Furniture Consignment Gallery Blog

A personal highlight of our business for me is getting the opportunity to pick up high-end furniture consignments from private residences in the New England area.  For starters, I get to ride around in a truck, which helps me to connect with my inner manhood. Aside from the windows down and sports radio blaring, it is never boring when we enter a consignors home.

Working with people and helping them to solve their furniture logistics problems just tickles me to death (to borrow a line from my wife's Southern roots).  Even more than that, new furniture means new excitement and energy in our showroom for our staff and for our on-line and in-store shoppers.  But what about our valued Consignors?!  What's in it for them? After all, they have to wave goodbye to all of these beautiful pieces that were recently purchased that for one reason or another, won't fit wherever they are going.

Here are some reasons why a furniture consignment store that offers in-house pick-up services should get top consideration when choosing a channel to sell your items:

1) If a furniture consignment store accepts an item for consignment and places it on their truck, they feel they can sell it.  Therefore they have a vested interest in removing the item carefully from your home and transporting it safely to their showroom. Safe transport preserves the condition and allows for the highest possible sale price which means the most money for all parties involved.  The last thing we want to do is cause damage to a piece we can sell.

2) Furniture consignment stores move more furniture than any professional moving company.  Thursday, we brought a sofa into the store for sale, sold it one hour later, and then swiftly removed it from the showroom floor. We delivered the sofa Friday.  To put it bluntly: We move a lot of furniture!  This is important because you have people who know what they are doing, have a vested interest in your furniture and have the expertise to remove items from your home quickly and safely.

3) If you have beautiful and marketable furniture, a good furniture consignment store should make arrangements to adjust their schedule to yours.  This leads to great convenience when dealing with life's otherwise stressful and transitional situations.

Safe and convenient pick-up service offered at a reasonable price, is a great reason to consider consignment as an option when selling upscale furniture. 

Leather is having a hard time at the moment.  The average consumer assumes that leather is mass produced and doesn't rely on market conditions or supply and demand.  Leather, as a reminder, comes from cow hide, of which there is a finite supply and is currently experiencing a worldwide shortage.  As a result, leather furniture products are experiencing price increases of 5% to 25%. 

In the near future, we will begin hearing catch phrases like "bonded leather".  Bonded Leather combines synthetics, latex and polyurethanes.  As described by wisegeek.com (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-bonded-leather.htm), bonded leather is the difference between "ground beef" and "steak".  Bonded leather gives the appearance of genuine leather, but is far from the real thing.

With the current supply issues surrounding co

w hides, the most frugal and humane way to purchase a genuine leather product is on the resale market.

If you see a genuine leather product on the resale market, do not hesitate, as the value is likely to be too great to pass up.  Two weeks ago, we had a beautiful Hancock & Moore leather recliner that I was strongly

considering for my own home.  I thought about it overnight and was pacing the showroom floor, ready to take the plunge.  When I walked to the second floor to grab the tag, one of our regular customers was relaxing in "my chair".  Needless to say, he purchased the chair and I am still kicking myself for not moving more quickly.  Leather is durable, looks great and is in short supply.  So if you find it in your favorite consignment store  -- buy it!

 

 

Though it is true that there are many Craigs List-selling-success-stories, it's important to remember that the Craigs List business model lends itself to every scheme imaginable.  On very rare occasions, those schemes can turn into unimaginable tragedies.

It's important to remember that Craigs List is a completely unregulated market.  While you could easily have a seamless, painless, and fair transaction selling your items on Craigs List, there is a chance you won't. The real problem lies in the transactions that don't go so well. As a result, experts are advising potential sellers to take precautions by taking their items to public places where there are many watchful eyes. 

On last Friday's Good Morning America show on ABC, there was a segment highlighting the best ways to handle a Craigs List transaction. One of the suggestions was to meet in a coffee shop or a busy parking lot.

Furniture is different. It is large and hard to move (a dining or bedroom set is not the easiest thing to whip out of your SUV and set-up in a Best Buy parking lot for evaluation). This means that people usually need to look at your furniture in your home.  Though we all try to assume the best in people, you never know an individual's true intentions.  So take precautions to protect your home address and to qualify the character and seriousness of your buyer.

If this latest round of issues teaches us anything, it is that predators can be anywhere, and that there is tremendous value in privacy and confidentiality when selling your items.  If your furniture could be considered upscale, a predator could logically assume that the rest of your possessions are also upscale. While this risk may be relatively small, it is smart to consider all the options.

One option is a trustworthy, local, consignment store to sell your high-end furniture or home furnishings.  With this option, your identity is protected and your confidentiality preserved.  An upscale consignment service should also have the ability to pick-up items from your home to save you the aggravation of transportation. 

It is possible to net equal or even greater profit through a private sale than through consignment. But, if you net a little less and are able to market your furniture anonymously without the aggravation and risks of selling and moving your furniture; it may be well worth it in the end.

A gentleman phoned our store last week and wanted to discuss selling his furniture and he wanted us to know that is was "brand new". "We never even used it!" he exclaimed. When he struggled to describe the set, couldn't recall how he acquired the pieces, how much they cost him or what store they were purchased from, I became concerned that his items were stolen.  After asking a few more Colombo style questions, I uncovered that the set was purchased between 1965 and 1969. That explained why the man couldn't remember much about the purchase process.  But it was the fact that he described his furniture to be "brand new" that initially threw us for the loop.

This is actually a fairly common conversation with our potential consignors. In accentuating the point that they took great care of the their furniture assets, they will tell us that a sofa was only sat on five times or that the dining set was used on Easter 3 years ago and that was the extent of its use.  But what they don't often realize is that their furniture endures a lot of unintentional and unnoticed abuse.

Furniture finishes and upholstered items often break down due to the natural elements and cleaning practices.  Here are some ways to keep your furniture in showroom condition without screaming "don't touch that!" at your kids.

• Be aware of the sunlight in your room.  Sun is one of the great destroyers of furniture.  A dining set may never host a single family dinner and yet can get walloped by the sun every day.  Ultraviolet rays on your furniture will cause significant bleaching, discoloration, peeling finish and flaky wood.  It is important to pay attention to the times of day and year when the furniture will be exposed to these direct rays.  Installing blinds, a film over your windows, or rotating your furniture periodically can help to slow the sun's damaging effects on your prized pieces.

• Living in New England with the crazy weather patterns that we experience can put furniture through the ringer.  Especially in the Spring and Fall when we have the heat on in the mornings and then turn it off during the day, it can be literally torture on your furniture as it absorbs and releases moisture causing it to expand and contract. In these months, close the heating vents in the rooms that host your nicest furniture.  Do your best to position furniture away from heating and cooling vents.

• Believe it or not, dust build-up on your furniture and how it is removed can cause your finish to scratch.  We see dining tables and dresser tops that have been cleaned in a circular motion and under direct lighting, circular scratches are very evident.  Dusting with a damp, clean cloth, is generally the safest and best way to keep the dust mites from compromising your prized finishes.

 

 

Caring for your furniture is as much about understanding the elements that exist in your home and being aware of how they effect your home furnishings.  Furniture doesn't need to be sat on or used to endure wear and tear.  We often have the ugly job of pointing out the results of this unintentional furniture abuse to proud owners who thought they were doing the best for their furniture.

 

It is troubling to continue to watch furniture retailers wallow in the wake of the sluggish housing market.  This is a critical time, when furniture retailers must re-focus their efforts on putting furniture into the hands of the consumer. Unfortunately, furniture retailers seem to only be interested in gimmick promotions that have nothing to do with furniture.

As the gimmick promotions continue to hit new lows such as: "Buy this furniture package and receive a free washer and dryer" (yes--I heard this one), retailers are inadvertantly cheapening the products that they carry.  Retailers don't seem to realize that these gimmicks are causing the consumer to view their furniture to be of lesser value.  In the same vein, the retailer is conditioning the consumer to want an even better price or an extra throw-in.  Now you might say to all this: "I'm a consumer and this is great for me!".  Unfortunately, this mantra of more - more - more for less - less - less is going to prove to be quite messy as we go forward.

As the economy turns, the overseas labor market in countries where furniture is produced will become more competitive, driving costs up.  This could lead to a catastrophic cycle for furniture retailers who, faced with the prospect of higher costs, will choose to use cheaper materials in lieu of raising prices. Just when we think that quality could not possibly get worse in furniture, it will continue to erode.

Furniture retailers have the power to change this bleak outlook and can right this sinking ship. In order to do so, however, they must put the gimmicks aside and demand that their manufacturers produce a better product, not a cheaper one.

The question is asked at least once a day, "What kinds of things do you take for consignment?" The quick answer is "Things that we can sell!" but that's only really half the truth.  There are plenty of items we can sell, but we want to take the pieces that knock the socks off of our buyers.  There are a few specific features that customers are particularly attracted to:

Wood Grain that pops out of the wood.  Well, it doesn't literally pop out of the wood, but customers love to see disctinct and powerful wood grains.  Tiger maple, birdseye maple or walnut, and quartersawn oak will draw the "oohs" and "ahhs" of a potential buyer.

Veneers with a punch always draw a reaction from browsers and buyers, especially those that offer contrasting colors on the drawers of bureaus and the doors of larger pieces.  The crotch walnut or mahogany veneers that are bookmarked together are always crowd favorites.

Furniture with bold inlays almost always sell well.  Mahogany dining tables with a border that has satin wood, ebony wood, or rosewood is striking to the eye and allows a homeowner to mix and match various accent pieces.

Nothing beats a great finish!  Not all finishes are equal, and certain companies and craftsman do better than others.  I've seen good furniture with a sub-par finish sell for significantly less than similar furniture with a superior finish.

Unlike the purchase of your home where it is important to think about resale before you buy, you should not buy furniture for its potential resale value.  However, if you are looking for a way to justify a purchase of high end furniture, pieces that have a great finish, contrasting wood colors and nice veneers will appeal to most buyers if indeed you decide to sell down the road.

 

To most people, redecorating means one thing: New furniture. While this is often the case, there are times where you can have the best of both words: A new look on old furniture. Working with a family at their home in Milton, MA a few weeks ago, the homeowner showed me her son's room. She pointed out the 1950s solid maple twin beds that she would like to replace with something more current.

Instead of junking the beds, we discussed painting them black. A lacquer finish provides a protective coat and a modern look. By doing so, the beds would resemble beds from a Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel. The new look would mean that the beds would last.

By modernizing her furniture, she was sure to save a few greenbacks, keep her existing beds out of a landfill, and create a decor that she and her kids could live with.

Some of the best furniture that we sell has been re-purposed and modernized. The craftsmanship of old furniture is unparalleled; furniture that was built in days past was built to last.  By thinking outside the box, you can allow your furniture to endure. Here are a few things to look for when considering a modern look for your furniture:

• The quality and construction.  Is it built from solid wood? Are the drawers dovetailed?  If yes, modernization is worth pursuing.
• If the furniture looks well weathered or worn, it's O.K.  A little sanding, stripping, and refinishing will leave your furniture looking like new.  Believe it or not, refinishing costs are not based on how beaten the furniture is.
• Polish the hardware.  Hardware can be unscrewed from drawers, and a little Cape Cod Polish (and elbow grease) can make a world of difference. Though it may seem minor, polished hardware does wonders for updating your furniture.

If you've been craving that catalog look to your home, you may be closer than you think.  A little creativity and ingenuity is all you need.

When I watch professional sports, the announcers offer constant praise for mediocre players which makes it difficult to determine which players are truly "great".  When I think of "great", I think of players like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. According to the media, however, the backup guard the Celtics just traded for is also "great".  "Great" has become a word in professional sports that needs further qualification.  This is very similar to how the word "quality" is used when we talk about furniture.

It's important to be watchful of the word "quality", since it's thrown around so much in furniture advertising. I've found that the more a furniture retailer uses the word "quality", the lower quality the furniture actually is.

When I think of "quality", I think of my Fisher Price toys that I played with growing up.  Not only did they withstand my two brothers and I, but my three boys go straight to the closet in Mimi and Grandpa's house that contains the green truck, the helicopter, the boat, and the assortment of characters that I played with as a child.  I have no doubt that my grandchildren will play with these toys as well.

So maybe my view of quality is a little distorted. Maybe my standards are too high! Or maybe we, as consumers, have lowered our collective standard for what constitutes "quality".  

Imagine that we decide to buy a dining room set from one of the giant furniture retailers, taking advantage of no interest and no payments for 12 months.  But after 6 months, the furniture has cracked, the plastic drawer slider snapped, the drawer pull came off, the reclining mechanism in the recliner no longer works, and we haven't even made our first payment on the furniture!  Yet we blame ourselves for being too hard on the furniture.

"Quality" no longer means that the product gets passed from generation to generation. Instead, it means that it looks decent in the showroom and can survive the delivery trip.  It might be O.K. if you move it around once or twice, and if you're really lucky, it will still function as advertised by the time you make your first payment. 

Furniture should be as it once was:  A prized possession in the home, purchased with great pride for the family with hard earned money. Furniture should make memories and survive long enough for us to use while we enjoy those memories. 

I received an e-mail from a potential consignor today and the e-mail began, "I have a 1930s era Heywood Wakefield dining room set. It originally belonged to my wife's grandmother, passed down through two more generations."  Here is a photo of the set.  This, my friends, is quality.

Real Estate prices in Boston are very attractive right now and the time is right to move from that 6,ooo square foot home in the metrowest into a condo in Boston.  Your biggest problem? What to do with all your furniture!

How do you sell fine furniture confidentially and smoothly?  Squishing 14 rooms of pre-owned furniture into an 1,800 square foot condo is physically impossible, and deciding where to put the furniture you don't take with you can prove to be equally daunting. Like any big undertaking, it's best to break this process down into steps.

• Start with pieces that have seen better days and are at the end of their useful life.  Make a list of these pieces and come to terms quickly with the fact that short of a family heirloom, nobody in  your family is going to want your old, broken down furniture. 
• Check with your church or local non profits to see if there is an upcoming auction that could find a use for them. 
• Have a yard sale if you'd like, but as for pieces that don't sell, it's best to take them to the swap section at your local transfer station.
• Consider the size, scale and color of your smaller home and (again) quickly come to terms that oversized pieces won't make this trip.  Even if they are recently purchased high-end home furnishings, it doesn't mean they belong in your new home (especially if they won't fit). 
• Don't save furniture for your kids. The thought is nice, but kids never want the furniture they grew up with. 
• My parents have made a few moves since retiring and have moved and stored the bedroom set I had as a kid as well as my brother's.  We recently sold both sets in our store once my folks realized that these bedroom sets would remain in storage forever.

I can't tell you the amount of times that we have moved 70% of the furniture contents from a home, charged around $100 to do so, and wrote some handsome checks to the consignors as a result of the sales.  Not only did these consignors benefit by turning their furniture into cash, but they also avoided hefty moving and storage costs.

Economize your downsize with smart planning and dispassionate decision making.  It's hard to leave home and the things that represent the best time of your life, but putting your best foot forward means not looking back.  Build a plan and get there.

It should come as no surprise that in furniture consignment, sellers almost always think their items are priced too low and buyers tend to think items are too highly priced.  So how do we arrive at a price?  Though it’s far from an exact science, there is a methodology.  Unlike selling a house, boat or car, there is no MLS system for furniture or Kelly Blue Book to tell us how to value pre-owned furniture, so we must be market savvy.  If you are selling a dining set that you paid $15,000 for 5 years ago, you should look at how many dining sets are selling for $15,000 today. You will quickly find that there are a great deal of dining sets available in today’s market.  Since most buyers can purchase a new dining set of their dreams for $15,000, how do we create an appropriate economic incentive for a buyer to purchase your pre-owned furniture?  Here are some things to consider when pricing your furniture:

• Start by dividing what you paid in half, then see what is available in the marketplace at that price. Let's go back to our dining set example. What if we surveyed the marketplace for dining sets priced at or around $7,500?  How does your set fare against those other sets that are for sale in that price range?
• “Retail” is a fictional number so throw it out the window.   "I paid $15,000 for my dining set 5 years ago, but a similar set retails for $25,000!"  Retail pricing is a bizarre phenomenon in the furniture industry.  Nothing sells for retail.  In fact, most furniture stores discount 30% to 40% off of retail.  So the dollar figure we want to work from is the price that somebody can actually buy the set for "new".
• On top of retail discounts, we are currently in the midst of a recession and so there are two factors to consider: First, furniture retailers are doing anything to get customers to open their wallets, so there are heavily discounted sale prices to consider. Secondly, many furniture stores offer financing, which you cannot offer as a seller.  Again, this may factor into how you decide to price your piece.
• Customization does not translate into resale value.  In fact, it may make your sale more difficult.  "I paid $200/yard for this fabric on my sofa".  Upgraded fabric means that it matches the rest of your home, not a potential buyer’s.
• The question you have to ask yourself is:  “Am I searching for a special buyer who is going to appreciate this unique fabric?” If your answer is “Yes”, you will have to price your item more aggressively than you may have anticipated.
• If you have extraordinary furniture, such as pieces from D.R. Dimes, Eldred Wheeler, Kindel, etc., one of the advantages that you have is that people can have it now! Often pieces from high-end furniture manufacturers are built after the sale, meaning that lead times can run from a few weeks to a few months.
• For this grade of furniture, you should be able to achieve an asking price that is closer to the original purchase price.  These manufacturers pitch their product as an appreciating asset. While they may not actually increase in value, these pieces do have strong marketability on the resale market.
• Condition is paramount!  Tiny scratches can affect the purchase price that you are able to achieve.  Try having a friend evaluate the condition of your furniture and ask them to be picky.  You want to be sure that you have accounted for imperfections in your pricing. 

If you're furniture sells right away, then you likely did your homework and priced it just right. The buyer feels like they got good value for their dollar and the seller walks away with fair market value, some space in their home, and money in their pocket.