Preeti Misra has been looking for a sofa for a few months now. But so far, she has not visited a single furniture store. She scans listings online with an eye for things sold by itinerant travellers and on the move embassies, based on their location in Delhi and usernames. Misra, whose daughter is only three, is likely to have a few more years of spills and stains and does not want to splurge out on brand-new furniture. “These deals online are the best. They are people with good taste who have used the furniture for a couple of years and you can buy it at a quarter of the price of a new one,” she says. So far, in her quest for a sofa, she has ended up buying silk curtains, an oil-filled heater for winter and a nearly new set of learning toys. “Even two years ago, if you had suggested that I buy used furniture, I would have thought you were insulting me,” she says. “Not anymore.”