Study Move - Study in Australia Guide

Getting your furniture

As soon as you find a place to live, you will need some furniture and white goods (for example, a refrigerator) to make it liveable. This will sound obvious for you but sometimes students completely forget that they need a bed to sleep in, a fridge for the food and a washing machine to clean their clothes!

If you choose to live off campus in accommodation you have found yourself, you may need to purchase furniture for your house.

There are different options to furnish your new home which may include renting items, purchasing new goods or buying second hand goods. Usually students choose a mix of all the options.

In this section you can find information for international students who want to buy, rent or sell furniture. 

Renting Furniture

As soon as you get your new place you will need a few things like a fridge or a washing machine immediately. A great option is to rent these items for a few weeks. This will alleviate your problems for some weeks and give you some time to get the furniture you desire.

Renting is not so expensive you can get a TV, washing machine and a fridge for AU$20 per week in some stores. You will need a deposit or credit card to be able to rent these items.

Here are some popular companies to rent your furniture: 

Radio Rentals

Pabs Furniture Rentals  

Living Edge Rental  

Buying Furniture

Students usually think that is very expensive to get new furniture in Australia. However, as a student there are two stores that provide good and affordable options to furnish your new home. These stores can also deliver the furniture to our house!

Fantastic Furniture

You can find dozens of these shops around the main capital cities in Australia and they offer packages which are great if you need at lot of furntiure. To find a store near you, you can visit their website: www.fantasticfurniture.com.au

IKEA 

Everyone loves this shop when you are starting your new life in Australia. At IKEA you can find excellent items at amazing prices. You also have a big range of items to select from according to your budget. IKEA is also a great place to get little things for your house. Unfortunately, there are not many IKEAS stores in Australia yet and sometimes is difficult to get there if you do not have a car. In any case is worth to visit a shop in your city and their website:  www.ikea.com.au

Second Hand market

There are usually huge second hand markets for international students where you can find almost everything. Usually you can get items in good condition and at reasonable prices too.

The best way to identify these opportunities is through the signs posted around your institution. If you find something interesting do not wait! Give them a call immediately and try to arrange an appointment to see the items and make the deal.

It is also important to know that you will find high and low seasons for second hand sales. Usually, you will find great deals at the end of each semester because students are going home and need to sell their belongings.

We strongly suggest that you check the condition of second hand goods before buying them.  You should also evaluate how much money you will save if you buy them rather than buying new goods. Sometimes is just better to buy new goods if they are only a few dollars more.

We also suggest you to have a look into the “formal” second hand market. In particular for white goods like washing machines or fridges you can find shops with second hand goods. You can find these shops in the yellow pages by typing “Furniture-Secondhand”.

Selling your Furniture

Please remember that in the same way that you buy your furniture, you can sell it at a later date when you are leaving Australia to return home. This is important because you can get part of the money back if you maintain your items in good condition.

We have a few tips on how to get good money for your items:

• Sell the items in good time…not on the day before you leave!
• Make a good promotion (eg. Flyers, posters with photo´s)
• Clean your goods and fix them if necessary.
• Try to make a deal with your close friends
• Check the prices on eBay before you list their selling price

Ebay is a good option for selling furniture. Alternatively, putting signs up at your institution can help as many other students may want what you are selling.