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Used garden furniture is a good deal when the material ages well: teak and aluminium last for decades, while cheap polyrattan and plastic get brittle in the sun. Check the frame, the joints and the cushions, and buy in autumn or winter, when sellers have no use for it and prices are lowest.
Good teak is dense and oily and lasts for decades outside. It turns silver grey if left untreated, which is only colour, not damage. A grey teak table can be sanded or cleaned back to honey brown in an afternoon. Look for cracks along the grain, especially at the ends of boards, and loose joints in chairs. Bolted tables should be tightened each season.
Not all teak is equal. Grade A heartwood from established brands like Jati & Kebon, Traditional Teak or Borek feels heavy and has tight grain. Cheap teak with lots of light sapwood, knots and wide grain weathers faster. If a table feels light for its size, it may not be teak at all, and acacia or other hardwoods are sometimes sold as teak look.
Extendable teak tables have runners and leaves that can swell after wet winters. Open and close the table fully before you buy, and check the leaves aren't warped.
Aluminium doesn't rust, which makes it a good used buy. Check the powder coating for chips and blisters, especially at joints and the feet. Look at the welds and bolts: aluminium chairs can crack at the welds after years of rocking. Textilene or rope seats (common on aluminium chairs) should be taut, without tears or sun-faded brittleness. Fermob Bistro chairs and tables are steel, not aluminium, and can rust where the paint is chipped.
Most outdoor lounge sets labelled wicker or rattan are polyrattan: a synthetic weave over an aluminium or steel frame. Good polyrattan (flat or round fibre from brands like 4 Seasons Outdoor, Hartman, Life Outdoor Living) lasts many years. Cheap sets fade, crack and unravel within a few seasons. Check corners and the edge of seats, where the weave breaks first, and press the fibre: if it cracks or feels like dry plastic, it's at the end of its life.
Natural rattan and wicker are indoor materials. A natural rattan chair that has been outside will rot and loosen.
Cushions are often the worst part of a used set. Check for mould spots, mildew smell and flattened foam. Removable covers that can go in the wash help a lot. New cushions for a lounge set easily cost EUR 100-300, so a set with good cushions is worth more and a set with ruined ones should be priced lower. Ask where the cushions were stored over winter: a dry shed or attic is a good sign, a garden box with condensation often means mould inside the foam.
Prices fall from September and are lowest in winter, when people clear their sheds or move. In spring, the first sunny weekend sends prices up. Search tuinset, loungeset, teak tuintafel, tuinstoelen, aluminium tuinset. On vindje.com you can ask for a teak garden table for 6 with chairs, within 20 km, and it filters out polyrattan sets and loose chairs.
| Item | Typical asking price |
|---|---|
| Plastic stackable set | EUR 15-60 |
| Polyrattan lounge set | EUR 100-450 |
| Teak table 180-200 cm | EUR 200-600 |
| Aluminium dining set with 4-6 chairs | EUR 150-500 |
| Fermob Bistro chair, each | EUR 25-60 |
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:
Teak garden table 180-200 cm with 6 chairs, solid and no cracks, under 500 euro, within 20 kmSearch Marktplaats like this
Autumn and winter. People sell when they clear the shed or move, and demand is low. Prices go up in spring.
Yes. Clean it with a teak cleaner or sand it lightly, then oil it if you want the warm colour back. The grey is only on the surface.
Good quality polyrattan lasts many years. Cheap sets can crack and unravel after a few summers in the sun.
Teak is heavy, slightly oily to the touch and has a tight, straight grain. A light table with wide grain is probably another wood or low grade teak.
It won't rust, so yes, but covers or a shed protect the coating and the cushions.