If you are looking to make some extra income, then you might consider getting into the flipping furniture business. Furniture flipping is basically buying furniture at a low price, sprucing it up, and selling it for a profit. This might earn you a handsome income if you decide to turn into a full-time business.
Can you really flip furniture for profit?
Yes, you can easily flip furniture for profit. There are people out there making tidy sums of money flipping furniture. For example, Sharon owns a successful furniture refurbishing business called Restore Stuff. She buys old used furniture, restores it at herself and sells it through her website.
Kari who also flips furniture for a living has successfully build Prairie Girl Home, a flipping furniture business. Melanie is another proud owner of a successful flipping furniture business called Lost and Found Decor.
Flipping furniture is not as hard as you may think. Some of the ways you stand to benefit by starting a flipping furniture business include:
- Working from home. Basically, you can set your own hours.
- Earn a home-based income.
- You can use your skills to restore furniture to something that is beautiful and visually aesthetic.
- Connect with people who share the same passion.
How to make money flipping furniture
Flipping furniture is not hard, but like every other business, it has its challenges. You need to know the basics if you are to make any profit from your new venture. These basics include:
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Where to find furniture
There are many places where you can find second-hand furniture. The easiest place to start would be friends and family. You could ask them whether they have furniture they are willing to dispose of for a small amount of money. They may even give you the furniture free of charge.
You could also try Craigslist or eBay. Most people sell their furniture on these sites because the sites have a wide audience reach. However, since Craiglist segments buyers based on their locations, see if you can find one that is within yours.
Garage sales are also good places to find old good quality furniture. People who hold garage sales usually sell their items at throwaway prices, therefore, you may afford to buy more than a few items. Thrift shops are other places you can find good furniture.
Remember, you want to get sellers that are located within or near your location. There is no point in paying shipping fees for an old piece of furniture that will require fixing. Unless of course, it’s a rare antique that is going to fetch millions.
The other reason to look for old furniture in your area is that you’ll be able to inspect the furniture. Something you’ll not be able to do if you buy the furniture online.
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Start with quality furniture
How can you tell that a piece of old furniture is of good quality?
This is tricky especially if you are new at furniture flipping. But there a number of ways you can differentiate good quality furniture from poor quality furniture. Here is what to look out for:
- Inspect the finish. If the finish appears of bad quality, that is a dead ringer that the piece of furniture is of poor quality. Furniture made of softwood, laminates, fabric and melamine is usually inexpensive and really not worth buying. If you want to spot a quality piece of furniture, check to see if it’s made of hardwood such as Mahogany, Oak or Rosewood.
- Test drive it and see how it holds.
- Check the joints. If you notice that they are nailed, glued or stapled, this should tell that you that the piece of furniture is of bad quality.
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Fix whatever needs fixing
The furniture may require minor fixing; however, ensure that it is sturdy enough to withstand any hammering. Remember, any furniture that requires too much fixing is not worth your money and time.
You can also spruce it up by cleaning, polishing or painting it. Nobody wants to buy dirty furniture so make sure it cleaned well this including getting rid of any animal fur if the previous owners owned animals. There are instances where you will need to have the furniture fumigated to eliminate any pests invading it.
Painting the furniture should only be done so if necessary. The less money you spend fixing the furniture, the better. There is no point in spending hundreds of dollars on a second-hand piece of furniture. Some pieces of furniture require some vanish and they are good to go.
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Selling your furniture.
The next and final step is to sell your refurbished furniture. There are a number of places you can put up the furniture for sale this including your own personal website. Other potential marketplaces include:
- Friends and family- Selling them furniture they might need can help start you off.
- Social media sites- You could open a Facebook page and sell your furniture directly from your page. Opening a page is easy and quick, but it helps to have an attractive page. So design it in a way that it will be appealing to visitors.
- Websites – You can sell your furniture on popular e-commerce websites similar to eBay and Craiglist.
- Local newspaper – you can place an ad in the classified section.
- Antique or used furniture stores – look around and see if you can get an antique store that is willing to buy.
- Consignment store – find a consignment store that can provide you with a place to sell your items. Usually, with these stores, you need to pay a small percentage from your sale and you may also be required to pay a monthly fee to keep your furniture on display.
Considerations when selling online
If you are selling your furniture online, you need to show people what you are selling and you can do this by uploading high-quality pictures or videos of the furniture. Videos are a pretty great way to showcase what you are selling since you can capture your items on all angles.
Also, provide a detailed description of the furniture you are selling. Avoid exaggerations, be succinct and honest.
Become an expert
You can do more than sell used furniture, you can share your expertise with other people. It is easier to build your business if people realize that you are knowledgeable about furniture because:
- People will find it easier to trust you. Trust is paramount in any form of business.
- You are more likely to get referrals and return customers.
- Customers are more likely to offer you custom jobs. These are jobs that include fixing up their old furniture at a price, which can be another form of good income.
- You will have an easier time finding old furniture because people will readily offer you their furniture. This might help reduce the amount of time you spend looking for good quality furniture.
Also, you can start a blog and share ideas with your visitors such as:
- where to buy cheap quality furniture
- how to maintain or clean furniture
- Interior design ideas
- How to the difference between good quality furniture and bad quality furniture
- Where to buy antiques
- How to tell if an antique is real or fake
Provide your readers with information about furniture that they can find helpful. By doing this, your business is going to experience immense growth within a very short time.
In addition, you might want to do some value addition to your furniture flipping business. This might include delivery service, new painting techniques, giveaways, contests, and promotions. The more engaging you are, the more you are likely to draw in more customers.
In Conclusion
One major key consideration is that the cost of buying and fixing the furniture should not be too high. And because you are not buying brand new furniture, try and minimize on other costs including shipping.
Also, buy furniture that you know is going to sell. You can fetch a good a profit by selling genuine antique furniture. But with this type of furniture be ready to spend a fortune because they are not cheap.
The bottom line is flipping furniture for profit is not hard, it just needs a little dedication. With a good plan and budget, you will be making money in no time. Who knows, it might become your main source of income. And if you enjoy doing it what better way to earn money than when you are doing something you love.
