Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Serendipity!

Earlier in the year I listed some goals I had, and one of them was to save enough money for new living room furniture.  I've also mentioned that I want to get an Ektorp sectional from IKEA.  I actually need a chair, too; together, the ones I want would cost $1248 (before tax and not counting the 600 mile round-trip drive to Chicago).


I have been checking craigslist regularly for any Ektorp item, thinking if it was a good deal I could manage with a regular sofa or whatever.  Not too many came up, and what I did see was already sold...they go fast here since we don't have our own IKEA.

Then last week I remembered Search Tempest, which will search all of the craigslists within the range you give it.  I put in 200 miles from my zipcode.

Lo and behold, 90 miles from us was a listing for an Ektorp sectional, less than one year old and in pristine, virtually unused condition.  The ad was almost a month old, and I was afraid it would be sold already, but it wasn't, and I got my sectional for $500, instead of $899 plus tax!



It has the black cover, instead of the light brown that I want.  But the beauty of Ektorp is that you can buy new covers relatively inexpensively.  The chair with the light brown cover I want, plus a light brown cover for the sectional will cost $548 (before tax).

That makes my total $1048.  How much do I have saved up?
$1040.

That's pretty darn awesome.  And now I have a black Ektorp sectional cover for sale.  Know anybody who's looking for one?

9 comments:

Gina @ MoneywiseMoms said...

WOW! You did great. I love when Craigslist works out like that :)

Shug said...

Patience is a great thing!!!!
I am a fan of craigslist...Have sold some great things and have bought some great things...Way to go!!
shug

Richella Parham said...

Wow! Way to go, Holly! You are so savvy when it comes to things like this. I'm thinking of the old saying "Good things come to those who wait." Sayings like that become adages because they're true, but it's easy to forget the truth of them. It's nice to have a reminder that patience really does pay off! :)

Amber said...

I didn't know about that search tool - and now I'm excited about it :) We need to decorate our master bedroom and we're ready to do it - just have tonfind some inspiration!

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Okay, that is pretty amazing that you have almost just enough saved up!! How cool is that? Love the new sectional, Holly. :)

dixie said...

It looks great!!! And it really does look in pristine condition, too. Way to go.

Anna said...

great deal! it looks nice and comfortable too!
I really want the ektorp sofa

Anonymous said...

So cool!!! How exciting that you found such a great deal on that couch! Can't wait to see what you do with it. :-)

Unknown said...

So Awesome! I'm saving up for the IKEA Karlstad sofa's and been dreaming of finding some on craigslist. I didn't know about Search Tempest, so thanks for the heads up :)