Selling Used Furniture
What You Should Know If You Want To Sell Your Used Furniture For Cash
In this article I will tell you what happened when I wanted to sell my old furniture on platforms like Marketplace, Craigslist, Chairish, and AptDeco.
In Spring, I made an extreme makeover of my home — getting rid of my used furniture. I’m a resident of Manhattan, so I thought it would be better to sell my old stuff online.
Here I will relate my experience trying to sell my furniture on several marketplaces online.
1. FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE AND CRAIGSLIST HAVE A LOT IN COMMON.
Between Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, Marketplace outstands. Both are free platforms, but things that I advertised on Facebook Marketplace were sold faster.
Also, Facebook offers additional reliability by letting you see the buyer’s profile and identity. This way you can feel safer while you are dealing and getting paid with the buyers. On the other hand, Craigslist offers anonymous transactions with people you don’t know anything about.
This is a little guide to advertise on Facebook Marketplace:
Describe your item, post photos of it, and specify your country, city, etc. Posts are free, but there’s a paid option to “stand out” and sell faster.
These are the prices I could sell my stuff on Facebook Marketplace:
$75 for my Unused Pottery Barn Carpet. Also $75 for my Kling Mahogany Mirror from the 50s. $100 for my Kling Bed from the 50s without mattress.
2. CHAIRISH 👍 👍👍
There are marketplaces specialized in used furniture, such as Chairish, and AptDeco. The first one is an ideal place for designers, and both are great if you’re looking for restored furniture and antiques. Both platforms ask for a fee for the maintenance of the page.
I think Chairish is the ultimate marketplace to sell your antiques for cash. The advertising system is friendly, and so are the curation proceedings. I posted pics and described each piece, and the furniture got new owners in a matter of weeks. When a user buys your item, you can chat with him to arrange the delivery. I couldn’t sell my stuff on AptDeco, but if you are in the Northeast, AptDeco might work for you, especially for Ikea furniture, which you can’t buy on Chairish.
Another thing to consider is that shipping this kind of things costs a lot of money, and additional delivery costs will make your stuff even harder to get rid of. I’m from New York, and each of the guys who bought my furniture came personally to take the items, instead of paying for the delivery.
Posting your old Furniture on Chairish:
Quite good payment for used stuff and sold quickly. They ask you to post photos and specify measurements. Delivery prices for the seller are more expensive than other platforms. Things I managed to sale on Chairish:
Kling Mahogany Bedside Table from the 50’s for $200, -$60 fee; Kling Mahogany Desk from the 50’s for $115, -$35 fee.
3. YOU CAN ASK MORE FOR FAMOUS BRANDS.
Some brands are intensely sought-after and will go more quickly for more cash. Chairish is interested in emblematic items, per example Roche Bobois forniture, B&B, Ligne Roset, or De Sede. I had no chance to sell my stuff on AptDeco, but they particularly expressed a preference for names likes West Elm, Restoration Hardware, CB2, Crate and Barrel, etc. Chairish and AptDeco have a soft spot for the 40’s and 50’s forniture.
You might get a lot more money for items from those brands on both sites than what I received for my low sought-after furniture. You will more likely sell Ikea furniture quickly as well, in which case you will probably choose Marketplace or AptDeco, since you can’t sell those on Chairish. I have a friend who had the luck of getting more money selling his Ikea table than he once paid for it.
4. GIVE IT TO SOMEONE WHO NEEDS IT … TRY CRAIGSLIST AND NEXTDOOR
If you can’t sell your furniture on none of the above mentioned sites, just give them away to someone who needs them. Craigslist and Nextdoor give you the “free” option.
Craigslist gives you the option of “free” for a price, and that makes it outstand from other marketplaces. The other site I recommend is NextDoor, which is like a neighborhood marketplace. People on Nextdoor might be living on your neighborhood, making it fast and practical, especially when you have little time to get rid of some furniture. Let’s say that you have to clear the place before the weekend, or you have a lot of stuff blocking your door.
I could just throw it away but I really like the face to face communication with the interested person. One day my printer stopped working and I gave it away. The guy who took it called me after a few hours to tell me that it printed fine, it only took a tiny adjustment. A few months ago, I donated a carpet to a teacher, and once that I gave away a pair of sofas, and the person who picked them up was so kind that he wanted to restore my desk for free.
And don’t forget: When you donate something, keep in mind that though you are not receiving any payment, your customer might be wasting time, or even money in a delivery service, or asking for a favor to someone who has a vehicle, to pick up your stuff, so the best that you can do is to be true about the state and the wear of your furniture.
5. GIVE IT AWAY!
When you can’t get money on any exchange platform, you should call a charitable organization to come get your furniture for free. They won’t put cash on your hand, but you will have a deduction on your taxes. If you live in NYC, you can contact charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity, HousingWorks or Yeshiva Kol Yaakov. It is very useful to take a look at their sites beforehand to know whether your piece of furniture is or is not what they’re looking for.
Besides my old wood stuff, many leftover bedding pieces like pillows and blankets went to an animal care foundation I discovered online called Humane Society, that is looking for used blankets. If there are other organizations that accept pieces of furniture or beddings, please let me know.
A few tips before you advertise your furniture on a website — and a little consideration about safety
My tip. If you want cash for your furniture, you should try first Chairish and Facebook Marketplace. If those places don’t work for you, try contacting someone who needs them through Craigslist or NextDoor, or call a charitable organization to pick them up.
Safety first. I live in the Big City, and I think it’s more secure to let my housekeeper take care of my stuff and receive the customers for me, so I don’t need to open my door to strangers and hence I don’t take any risk.
In less populated locations, I’d rather tell you to make an appointment with your customer in a public place, perhaps in the park, a train station, or a McDonald’s restaurant or maybe send your furniture to charity yourself rather than telling someone you don’t know your address. And remember you can’t post your address on any resale site.
I hope you liked this article and good luck selling your used furniture for cash!
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