Selling pre-owned furniture is a great way to let go of items you no longer need and create space for new additions to your home.
It can also be an opportunity to earn extra cash on the side that can eventually turn into a full-fledged business.
However, unlike selling books or clothing, selling secondhand furniture involves managing big, bulky, and oftentimes heavy pieces of inventory. This can make the resale process challenging but still profitable in the long run.
If you’re planning to resell furniture online or in-store but don’t know where to start, this tutorial is for you!
Learn about the best-selling types of furniture, furniture valuation, and the steps and considerations in successfully reselling your furniture.
- Is It Possible to Resell Furniture?
- What Is the Value of Furniture?
- Things to Consider When Reselling Furniture
- Where to Resell Furniture
- What You’ll Need to Resell Furniture
- How to Resell Furniture: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Can You Make Money Flipping Furniture?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Similar Tutorials to Check Out
- Wrapping Up
Is It Possible to Resell Furniture?
Whether you’re looking to get rid of an old couch or you plan on starting a resale business, selling secondhand furniture is a great way to earn additional cash and can even be a lucrative source of income.
People are constantly redecorating and refurbishing workplaces and living spaces, resulting in a steady demand for home decor, office furniture, and similar items.
Furniture prices can vary, but unique pieces that are in good condition will likely attract potential buyers and sell at a profit.
What Kinds of Furniture Sell Well?
Commonly used items, such as dressers, nightstands, sofas, coffee tables, and dining tables, are among the best items to resell because they’re a necessity in every house.
Desks and chairs are also becoming more popular due to the surge of people working from home.
Trendy and stylish furniture easily catch the eye of interior designers and DIY home decorators, so they sell at a fast rate as well.
Luxury and vintage furniture sell at significantly high prices because customers value their interesting features, rarity, and historical background.
What Is the Value of Furniture?
The value of a furniture item depends on multiple factors, including its condition, original retail price, brand name, manufacturer, and popularity.
The best way to find the true value of a piece is to do your research and browse marketplaces to know the selling price of similar items. If you have a vintage or high-value item, an antique dealer or appraiser can give you an estimate.
Most sellers price gently used furniture at 70% of their original retail price, but rare, popular, and high-end items from well-known manufacturers can have higher values.
You can also add markup for additional costs you incurred in repairing, reupholstering, or refinishing the furniture.
Do Furniture Lose Value Over Time?
Similar to cars and technological equipment, furniture depreciates or loses value over time due to wear and tear and the emergence of newer and more stylish pieces on the market.
How fast old furniture depreciates depends on its quality, demand, and brand reputation. Generally, the life expectancy of ordinary furniture is five years which means it depreciates by around 20% each year.
The opposite is true when it comes to vintage furniture with classic styles and iconic designers.
Furniture collectors treat these pieces as investments because their values can increase significantly within five to ten years.
Things to Consider When Reselling Furniture
Here are a few important aspects to consider if you’re planning to engage in furniture resale:
1. Furniture Trends
Explore the latest furniture trends to get an idea of the best-selling furniture types, styles, and designs on the market.
Take a look at the classics as well to discover what kinds of furniture hold their value and are worth investing in. A bit of digging may reveal profitable opportunities.
2. Pricing and Negotiation
One of the most important aspects of reselling furniture is setting competitive yet fair prices and calculating margins. You can use competitor research and automated pricing tools to ensure that you get a decent profit.
Factor in additional costs like operating expenses and insurance, and decide whether you’d be willing to negotiate with buyers.
3. Fulfillment Strategy
Processes such as obtaining furniture from suppliers, storing them at a warehouse, and delivering them to customers can be challenging due to the large sizes of your inventory.
A spare room and your personal vehicle can be enough when you’re only planning to sell a few pieces, but if you want to expand your business, end-to-end fulfillment solutions are an option.
4. Online Presence
If you’re planning to reach furniture shoppers online, establishing a strong online presence should be one of your top priorities.
There are plenty of ways to boost your virtual visibility and sales, including targeted advertising campaigns, social media posts, and email marketing.
Where to Resell Furniture
Your choice of store location or platform can influence how quickly your item sells. It also affects different aspects, like pricing and shipping. Here are a few popular marketplaces for reselling furniture:
1. Apt Deco
Apt Deco is an online marketplace for pre-owned furniture and decor. The platform makes the selling process seamless by providing advertising, payment processing, pickup, insurance, and 24/7 customer service.
What Makes This Option Great
Unlike other online marketplaces, Apt Deco offers a full-service experience, including picking up your furniture and shipping them to your customers for you.
The platform also takes care of scheduling deliveries and collecting payments. They have a free pricing tool on the site as well.
- Fees/Commission: Free listing, selling fee varies per item and can go as high as 48% of earnings
- Payment Methods: Direct deposits, Stripe
2. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is an online buying and selling platform that connects you with interested buyers located nearby. You can use it on a desktop or mobile, and listing items is easy, especially if you already know how to sell on Craigslist.
What Makes This Option Great
This platform allows you to easily reach shoppers who are active on social media and perform quick background checks. You can also create ads to boost listings and make your items more popular on Facebook Marketplace.
- Fees/Commission: No listing fees, 5% selling fee for shipments over $8, flat fee of $0.40 for shipments of $8 or less
- Payment Methods: Cash during pickup, direct deposits, PayPal, Venmo
3. Vintage Furniture Stores and Consignment Shops
Local vintage stores and consignment shops are great places to resell furniture, especially if you don’t have much space in your home and want to get rid of large items quickly.
Quirky and interesting furniture can sell fast when visible to the public in street-facing store windows.
What Makes This Option Great
Selling furniture in physical shops gives you assurance of secure and guaranteed transactions. Unsatisfied customers and returns are less likely since buyers will be able to see and examine the items up close.
- Fees/Commission: Varies per store, typically higher than online platforms
- Payment Methods: Cash, checks, direct deposits
What You’ll Need to Resell Furniture
Here are some things you’ll need to prepare before you start selling secondhand furniture:
- Storage and Working Space: Have a safe, dry, and climate-controlled area where you can store and work on your furniture pieces.
- Furniture Supplies: Keep supplies like disinfectant, brushes, varnish, and sandpaper on hand for minor repairs and quick cleanups.
- Transportation Arrangements: Make arrangements with a courier or delivery service on how you’ll have your used furniture transported in and out of your storage space.
- Protective Packaging: Prepare plastic bags, packing tape, sturdy boxes, and styrofoam to protect your furniture from damage during shipment.
- Online Store or Account: Set up your online store or create an account on a platform that’ll let you list items and receive customer orders.
How to Resell Furniture: Step-By-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps to ensure smooth and successful transactions when reselling furniture:
1. Thoroughly Clean and Repair Your Furniture
Start by wiping down, vacuuming, and sanitizing your item and checking for dents, stains, scratches, loose screws, and other issues.
Make the necessary repairs and consider repainting and reupholstering your furniture to bring it back to its former glory.
2. Prepare Accurate Photos and Descriptions
Around five to seven photos are necessary to give buyers a clear idea of the looks and condition of your furniture.
Avoid filters and stick to high-quality images with a plain and well-lit background. Be as honest, accurate, and detailed as possible in writing the product description.
3. Set Up Your Selling Platform
Now, it’s time to find furniture buyers! Whether you plan to sell through online marketplaces or vintage stores and consignment shops, ensure that your item gets as much visibility as possible.
Consider listing it on multiple platforms and offering seasonal sales, coupons, promo codes, and other great deals to attract customers.
Finalize important details such as payment methods, pricing, delivery time, and return policies.
4. Package and Ship Customer Orders
Don’t forget to wrap or package your item so that it stays safe and dent-free during delivery. Depending on your choice of platform, you may already have shipping arrangements in place.
If not, you can send your furniture through a delivery service or schedule an in person pickup when selling furniture locally. Be careful in giving out personal information, like your home address, to buyers.
Can You Make Money Flipping Furniture?
Whether you do it as a side hustle or full-time, flipping furniture can be a highly profitable business venture.
You won’t need a large upfront investment to begin, as people often donate used furniture, sell them at low prices, or even give them away for free.
With the right deals and DIY moves, you can easily find, fix, and resell these furniture at a much higher price.
The key is to keep an eye out for fast-selling and high-quality pieces with minimal wear and tear that’ll give you an opportunity to make a high profit.
What Is a Furniture Resale Business?
A furniture resale business earns revenue by purchasing secondhand furniture from suppliers and selling them to customers at a profit.
This business can also involve cleaning, repairing, reupholstering, and layering paint on furniture for enhanced functionality and appearance.
You can establish a furniture resale business by listing your items on an online platform or setting up a local brick-and-mortar furniture store.
Other considerations include product shipping, payment processing, customer service, and how to market your available items.
Is Reselling Furniture a Good Way to Make Money?
In addition to having a high potential for profit, there are plenty of advantages in reselling furniture, including low startup costs, creative opportunities, and a steadily growing market.
As a sustainable business, furniture resale reduces waste and helps conserve natural resources.
However, this business venture also comes with a few drawbacks, such as the need for inventory space and difficulty in transporting furniture from one place to another due to its size and heavy weight.
Furniture is also vulnerable to damage during shipment and storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some common queries on reselling furniture:
Can You Sell Second-Hand Furniture on Amazon?
Yes, you can sell secondhand furniture on Amazon by creating an online storefront and connecting with potential customers on the platform.
You’ll need to list your products, specify their dimensions, and include high-quality photos to attract shoppers.
You can rely on Fulfillment by Amazon to handle your warehousing, customer service, and shipping needs.
What Furniture Is in High Demand?
The most in-demand furniture categories include dressers, desks, dining tables, coffee tables, sofas, and quality wood furniture.
Home office furniture, including computer tables, ergonomic chairs, and drawers, are also in high demand due to the increasing popularity of remote work.
When it comes to furniture brands, West Elm, Blue Dot, Anthropologie, and Herman Miller are popular among secondhand shoppers.
Similar Tutorials to Check Out
There’s a lot of earning potential in the furniture resale market, but other options are available if you don’t want to deal with bulky pieces of inventory.
The following tutorials can give you some excellent ideas on other popular and profitable items worth selling:
- Resell Art: Find buyers for your paintings, prints, and other artwork through auction houses, online marketplaces, and galleries.
- Resell Clothing: Sell pre-owned clothing items for a profit by establishing an online store or dealing with secondhand retailers.
- Resell Books: Earn income by selling your old paperbacks, magazines, comic books, and other publications through an online or offline bookstore.
Wrapping Up
To ensure the successful sale of your secondhand furniture, thoroughly clean and repair your pieces.
Provide clear photos and accurate descriptions, and choose the right marketplaces. Provide proper packaging so that your items make it to their destination safely and securely.
Hopefully, our guide has armed you with plenty of tips, tricks, and ideas on how to resell furniture for some extra cash and maybe even turn it into a thriving business!
If you have any questions or insights, feel free to leave a comment below. Don’t hesitate to share this article to enlighten other interested resellers as well.
