Nobody sells you their best thing: 8 free checks before you buy anything second-hand

1. Know the sizes before you fall for the piece

1. Measure the space at home in all three directions — width, depth and height — and write the numbers down. 4
2. Measure the route it has to travel: the front door, the hallway, the turn on the stairs, the lift door and the depth inside it. 5
3. Measure your own boot or back-seat opening too, and keep all of it in your phone beside the list of what you are looking for. 4
4. Ask the seller for exact dimensions before you set out, and compare those with your numbers rather than with the photograph. 5
5. Price the journey before you make an offer: a friend with a bigger car, or a van you have to hire both ways. 14
6. Apply the two tests before anything else: would you still want it if it cost more, and out of ten, is it an eight or better? 45

2. Go where the good stock actually lands

1. Work the charity shops where the donations are: better-off neighbourhoods for labels, areas with more older residents for older furniture and clothing. 6
2. Ask the staff which day new stock goes out — often a Monday or a Tuesday — and go on that day. 6
3. Go twice over every rail, and do not skip the men's section: that is where the better shirts, leather belts and wool jumpers often sit. 6
4. Online, search the exact thing you want rather than browsing, and save everything close to it. 5
5. Give that feed a few weeks before you judge it, and check it on a desktop as well as a phone, because the two show different listings. 5
6. Shop to a list of what you actually need, with the measurements beside it. 4

3. Ask the questions the listing avoids

1. Ask about visible damage, wear, discolouration, stains, rips, smells and wobbles, in those words, before you agree to anything. 5
2. Request the two photographs listings never include: the underside or back of the piece, and the label or maker's mark. 45
3. Ask about the finish: whether it is the original one, or whether the piece has been restored, and by whom. 7
4. Write your own first message instead of sending the default "is this still available", and say when you can collect and pay. 5
5. Look the maker's mark up on your phone, and search the listing photo itself to see where else it appears. 4
6. Never agree to buy a large piece unseen. 5

4. Run the never-buy list first

1. Cross off mattresses, pillows, bedding and stuffed toys: they hold dust mites, allergens and insects that a wash does not clear. 28
2. Cross off car seats, strollers, bike helmets, cots and baby gates. Every one of them is built to a standard that changes, and some fail invisibly. 29
3. Cross off wooden chopping boards and any cookware with a worn non-stick coating, along with painted dishes and crystal from before the lead rules of 1971. 29
4. Cross off anything with visible mould or a musty smell, and damaged rattan or wicker that would cost more to restore than to replace. 29
5. On clothing, cross off shoes, undergarments, swimwear, worn athletic wear, and anything that needs major alterations or dry cleaning. 8
6. Keep the exception narrow: everything on that list applies to using the thing for its original job, so a broken piece that will only ever be decoration is a different decision. 29

5. Turn it over: construction before cosmetics

1. Flip it and find the tag. It tells you who made it, and often when. 15
2. Look at the joins: dovetail joints on a drawer say solid work; staples, nails and hardware holding the frame together say the opposite. 110
3. Tell solid timber from board and veneer by the edges: lifting veneer and chipped corners show what is underneath. 10
4. Press the opposite corners of the frame and rock it, then lift one end. A heavy, still piece usually has more behind it than a light, flexible one. 5
5. Sit on it, and press the seat cushion with your thumb. Foam that crumbles adds a line to the bill, because replacement foam is the expensive part. 1
6. Add up what it will really cost: fabric, re-covering, replacements, your own hours. 14

6. Smell it before you pay

1. Put your nose inside the drawers, against the back panel, and under the seat where the foam sits. 11
2. Sort what you smell: a stored, musty piece can often be freshened, while a strong smell of smoke or cat means something has soaked into it that no surface wipe reaches. 111
3. Walk away from anything with visible mould or mildew on it, in any material. 9
4. Treat a freshly scented or freshly wiped piece as a refusal, not a courtesy, because it is the smell you are not being allowed to smell. 11
5. If the smell is only storage, plan the fix before you buy it: air it outside on dry, low-humidity days, bring it in at night, and set bowls of bicarbonate of soda — or the same amount of cat litter — inside the drawers. 11
6. Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over upholstery, leave it a few hours and vacuum it out, which is what shifts a lingering smell from fabric. 6

7. Check it for insects before it crosses the threshold

1. Do this outside, in daylight, before the piece comes into the building. 13
2. Take the cushions out and work along the seams with a torch: the piping, the folds, the tags and the zips are where bedbugs sit. 1314
3. Know what you are looking for: adults about 5 mm long, shed skins, rusty or reddish smears, and pinpoint dark spots that look like ground pepper. 1314
4. Check the underside and the frame, not just the surfaces you can see while standing. 1314
5. At home, wash what can be washed at 60°C and tumble dry it hot for at least 30 minutes, and bag what cannot be washed and freeze it for two to three weeks. 13
6. If you find a sign, leave the piece where it is and walk away. 13

8. Test the electrics while the seller is standing there

1. Ask them to plug it in and run it while you watch, rather than accepting a photograph of it working. 10
2. Look at the flex and the plug: taped joints, a damaged lead or a missing earth pin are reasons to stop. 10
3. On a washer or a dishwasher, check that the water connections are clear and that every hose and fitting comes with it. 10
4. Photograph the model and serial plate, and note the year of manufacture. 10
5. Look the model up on your phone before you pay, so you know how old the plate says it is and what the same machine goes for elsewhere. 410
6. For a fridge, a washer or anything that runs all day, weigh the running cost of a decade-old machine against the purchase price before you agree to it. 10