When we moved from Utah to Connecticut we had to sell and giveaway A LOT of our furniture and accessories. Our new home in Connecticut is about half the size that it was in Utah, we had a lot of things we were not going to have room for. I was able to sell several pieces with the home. There were extra things that I knew had value and I would have to replace like sofa’s, dining table and beds so I wanted to make some money off of them. I used to be a store buyer and manger of a store in Utah, clients would often ask how much to sell used pieces for when they were buying new things. I thought I would share what has worked for me and some examples and my top tips for selling furniture.
This sectional we sold with the home. I was able to sell it for about half of what it was retailing for in the local store I bought it from. That is not always the case, but a good place to start with. We had used it for about three years and it was in perfect condition. When we are trying to sell upholstery that is a quality piece and want to make some money off of it I suggest-
1- Have it cleaned professionally or with a professional cleaner paying attention to the fabric content and how it can be treated.
2- Sell it without the pillows. All of the pillows on this sofa I currently use and sometimes the pillows value is more than what you are going to make off of the sofa. If you don’t plan on using the pillows keep them for the insert. Most people don’t want the pillows.
3- Always share where you purchased the piece from. This sectional was and still is selling at the store I bought it from, a high-end well known local design store. You can call the store and ask them what they are selling the piece for currently before pricing it out.
4- Find out the quality and construction of the pieces if you are not sure what it is you can google it. Make sure to put that in the description.
Here is an example of a good description-
“Large Sectional” $1999
“10’x10′ Sam Moore Sectional. Purchased at The Black Goose Design for $4,200, currently selling for that same price. Like new, no stains or flaws. Solid wood frame, eight-way hand tied spring system. Comes in pieces, easy to move. Pillows not included.”
The 8×10 rug in the room was a Pottery Barn rug that we had for 7 years I paid around $700 for it. I ended up selling the rug for $100. Rugs can be hard to sell, I would say you can ask for about 25% of what you bought it for would be a good starting point.
This script chair I had for several years and it had some stains on it that I couldn’t get out after trying to clean it. This is not a top quality chair, I bought it for around $500 and ended up selling it for $75. I actually moved it with us to Connecticut and didn’t have a spot for it so I priced it cheap to get rid of it. IF I had the skills to recover it then it would have been worth it to keep. But to have it reupholstered would have cost at least $300 plus the new fabric, about 7 yards or less if you didn’t add welt. This are all important factors to keep in mind when trying to decided to keep something or sell it.
When we remodeled our kitchen I had this stove and fridge that had to go. I sold the fridge for $50 and the stove for $75. My suggestion is to always try to sell things first rather then taking to the dump. I had a lot of expenses with the new kitchen so anything helped. Both sold to people who were really excited, they got a good deal and something got repurposed. (See my remodeled kitchen HERE).
I am excited to be working on a new project, our deck. We have new patio furniture coming, so I needed to get rid of this one. I had bought this table from a girl for $100. When I bought it I asked her where she bought it from and I looked it up, it was currently selling at Target for $250. I just sold it on Close5 a new app that I am in love with! I put this simple description-
“Patio Table”
“5’x5′ patio table from Target. Original Price $250. Only used one summer. Like new.”
It sold within a few hours for $75. I could have started at $100, knowing that I would take $75 if someone offered it, but I was in a hurry to get it off of our deck. When deciding what to price things at you have to factor in how quickly you want it gone.
This app is awesome. I have tried Craig’s List and wasn’t a fan of it. It was hard to load images and took awhile to write descriptions and info. I had also tried a FB group for our area, that worked ok but it was frustrating with how people typed “interested” or “in-line” I was always confused with what that meant and it was a lot of maintenance to keep track of who was first.
Close5 is the easiest way I have found to post images and descriptions. If you are on your phone now you can download the app to your phone HERE. When looking to buy things you put in your location and you can search items in your area and even search for specific items. When you want to talk to the seller you can hit “make an offer” and start a private conversation.
I have been on the hunt for a small dresser in my entry. Since we live in a small house we can use any extra storage we can get. I went to the Close5 app and searched for dressers in my area and this one came up. It was already painted white, what I would have painted it anyways, so I lucked out. I just added the glass knobs that I had already from a different piece. I might had leather pulls to it instead, we will see. I like it for now.
I added some temporary wallpaper that I had leftover from my daughters bedroom to the drawers. I like to line all of my dresser drawers with wallpaper or fabric to keep clothes protected and add some character to the piece of furniture. You can read more about the wallpaper HERE.
I paid $90 for the white dresser on Close5. I had bought this pink dresser at a second hand store for $100. So I knew that around $100 was a good price especially where I didn’t have to do any painting on either. That is something to factor in when buying or selling used pieces, how much work will need to go into making it a great piece again. Good luck finding a piece to re-love or sending one off!
Thank you Close5 for sponsoring this post.
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