Buying used furniture in Hamburg

Hello, I'm an American who has lived in Hamburg for one month. My husband and I are looking for an apartment and will soon need to buy some furniture. We sold a lot of our furniture before moving from the States as most of it was from Ikea and we hoped we could find some cool old furniture here. We need stuff like a coffee table, book shelves, dressers and end tables. I have tried Craigslist - Hamburg and haven't found much at all. In the States there are hundreds of postings on craigslist every day and I am so used to finding great stuff - furniture, apartments, jobs, you name it. I'm wondering if there is another online site that is more widely used, or even a recommendation for a good second-hand store or something like a Goodwill or Salvation Army would be lovely.

You will have discovered that there are at least two IKEAs in Hamburg - I know the one
in Schnelsen very close to the Autobahn A7 so if you wish to re-live the words that strike
fear into many: "some assembly required" you know where to start.

depends where in HH you live of course.

I still have some IKEA furniture from 20+ years ago

Try the Annoncen-Avis, there's a print version you can buy anywhere in the city and here's the online version.

Ah, the thing is that I already HAD Ikea furniture and sold it hoping to find something better. I have been to the Ikea down on the way to Bergedorf - it's great but I want some real wood furniture this time around. I noticed that in Munich's section of advertisements there is an "items for sale - furniture for sale" section but there isn't one for Hamburg? Am I missing it or does it just not exist? Can we start one?

Real wood? In 2007?

You mean you want your new apartment to look different from everyone else's? Anarchist!

Anyway, I know nothing about Hamburg except that Caritas is the equivalent of the Salvation Army and, down here at least, sell second-hand furniture.

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is terrible but I have one problem - I'm in week one of my intensive German course and I can't decipher those websites very well. Anything in English like the "items for sale - furniture for sale" section that Munich has?

Try out these addresses when you get here.

Caritasverband f. Hamburg e.V. - 2,7 km O - Danziger Str. 66, 20099 Hamburg - 040/280140 - 0
Caritasverband für Hamburg e.V. - 4,3 km O - Borgfelder Str. 76, 20537 Hamburg - 040/2513382
Caritasverband f. Hamburg e.V. - 2,2 km O - Holzdamm 20, 20099 Hamburg - 040/2802122

Small town boy,
Thanks, what are these addresses for? Are they furniture shops?
MM

Try www.ebay.de

Mary,
I wish I'd known about the following when I moved here:
http://www.stilbruch.info
There are two locations, near Diebsteich (Altona) and near Wandsbek. I went to the one near Diebsteich this week for the first time and think it is just what you're looking for.
The furniture is cheaper, but delivery is 45 euros, plus 5 euros for every floor over the 1.OG. The delivery company at IKEA charges 29 euros up to a certain percentage of the price (something like 200 euros, I think) and nothing extra to carry it upstairs. If you know exactly what you want from IKEA, you can order it online for a flat shipping rate (39 or 49 euros) and never even hit the store.
Stilbruch also has a Verbrauchermarkt online, where you can post things you're looking for and find things people are offering, either for free or for a cheap trade.
Another place to seek and find free things is Freecycle. There is a yahoo! group for Hamburg.
Also, students list things for sale at http://www.campus-hamburg.de/kleinanzeigen/
Some supermarkets and Budni have posting boards where people offer things for sale -- another good way to practice your German
Hope this helps!
Hilary

Thanks Hilary!

hi,
Try http://hamburg.kijiji.de/
then click on Kaufen & Verkaufen.
On the left hand side under "kategorie" click on Möbel & Einrichtung...
Heaps of new furniture is listed daily.. Its not all good, but I have bought stuff there and it was quite cheap!
Good luck
Erryn

I realize that you posted in February and it is now the end of June. My partner and I are packrats with a tendency not to throw anything away. I have a lot of stuff I have been wanting to get rid of but there are no charity shops other than Oxfam in Hamburg and I don't have the energy for a yard sale. Germans don't seem to understand the concept of yard sales.

I don't have much in the way of furniture but I have a lot of small appliances I bought but don't use; plus a lot of odds and ends. If you need anything in particular, let me know and I'll see if I have it. This goes for anyone needing to furnish an apartment.

You can also do this via Freecycle. Its a website to give away stuff you need any more. It works pretty well in the UK. Not sure how popular it is here.