A free sofa in Amsterdam is never really free. You pay in stairs. The line from our ad says it all: "Sofa. Free. Carry it down three floors." That sofa is made up, but anyone who has lived here for a year has met it. This is a practical guide to getting one home, and to asking for one with a single message.
One honest note first. Goods are new in ツamsterdam. We have no numbers on sofas yet, so you will not find any here. No counts, no prices, no tables. When we have them, we will count them.
How do you ask for a sofa?
You send one message to ツamsterdam, in the chat app you already have. You say what you are looking for. You get one name back, someone who has a sofa to get rid of. Then the two of you sort it out.
A message that works: "Hi ツamsterdam, I'm looking for a free sofa, two seats, in or near Oost. I can pick it up this weekend."
There is no account to make and nothing to download. Asking costs nothing. If money changes hands, it goes straight from you to the other person and ツamsterdam adds nothing on top.
What do you put in your message?
- What you want. A sofa is a start. Two seats or three, and a corner sofa or not, is better.
- Where you are. The neighbourhood is enough.
- When you can collect. People giving things away want them gone, preferably yesterday.
- How you will move it. If you have a cargo bike, a van or a strong friend, say so.
What do you ask before you go?
Ask these before you are standing in a stairwell with a sofa on your shoulder.
Which floor is it on, and is there a lift? Usually there is not.
How wide is the staircase, and does it turn? Old Amsterdam stairs are steep and narrow and they turn at the worst moment.
How big is the sofa? Ask for the width, the depth and the height. Then measure your own front door and your own stairs. People forget the second half.
Does it come apart? Legs and cushions often come off. Sometimes the arms do too. This can decide everything.
Is there a hoisting hook on the building? Those beams at the top of the gables are there for a reason. Hoisting is a job for people who know how, with a proper rope and pulley. If it has to go through a window, ask movers.
Can you send a photo? Of the sofa, and of the staircase if they do not mind.
How do you get it home?
Bring a second person. A sofa is not heavy so much as awkward, and awkward needs four hands.
Bring something to carry it with. Lifting straps help. Gloves help. An old blanket saves the walls of a stairwell that is not yours.
Think about the route. A cargo bike carries more than you would expect, and a small sofa on a cargo bike is a normal sight here. For anything bigger you want a van. If you live in Noord, remember the ferry takes bikes and people, and it does not wait for you.
Check the weather. Fabric and rain are not friends. Bring a sheet of plastic and some tape, or pick another day.
What if it does not fit?
Say so before you carry it down, not after. Measure first, decide upstairs. Nobody is angry with someone who says "it will not go up my stairs, sorry". Everyone is angry with a sofa left on the pavement.
If it is not right, tell ツamsterdam. Another name follows. You are not tied to anything.
And if you are the one with the sofa?
Then it works the other way round. You send one message saying what you want to get rid of, where it is and which floor. Be honest about the stairs. It saves you a visitor who turns around at the door.
Why only one name?
Because a list is work. Ten sofas means ten conversations, ten sets of measurements and nine times saying no. ツamsterdam gives you one name. Who gets named is not for sale.
In short
One message, one name, and then the stairs. Measure the sofa, measure your own door, bring a friend and a blanket. We have no numbers on sofas yet and we are not going to make them up.
Just ask: Sofa in Amsterdam. Got something to get rid of yourself: Selling your stuff in Amsterdam.