Buying Used Furniture

[English Noodles]

Does anyone know where to buy used furniture in BKK?

Have been looking all over the websites but cant find anything.

[ColPyat]

Does anyone know where to buy used furniture in BKK?

Have been looking all over the websites but cant find anything.

Depends what you are looking for.

Very cheap is the Klong Tom market in Chinatown on sunday. You get all sorts, from cheapo stuff to very reasonable semi antique wooden furniture. If you are into nice old wooden furniture, there are many different tent style shops along the outskirts. Just look around.

[Gazza]

Just be careful of termites when buying anything containing wood. Termites are hermaphrodites (sp) so they breed with themselves. So it only takes one too find it's way into your household.

[Neeranam]

THAI PEOPLE DON'T GENERALLY WANT SECOND-HAND FURNITURE.

Thai people don't generally sell furniture.

[ColPyat]

Just be careful of termites when buying anything containing wood. Termites are hermaphrodites (sp) so they breed with themselves. So it only takes one too find it's way into your household.

As long as it is teak wood, or hard woods like makha or red wood one shouldn't be too worried of termites. I collect and refurbish old wooden furniture since years, and never had a problem with termites.

THAI PEOPLE DON'T GENERALLY WANT SECOND-HAND FURNITURE.

Thai people don't generally sell furniture.

Yes, many Thais don't want second hand furniture. That is why you can get very well made old furniture of excellent wood quality for less money than new wood of far lower quality would cost.

If you look around the markets you can still make incredible deals. Not for much longer though, much gets exported, and also Thais themselves have slowly realised the value of their old furniture.

[English Noodles]

Just be careful of termites when buying anything containing wood. Termites are hermaphrodites (sp) so they breed with themselves. So it only takes one too find it's way into your household.

As long as it is teak wood, or hard woods like makha or red wood one shouldn't be too worried of termites. I collect and refurbish old wooden furniture since years, and never had a problem with termites.

THAI PEOPLE DON'T GENERALLY WANT SECOND-HAND FURNITURE.

Thai people don't generally sell furniture.

Yes, many Thais don't want second hand furniture. That is why you can get very well made old furniture of excellent wood quality for less money than new wood of far lower quality would cost.

If you look around the markets you can still make incredible deals. Not for much longer though, much gets exported, and also Thais themselves have slowly realised the value of their old furniture.

Yes that is what it is for. I want a sofa for the office but just for delivery people etc to sit on while they wait but my main thing is old quality wooden furniture for export to europe.

You seem to be quite right Colpyat anything that comes on the market here in BKK seems to dissapear just as fast. It seems like good bussiness if you can get a foot in.

Noodles.

[ColPyat]

Yes that is what it is for. I want a sofa for the office but just for delivery people etc to sit on while they wait but my main thing is old quality wooden furniture for export to europe.

You seem to be quite right Colpyat anything that comes on the market here in BKK seems to dissapear just as fast. It seems like good bussiness if you can get a foot in.

Noodles.

Not my business, just my hobby. It's great fun finding a nice old piece and then spending time and effort making it beautyful again.

I think i know what might suit your purpose.

There is a style of wooden sofa made in the '20 to '40 by Chinese carpenters from Shanghai that immigrated to Thailand. They are made from beautyful golden teak, which is darker than the piss yellow of normal teak. These sofas can be converted into a bed by pulling out the front feet and inserting another wooden plate.

There are two styles that i have seen around.

The cheaper more usual one has a straight back rest with three partitions, the far rarer and more exensive one has the middle partition of the back rest elevated.

I have one of the more usual ones, bought it on Klong Tom for an unbelievable 3800 baht. The condition was OK, i had to take the laquer off (there is a chemical that does that rather well), sand it down to get away with some scratches, and then oiled it.

Generally the kind of sofa in the condition i bought it cost around 5000 to 8000 baht, in the refurbished condition it is around 12 000 to 15 000 baht. Unfortunately most refurbished pieces on the market are laquered, especially with that horrible colored laquer. I think most beautiful is simple wood oil, also the easiest to apply.

If you don't want to work on a piece then you should have a look at a shop on rama 4 road in between klong toey market and green tower. They mostly have older and more expensive pieces and you can talk with them about how you want it refurbished.

I don't buy older pieces, mainly because they are expensive, and there are very good fakes around from Burma. Also, i believe that the pieces from the '20s to '40s are still seriously undervalued. Many of the pieces i have bought have doubled, or even quadripled in value within a few years. Not that i would or could sell them.

[English Noodles]

Thanks ColPyat you have been a great help, i am going to have a look for said shop next week and will pay Klong Tom market a visit next Sunday.

Sounds very interesting. Thanks again.

Noodles.

[ColPyat]

Thanks ColPyat you have been a great help, i am going to have a look for said shop next week and will pay Klong Tom market a visit next Sunday.

Sounds very interesting. Thanks again.

Noodles.

Avtually, i just thought, be is to go to Klong Tom on saturday evening already, after 3 pm. The nicest pieces will go rather quick.

I got a few years ago a piece of the lorry for 6500 baht, 5 minutes after i bought it somebody offered me 10 000. Not long ago i got an offer for 20 000 from a dealer, and now, since i refurbished it i am sure that it would go for no less than 30 000.

There are also lots of tent style shops at the suburban trunk roads, have a look at the ones who have old wooden boats etc. for show in front.