This simple spelling hack for uncovering hidden furniture treasures on Facebook Marketplace

Although it's daunting at first, restoring or customising an pre-loved piece of furniture always feels like a huge achievement. If you spend enough hours on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, you'll track down unique pieces for decorating on a budget.

Related: Upcycled furniture ideas – 17 easy to do DIY revamps and repurposing projects

However London Furniture Disposal has a clever hack for unearthing second had treasures - searching for items with a spelling mistake in your query. This simple tip might sound bonkers but will help to uncover hidden listings that aren't getting as many views. If you're prone to autocorrect mistakes or struggle to spell some words, it could be to your advantage...

Facebook Marketplace tip

'Use spelling mistakes when searching,' a London Furniture Disposal spokesperson says. 'Usually, those who make spelling mistakes in their listings will have less traffic to their items. This means that you won’t have to compete with other buyers!'

For example, when searching for bookshelves - which happen to be among the cheapest furniture items on resale sites - try entering 'bookshleves' or 'bookshelfs.' Any variations you think someone might feasibly type in by accident or misspell are worth trying.

Bookshelves, bookcases and storage are the cheapest furniture items on resale sites, according to London Furniture Disposal, averaging a price of £71.80. 'If you are looking for a way to quickly upcycle your bookcase, paint the wood a contrasting colour to your walls,' Furniture Disposal London suggests.

'This will give it a new lease of life and a pop of colour within the room.'

You can also pick up TV stands and entertainment units cheaply on Facebook Marketplace. It's not impossible that someone might accidentally list one as an 'entertainment unite' for example, so see what comes up by considering typos and autocorrect errors.

'Instead of throwing them away, turn them into a lower-level storage unit and place them at the end of your bed as a bench or ottoman,' says London Furniture Disposal.

Cabinets and cupboards are the third cheapest items, with an average price of £93.77. Search 'cabinits',  'cuboards,' 'cubbards' and 'chester draws' and you never know what you might find. Learn how to paint kitchen cabinets with our guide.

Related: Home decor trends to follow in 2024 – the key looks updating interiors right now

At the other end of the scale, the most expensive furniture items on resale sites are chairs, averaging at a pricey £450.02.