Facebook Marketplace can be a homeowner’s or apartment renter’s best friend. If you need to furnish your space, and you don’t have a ton of cash, it’s the perfect destination. It’s also great if you want to find unique pieces, and not just submit to the supreme rule of Ikea. It’s also the sustainable option, avoiding contributing to the waste you create when you buy stuff new. But there are a few prices you pay when shopping on it. If you like something, you have to be quick to claim it. 

You hope that the seller responds to your message in a timely manner and honors their commitment to selling it to you. You then have to do all the work of arranging a time to meet, hoping that they’re not secretly a homicidal maniac. Then you have to schlep to their location and find a way to bring that vintage credenza home. It can be a lot of rigamarole.