How to Sell Used Furniture

Posted on | March 1, 2010 | 1 Comment

When selling anything one needs some sort of hook, for lack of a better word to spark people’s interest and selling used furniture is no different. So, what we do is start by analyzing our merchandise and its strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this exercise is to find the best way to capitalize on the merchandise’s strengths and try to minimize the influence of the weaknesses on the prospective clientele. Maybe one can even find a way of turning the weaknesses into strengths. So, what are the strengths we want to point out when trying to sell used furniture?

Well the immediate advantage that used furniture would have is that it would be cheaper than new merchandise and we can use that as a selling point when trying to unload an old chair and a few old couches and tables. The thing that would bother anyone is that this perspective is just too simple and the advantages are all in the favor of the customer. One would want the advantages of sale balanced in favor of the merchant as well. The whole process is give and take after all, like all relationships. So how do we achieve this balance?

Well the furniture is old and that could be construed as a weakness to the unimaginative, but what if we simply changed the word old to the word antique. Now this is where things get very interesting for the seller. Now obviously not all the furniture you are selling falls under the description of antique, but perhaps some will. All you need to do is take interesting looking items and get them appraised and you might find that it was well worth the effort and expense. In fact buying old items should be a search for those old hand me downs that many people have stored away, collecting dust and have no idea of their worth. It is sometimes incredible how ignorant some people are of their historical heritage and this is something you can use to your advantage.

Furniture, especially when properly taken care of and sometimes even if it has not been; when carrying a history with it can also carry great value. Think of it this way! What table would you want, the table with the doodle scratched into it by Picasso or the newer one without it? So learn what you can about the items in question before selling used furniture because as many people have found watching the TV program ‘Antique Road show’; you never know what prizes you may have that you are completely ignorant of. Do not just sell used furniture; sell furniture with a story and a history.

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