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A used bed frame is a good buy: solid wood and metal frames last for decades and are easy to check. A used mattress is a different story, with hygiene, bedbugs and sagging you can't see in photos. Buy the frame second hand, and in most cases buy the mattress new.
Beds in the Netherlands use metric sizes, and mattresses must match exactly. The common ones are 90x200 (single), 140x200, 160x200 and 180x200 (double). Long sizes of 210 or 220 cm are popular because Dutch people are tall. Ask the seller for the mattress size, not the outside size of the frame, since those differ by several cm.
A 140 cm bed is fine for one person and tight for two. 160 is the most common double, and 180 is comfortable for two adults.
Most Dutch bed frames (ledikant or bedframe) use a lattenbodem, a slatted base that the mattress sits on. Check each slat: cracked or missing slats are cheap to replace, but a broken frame rail is not. Adjustable slatted bases (verstelbaar) should move smoothly; electric ones need a working motor and remote.
Push and pull the assembled frame at the corners. Creaking usually comes from loose bolts, which you can tighten. A wobble that remains points to stripped threads or cracked joints. Check the metal brackets that hold the side rails for bends.
Bedbugs travel with furniture, and beds are their favourite place. They hide in joints, screw holes, under the slats and in the seams of headboards. Use your phone torch and look for small dark spots (droppings), tiny pale shed skins, or live brown insects about the size of an apple seed. A sweet, musty smell can also be a sign. If you see anything, don't buy it. Treating an infestation costs far more than any bed frame.
A mattress takes years of sweat and skin, and you can't wash the core. Even if it looks clean, it may be sagging in the middle, and you only feel that after a few nights. Mattress life is roughly 8-10 years, and you rarely know the exact age of a used one. It is also hard to check for bedbugs inside. For a guest bed or a short stay, a mattress that is clearly very new, still in its protective cover, with the receipt, can be fine. Otherwise budget for a new one, and look at the frame as the second hand saving.
Auping is the Dutch bed brand that holds value, and its frames and bases last very long. IKEA Malm and Hemnes beds are everywhere and cheap. Solid oak or pine beds and simple metal frames are good finds. On vindje.com you can ask for a 160x200 wooden bed frame with slatted base, without mattress, and it filters by size so you don't wade through 140 cm beds.
| Item | Typical asking price |
|---|---|
| Single metal or pine frame 90x200 | EUR 20-70 |
| IKEA Malm or Hemnes 160x200 | EUR 40-120 |
| Solid wood double bed frame | EUR 80-300 |
| Auping frame or base | EUR 150-600 |
| Hoogslaper (loft bed) | EUR 40-150 |
Rough Marktplaats asking prices in the Netherlands. Condition, age and season move them a lot.
Describe what you want in your own words and vindje.com searches Marktplaats in Dutch, then reads every listing and keeps only the real matches. For example:
Solid wood double bed frame 160x200 with slatted base, no mattress, headboard included, under 200 euro, within 15 kmSearch Marktplaats like this
Yes, if you check joints and slats and look for bedbugs with a torch. Solid wood and metal frames last for decades.
Usually not. You can't clean the core, can't see sagging or bedbugs inside, and you rarely know its age. Buy the frame used and the mattress new.
90x200 for a single, and 140x200, 160x200 and 180x200 for doubles. Long versions of 210 or 220 cm are common too.
Most foam and pocket spring mattresses, yes, but check the slat spacing. Gaps wider than about 7 cm can let a foam mattress sag between the slats.
Look in joints, screw holes and seams for small dark spots, pale shed skins or brown insects the size of an apple seed.