Flipping Furniture For Profit: Tips And How

Flipping furniture is an easy way for everyone, and if you have an eye for underpriced items that other people would be willing to buy, you can actually make money doing it. The challenge is that you can’t just go out and buy any piece and expect it to sell like hotcakes.

In this article, you will learn abot how to buy furniture? Where to buy? How to flipping furniture? How to sell? Continue reading.

What Exactly is Flipping Furniture?

The practice of purchasing used furniture on the cheap and reselling it for a profit is known as flipping furniture.

While some flippers might not want the extra work, others might decide to renovate the item in order to increase their profit.

Most flippers spend their time perusing Facebook Marketplace, flea markets, and thrift shops for items that can bring in a sizable profit.

You’ll sell the piece after you’ve given it a fresh coat of paint and make money. Sounds simple, right?

Is Flipping Furniture Profitable?

It’s important to determine whether learning how to flip furniture is even worthwhile before doing so.

Is selling furniture for a profit?

Absolutely.

Flipping furniture successfully can result in enormous financial gains. With this lucrative side job, some flippers earn over six figures annually.

What Pieces of Furniture Should You Flip?

Older pieces of furniture with lots of character and flaws tend to be some of the best to flip. It might be a dresser, an antique side table, or a variety of other things. Regarding flipping furniture, you have a plethora of options.

Look for high-quality items that have aged well and exhibit signs of normal wear and tear. These items can be repaired and sold for a lot more money than you initially invested.

You can tell if a piece is high quality by looking for a few specific traits. I always look for:

  • Heavy Furniture. Solid wood is typically used in the construction of heavy furniture, which is a surefire sign of its superior quality. To gauge how heavy the object is, try lifting it up. Furniture made of solid wood can be more profitable than other types.
  • Dovetail Joints. Finding real wood furniture with dovetail joints is another indication that the item was well-made to last.
  • Scratch Resistant. Furniture made of solid wood of a higher caliber will be harder to scratch.

For those just starting out, look for more straightforward pieces to refinish. Depending on your skills, you may want to buy items that are in worse condition.

To spot lower quality furniture, you’ll want to look for these qualities:

  • Particle board, plywood, or fiberboard were used in the construction.
  • joints of poor quality that are nailed or stapled.
  • pieces in need of a thorough revitalization. These may require a lot of time and effort to flip, which will reduce your profits.

What Types of Furniture Should You Buy for Flipping?

In general, you can start making money faster the quicker you can finish the project. Days will pass more quickly on a small end table than on a large dresser or buffet. However, it also won’t generate as much revenue or profit. Here are some ideas for quick selling items in my experience:

  • End tables
  • Dressers
  • Buffets
  • Storage Chests

Things that are practical sell more quickly. and items that can be loaded into a truck or trailer by one or two people alone. It might take a little longer to move heavier and larger items like china cabinets and dining table and chair sets.

Traditional china cabinets are rarely used today, and they are frequently unusable due to space constraints. Those are a little harder to sell, in my experience, but once again, it depends on your population.

Additionally, these larger items will probably cost you more up front. Therefore, you must ensure that you can turn a profit. Additionally, painting a dining table and chairs will take much longer because it is more difficult. The amount of time you spend must be considered.

Additionally, don’t disregard something just because it is dirty or offensively smelling. You can rest assured that it can be cleaned. Even decades of cigarette smoke can be removed with a lot of work and ingenious solutions, as I discovered in this buffet I found for $50!)

Also – it’s super important to pay attention to the time of year, particularly if you live in a college town like me. The days between move-in and move-out (for dorms, apartments, etc.) are prime opportunities to find bargains. Students frequently prefer to sell heavy items rather than move them because they are unable or unwilling to do so.

flipping furniture

What Furniture Should You Avoid?

I wouldn’t advise you to never purchase any particular item. Bed frames, however, don’t sell well, at least not in the area where I live and from my experience. Although bed frames are naturally purchased, they don’t appear to be as profitable to sell.

Due to the time commitment, I didn’t enjoy installing dining tables, but again, check your local regulations. Take one of those popular items. Another strange item that doesn’t seem to sell well in this country is bookshelves.

In General, Avoid These Items for Furniture Flipping:

  • You don’t know how to fix broken things. If you come across a gorgeous dresser, but three of the drawers are broken, pass it up unless you can fix it or use it for something else without drawers.
  • Furniture with drawers that don’t slide – this is the top question I get when selling furniture with drawers – “do the drawers slide well?”. Sticky drawers are undesirable to people.
  • A piece that has been overpainted excessively should be avoided unless you want to remove the paint and start over. Without a doubt, it can be done, but it will take time. It will be obvious if you attempt to paint over a poor paint job.
  • If you’re flipping furniture, part of the appeal is that it’s typically older and of higher quality, which is why people want to buy it. However, cheaply made furniture is not desirable to people. Another popular question I get from buyers is “is it solid wood?”. They want to know if they are investing in a product that will last for many years.
  • Unsteady or wobbly pieces: If you can’t set something on it without it shifting or wobbling, skip it unless you can fix it. Even though it might occasionally be a simple fix, move on if it appears to be in danger of disintegrating.

Where Do You Find Furniture to Flip?

The hardest part of flipping furniture is frequently sourcing your inventory. I’ll look at some of your top choices to locate furniture that is ready for resale!

Facebook Marketplace

Because they cannot be moved easily, furniture items are frequently found at steep discounts and are typical of higher quality.

For instance, whenever someone moves, they frequently don’t want to move all of the furniture and occasionally sell some of their items for incredibly low prices. You have the ideal chance to make money right now!

Make sure you have a way to get the pieces to your house, though.

For instance, I discovered this amazing antique chest that was only listed for $100 but that I can easily restore and sell for over $300. The asking price is $100; keeping that in mind, a reasonable offer would be between $50 and $75.

Check out a few recommendations for buying on Facebook Marketplace if you’ve never used the service before.

Garage Sales Or Yard Sales

To find furniture to resell, garage sales are yet another excellent option.

The only drawback is that you occasionally need to spend a lot of time searching through various yard sales to find items.

This can be a huge opportunity if you come across a neighborhood-wide yard sale. There will undoubtedly be a few pieces in a variety of homes.

Where do you look for yard sales? To find sales in your neighborhood, visit YardSales.net!

Estate Sales

For finding furniture to resell, estate sales can be another common gold mine.

The best thing about estate sales is that you can get some fantastic items for a very low cost. You can frequently find high-quality furniture that needs some TLC at these sales because they typically take place after someone passes away.

The drawback of estate sales is that you must outbid other shoppers for the same items, which is not so great.

Thrift Stores

Yard sales and estate sales can both be effectively replaced by thrift stores.

Although I’ve discovered that it can be more challenging to consistently find good pieces, a thrift store is likely to have a much more consistent inventory than either of those two places.

Craigslist

When it comes to online shopping, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are very comparable.

It’s significantly less active than Facebook where I live, but that may not be the case where you live.

To find furniture in your area, you can browse various items and filter by furniture. What you uncover could astound you.

Offer Up

Because Offer Up is solely an app-based platform, it differs from some of the other strategies.

I’ve discovered that Offer Up works well for finding local items, but finding furniture, in particular, can be challenging.

Friends and Family

Offer to take something off of the hands of any friends or family members who are trying to get rid of it. They’ll be relieved to get it out of the house, and you might be able to score a fantastic item for little to nothing at all. The best pieces to flip might be these.

Moving Companies

Yep, that’s right. On a daily basis, moving companies handle a large volume of furniture, and if any of it is damaged, they may be required to keep a few items that their clients no longer desire.

Why Should You Take Patience While Flipping Furniture?

It takes time to get your finished product unless you find something flipping furniture is incredibly cheap and offered for sale. It will take a few days to actually prepare and paint, so allow yourself that much time.

Small end tables can probably be completed in one or two days, but a large dresser will take much longer. Don’t rush and give yourself enough time.

  • Prep and Clean
  • Sanding (if necessary)
  • Primer (if necessary)
  • Paint – allow proper drying time and possibly a second coat
  • Sealer or Topcoat
  • Curing time

If you want to sell something to someone, you don’t want it to immediately peel or chip. Therefore, the finish needs to cure so that your project looks good. Customers who are not happy tend to talk, especially in these digital times.

What to Avoid When Flipping Furniture?

Now that you have everything figured out and are prepared to begin, there are a few tips that may enable you to increase your earnings. And that’s why you’re doing it, to make a profit!

Avoid crazy colors. Perhaps you have a thing for bright yellow. There is nothing wrong with that at all. However, it is a simple fact that neutral colors are more commercially successful. Although I don’t have anything against strong colors, you want to attract customers and are trying to appeal to a broad audience.

You have a better chance of making money off the sale of your furniture if you can win over the mass market. Even though not everything needs to be white, there is nothing wrong with a little bit of experimentation. However, the bold colors might not be as popular. So just be prepared.

Limit the amount of responsibility you take on. Even though it can be difficult to resist a good offer, finish any unfinished projects in your garage or basement before moving on to other things. Very quickly, things can spiral out of control. Just ask my husband or the garage!

Stalk your online yardsales – see what goes fast and then start searching for similar items. Dressers are very popular around here when students move into new apartments.

Avoid using shortcuts that compromise the quality of your work. Take pride in your furniture flips, even though it may seem obvious. Clean out the drawers, dust the cobwebs from underneath, and take off the hardware before painting—all the little things that set your work apart from the competition will boost your earnings.

flipping furniture

How to Market Your Flipping Furniture?

All right, you’ve found the ideal flipping furniture to perfection. You must now sell it to earn money.

Naturally, online markets are the most obvious places to sell. Consider creating a Facebook page if you plan to do this as a side business on the side.

You’ll have a specific location to sell your goods if you think of a name. Include links to your listings on neighborhood websites, your personal Facebook page, and Facebook yard sale sites.

Alternatively, if you frequently engage in this activity, you might think about reserving a booth in a vintage or thrift shop. This will undoubtedly reduce your profits, but you won’t need to worry about contacting people frequently to schedule pickups.

The booth space will probably cost you around $100 per month (depending on the location), plus they will keep a portion of the proceeds. However, if you have plenty of inventory and the time to dedicate to it, this can be a lucrative job.

How To Selling Flipping Furniture?

  • People will ask if you can list every dimension. Include it in the summary.
  • Indicate with clarity whether you are adamant about the price or open to haggling.
  • Instead of listing your address on your post, specify the town where the item must be picked up or if you are willing to deliver, including the delivery charge.
  • Perhaps one of the most important secrets you should know is how to stage your item. People won’t look at your listing again if you take a blurry photo in a pitch-black space.

Grab your phone and browse the furniture classifieds in your area. Which ones do you find more appealing? No, not the dark, fuzzy pictures!

You don’t need to take professional-quality pictures, but if you’re using your phone, download the Lightroom app for nothing. Upload your pic, go to the “light” setting, and adjust the exposure. Your photos will look much better with just one easy fix.

I understand that it can be a hassle if you’re painting in your garage or basement, but take the time to bring it inside your house, add some accessories, and show off how it can be used.

When I’ve staged a flipping of furniture, the item always sells for the asking price and does so quickly.

People are more likely to purchase something if they can see how attractive, and practical, and if they can picture it in their space. When they see it in your house, all decorated and tidy, they can also get a better idea of how it fits a space.

Add a pretty lamp, a stack of books, or a vase of flowers; it doesn’t need to be elaborate. Simply make it attractive; if it looks good, people are more likely to part with their hard-earned money.

Here is an end table that I painted several times before deciding I didn’t need it. It was painted a stunning blue color, I added some accessories, and it quickly sold. I received so many offers so quickly that I obviously didn’t ask for enough money to cover them. I just wanted it gone!

These three pictures caught my attention the moment I saw them online this morning. I can picture them in my home because of how lovely they look and how well they are staged. These would be at the top of my list if I were shopping for a dresser or buffet.

And a Bonus Tip If You Want to Start Flipping Furniture for Profits

A cheap test piece of furniture can be found. For practice, take a small table or a bedside table. I had a nightstand that I ended up repeatedly painting, staining, distressing, testing out various topcoats or sealers, and doing anything else I wasn’t sure how it would turn out.

I spent about $20 on it, but I ultimately saved a ton of time. I would use that nightstand to test out new strategies. Grab a tester piece if you’re not an experienced professional.

Furniture flipping can generate a good side income or even become a full-time job. It’s rewarding to have a hobby that enables you to express your creativity while earning money.

Even though it takes time and money to get started, if you find the right projects, like this dresser makeover I did, you can make a respectable income. Additionally, you’ll be helping to prevent all of that unwanted furniture from ending up in landfills!

Even though it takes time, selling and refinishing furniture can bring in a sizable profit. Even though it takes longer, it can be very lucrative if you enjoy working on projects.

If you’re just getting started, check out my comprehensive guide to painting wood furniture. It has lots of useful advice on paints, sealers, techniques, and more to help you start turning a profit.

, and if you have an eye for underpriced items that other people would be willing to buy, you can actually make money doing it. The challenge is that you can’t just go out and buy any piece and expect it to sell like hotcakes.

Now, do you know more issues about flipping furniture? Start your own flipping furniture, and sell it for profit.