" came up with just one page of results, mostly from eBay and an online classifieds site for a military base about 30 miles away.
Bonanzle: Never Average
"Find Everything but the Ordinary," is Bonanzle's motto.I'm not so sure how true this is, but it sounds good. Bonanzle is a colorful site and certainly grabs your attention with its bright green graphics. Items are categorized and easy to find. The term "patio furniture" resulted in a variety of styles, prices and from different locations. Like many of the other sites, you can adjust the search options to help you whittle down the selection and locate what you might be looking for.
