Eric Earl Hamilton Restorers: Tips on buying and handling vintage furniture

Do you want to buy an affordable yet good quality furniture with great value? Then a vintage furniture is the best choice for you. You could put your personal style when you’re decorating your home by placing this kind of furniture in it. You could also be eco-friendly by adding vintage furniture and home furnishings in your place.

Buying a vintage furniture requires extra effort since it's different from your usual thrift store shopping or garage sale. You’re looking for a furniture in a certain era, thus, it'll surely be a little difficult. See to it that the furniture is 30 to 40 years old to be considered as a real vintage furniture while antique furniture is aged more than 100 years old.

You might find it hard to determine if a certain vintage furniture is a good piece or if it is worth your money. To ease your worries, Eric Earl Hamilton Marsden Restorers provides the following tips to help you buy your vintage furniture.

Always visit good shops

First, you must find different vintage furniture stores available in your area. Eric Earl Hamilton Marsden Restorers suggests that you explore an area that has older homes. It could be beneficial for you to frequently visit your discovered shops and make friends with the vendors or the salespeople. They will eventually provide you with a lot of information and will often inform you when something you need is already available in their shop. You might not know it but frequent visits yield good returns sometimes as the vintage store may offer markdowns after a furniture has been sitting in their shop for a certain period of time, and you can be the first one to receive the news than others because of the good relationship you have with the staff. You can also find worthwhile furniture pieces at auctions, estate sales, and flea markets.

Hunt down furniture with good bones

For instance, drawers should slide out easily and upholstered pieces should have good sturdy frames. If possible, avoid furniture that’s on the verge of cracking.

It's fine to buy less popular brands

Don't focus your search on big-named brands only, you can also look for other manufacturers too since they are often less expensive but just as good as branded ones. Furniture with long-lasting quality should be your top priority all the time, regardless of the brand.

Always consider the size

Knowing the size of the furniture is crucial for you because you need to make sure that it will fit in your home. Furniture may look too small or too big inside a store, so always bring your tape measure with you to ensure that it is scaled right.

Choose gently used furniture

It's apparent that gently used furniture are in a better shape than furniture that has been trashed, so be extra vigilant when you're searching for a vintage furniture. Casegoods hold up better than upholstered furniture, but if you're looking for upholstered furniture then search for the gently used ones.

Minor scratches are okay

You probably don't want to buy a furniture that has few scratches in it, but Eric Earl Hamilton Marsden Restorers claims that it's fine to buy gently used furniture with some surface scratches in it because it can be fixed in the first place. You can find a lot of products on the market that can help you with those.

Buy individual pieces that suit each other

It might be expensive to buy a whole set of vintage furniture, so if you're on a tight budget, consider buying individual pieces that could work well together. You can be certain about the quality of each furniture if you're going to buy it individually. This is also a good way to show off your unique side to your family and friends.

Quality is a must

Not all old furniture comes out with great quality, hence, furniture that has inferior materials and workmanship must be out of your list. As mentioned earlier, your goal is to find high-quality furniture for your home and being curious about the quality of a certain piece is not a bad thing to do.

Bargain using the imperfections of the furniture

Does the furniture have a few alarming scratches in it? Use that to your advantage and begin bargaining. After searching for that good piece, it's time for you to attain a good price. Use any evidence of damage to bargain for a better price if that furniture is really worth buying. See to it that you can fix the defects of the furniture in the first place and that the price of the repairs will not be too high.

Repurpose your old furniture

You can give a distinct feel to your home by repurposing some of your old furniture. Make them have an alternative use and value. For example, you can turn a chest of drawers into a container garden or an old sewing machine drawers into a wine storage rack.

How to Protect Yourself from Online Travel Booking Scams by Bacall Associates

Thanks to the Internet, booking travel online is simple. But as your ideas of a spring break or summer vacation take shape, remember to be cautious when making reservations online. The number of phony travel booking websites is growing because they’re so successful at scamming consumers. Learn what to do so you don’t take a quick trip to Fraudville instead of your dream destination.

Fake Travel Reservation Websites

According to estimates by the American Hotel & Lodging Association approximately 15 million online hotel reservations are made on bogus third-party sites every year. These rogue websites trick people into thinking they’re reserving directly with their hotel of choice. Instead, the victims are making reservations on phony sites set up to steal their money, credit card information, and dreams of a relaxing overnight stay. With cybercriminals pocketing more than $1.3 billion in fake hotel reservations, consumers need to beware when booking hotel rooms and other travel reservations online — such as for airline flights and rental cars, too.

How to Avoid Online Travel Reservation Scams

1.       Go directly to the official website of the hotel, airline, or rental car agency to book your reservations. It should have “HTTPS” in the URL. If you’re not sure you’re on a real site, call the company to verify. Or try Norton Safe Web to find out if a website is safe, for free.

2.       If you decide to use a third-party site, choose a well-known and reputable brand.

3.       Get recommendations for trusted travel companies or sites from your network of friends and family. If you’re ever uncertain about if a company is legitimate, check with the Better Business Bureau (link is external).

4.       Use a credit card instead of a debit card to book online. In case the website is phony, you won’t have given the cybercriminals direct access to your bank account. Many credit card companies offer fraud protection.

5.       After you make an online reservation, always call the company afterward to confirm. If there is no record of your reservation, it’s better to know sooner rather than later. You’ll be able to alert your credit card company, report the fraud, and still have time to book reservations with the real deal.