Good thrift/furniture stores? (Miami, Hialeah: sales, apartments, to rent)

[happimedium]

Hi all,

(I think someone made a general post about thrift stores earlier, but I'm looking for a more specific recommendation.)

I'm moving into an unfurnished apt. in Coral Gables -- will need to furnish it cheaply, since my job in Miami may only last a year. I'm sure the Gables is not teeming with thrift shops (!), but can anyone recommend good thrift stores or used furniture stores within reach of there that have decent couches and such? Also, are thrift stores in the Miami area willing to deliver furniture to apartments?

I also would welcome recommendations for futon and mattress stores with decent-quality, reasonably priced new furniture.

Much thanks!

[doggiebus]

These stores are not thrift stores but known for cheap furniture:
Eldorado, Rooms To Go and soon IKEA in Sunrise.

[at7815]

If I understand your definition of "cheap," I don't think the above mentioned stores would qualify. Check craigslist and try to buy locally off of people...usually could find good buys.

[big rob]

I agree with at7815.You could also search garage sales/moving sales for some really good deals on furniture.

[compelled to reply]

I was actually in El Dorado recently and was amazed at how overpriced some of the stuff is. Plus the humongous store is full of nothing but duplicates of the same thing, but in a different setup. They make you go through the "deparments" four times that all have the same (overpriced) stuff, but the average person would say they don't like something the first time, and then they see it with different stuff, and they love it and buy it. I have found that Ashley Furniture Homestore and American Signature have somewhat reasonable yet nice furniture, though. Just got an Ashley media armiore for my new LCD for 250 bucks, which unfortunately seems reasonable nowadays (everything I saw as nice was 400 and up, ouch!)

[jeffw]

best place to find furnature... craigslist

lots of people are in your same situation and sell off there enire home of furnishing on craigslist, and the prices are real good for slightly used items.

ill be hitting that to furnish out the spare room in my home soon. i just moved here to with furnature from a two bedroom and now we have a 4 bed room.

jeff

[happimedium]

Yes, of course I thought of Craig's List ... only problem is, we don't have a truck or the spatial aptitude to rent one and drive it around Miami! Do you know if a lot of Craig's List people are willing to deliver the furniture they sell? I figure a store might be easier in that respect.

How are the "Flamingo Plaza" shops in Hialeah? Lots of furniture there?

Has anyone bought mattresses or futons from that chain Mattress Giant? Is the quality OK?

[Hero]

I just moved to miami too. Here are some places I went.

Costco: Pretty good stuff but a bit pricey for me, didn't buy anything. costco has mattresses too BTW.
Target: Picked up a pretty nice shelf for $29.99
Big Lots: Saw some cheap mattresses, much cheaper than giant mattress or whatever the place was. Plus, they have a guy who'll deliver it. Big lots also has a bunch of other stuff. A friend of mine who's new to Miami too bought a couch. He rented a truck for a day and bought all his stuff in a day.
Kmart: My friend bought a nice dining table with four chairs for 250

And then there's ebay. I got a nice desk from ebay for $130 shipped. Usually with buying furniture online, it's the shipping that kills the deal. Overstock.com: Online Shopping Bedding, Furniture, Electronics, Jewelry, Clothing & more has furniture with cheap shipping.

I tried craigslist but like you, I don't have a truck and rather have stuff shipped to me. If I were going to get all my stuff in one day, then renting a truck for a day would be worth it.

I still have to buy a bed frame, a chair (currently using a lawn chair lol). I'm going to search target again and maybe go to office depot or office max. Maybe i'll build my own bed frame... good luck! and let me know any good stores you find!

[Samierra]

Originally Posted by happimedium

Yes, of course I thought of Craig's List ... only problem is, we don't have a truck or the spatial aptitude to rent one and drive it around Miami! Do you know if a lot of Craig's List people are willing to deliver the furniture they sell? I figure a store might be easier in that respect.

How are the "Flamingo Plaza" shops in Hialeah? Lots of furniture there?

Has anyone bought mattresses or futons from that chain Mattress Giant? Is the quality OK?

I'd avoid Hialeah.

There are tons of delivery services here in Miami - ask around, any place that you purchase from may be able to arrange it for you.

The Salvation Army on Bird Road (40th St) has great stuff from time to time.
Mattress giant is WAY overpriced - better would be Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club - better yet for mattresses, and all furniture - take a drive up to Ft. Lauderdale area. The Habitat for Humanity store in Broward has really great items at terrific prices. I picked up a brand new twin sleigh bed for my daughter for less than $50. Their stock rotates quickly - check there often.

There are also a lot of other great thrift stores in Broward, more so than Dade. However, a few other areas to look - off of Bird road and 72nd ave - there are a number of antique/used furniture stores.

One last place - Victoria's Armoire in Coral Gables has beautiful items. They have a terrific sale, at least 4x/year. Their clearance prices can't be beat.

Good luck.

[miamiblue]

There is a used furniture store on US-1 in South Miami by the Key Lime Pie Factory and Fox's Sherron Inn (sorry, I can't remember the name). They had some nice stuff from cheap to antique when I went in there to browse. I don't know about delivery options, though.