Furniture Consignment Gallery Blog

Hey this is Christa, your friendly, FCG computer nerd and photographer!

We've had some great new features added to our website recently by our team.We've been on the quest of making the site even more user friendly for all of our valued customers! You may have noticed the red price tags. not only are they snazzy to look at but right underneath that tag we now have the next drop down price and the date it will drop down. That brings me to our first tutorial!

TUTORIAL: Email Reminders for Price Drops

This way you can have the computer automatically send you a friendly reminder that that wonderful piece you wanted has dropped to the next price (usually 10% off)! It's really easy to do this:

STEP 1: click the button circled in red below that says "Schedule a price drop reminder"

STEP 2. Type in Your name (this helps keep your important reminder out of that automated spam folder)

STEP 3. Type in the email address you would like to recieve the price update to (make sure it's something you check often so you don't miss out on a great item!)

STEP 4. Click the "Set Reminder" button

STEP:5 Click "OK" to confirm the email subscription to the item

STEP: 6 You should see this screen saying you'll recieve an update the day before the price drop and then you can just click the "Close Window" to continue shopping your heart out.

TUTORIAL: Email an Item to Yourself or a Friend

The other new feature that you may have noticed in your browsing on our site is the "Email a Friend" button. This little gem will help you email a piece you think would be perfect for that friend or relative without having to copy, paste and send the link from your own email.

STEP 1: Click the Purple button that says "CLICK to email This Piece To a Friend"

STEP 2: Type your name (so the recipent knows who sent this awesome piece of furniture gold to them and can thank you later for your brillance)

STEP 3: Type the recepient's email

STEP 4: Write a short message it you'd like about why this is right up their alley or leave it blank, whatever you'd like

STEP 6:Click "OK" to send the message on it's way

STEP: 7 Revel in your greatness of finding that perfect thing for him/her and click "Close Window" to return to your shopping bliss.

Salespeople are among the highest paid workers in many companies. Why? Selling is not easy! Smart companies know there are few things as valuable as winning new customers and keeping old ones happy. Top salespeople make a good living because they know the art of the sale.

You don’t need a business degree to learn how to sell your furniture, but there are some handy tricks of the trade.  

• Don’t show dirty furniture. Clean it before inviting in prospective buyers. Vacuum the upholstery. Try to remove stains. Nobody wants to see popcorn kernels and puppy hair when they are considering buying your sofa. And few things are as disgusting as gum stuck on the underside of a table.  Trust me, I've seen it!  Dust your furniture, but don’t use a polish that will rub off on buyers’ hands.  Make sure an old gum drop doesn't stick to someone’s pants when he sits on your sofa. Yep, that's happened to me, too.  Yuck!
• Don’t fib about flaws. You didn't notice the giant crack in the middle of the dining table you rated a perfect 10 out of 10? "Wow, I didn't see that!"  I love that little lie. Be honest about your furniture. If there are scratches, run to the hardware store and buy a couple of furniture markers. Minwax  makes markers that costs less than $5. They work like magic.
• Don’t overprice your furniture. If you set too high a price, you are wasting your time. Do a little research. Is your furniture old, worn or out of style? Respect your potential buyers. They are looking for a bargain, but they aren’t fools.
• Don’t have your furniture professionally cleaned. You shouldn’t invest more money in items that you want to sell. And, often, you can do a good job yourself with a bit of elbow grease. 
• Don’t restore furniture before selling. Refinishing and reupholstering is very expensive, and you rarely get your money out of this kind of an investment. Price your furniture based on its current condition. Let the new owner decide whether or not to refinish your piece.

Seller's remorse shifts into overdrive when we think about what we paid for something and look at the realities of the marketplace for similar pre-owned items.  Inevitably we stare off into space and say to ourselves, "what was I thinking??"

We are working with a customer who spent over twenty thousand dollars each on a handful of fine Persian rugs that no longer fit their living space.  They are moving cross country where the styles are different and the rugs need a new home. Finding a buyer for these rugs at even a few thousand dollars a piece will be a challenging task.  This couple is struggling with this reality.

Getting beyond Seller's Remorse is very difficult for many couples.  Here are three ways to combat Seller's Remorse:

1. Think logically about your situation. Did you purchase a product or a vision?  Paying for upgrades and customizations to achieve the exact right look for your living space often leads to overspending.  It happens a lot and it is not worth beating yourself up over it.  Move on!
2. Consider that even though you may be forced to part with a piece for far less than what you paid for it, feel good that someone else will use it and will appreciate it.  Accept the silver lining as it beats the alternative of paying additional moving and storage fees for furniture that you will never use again.
3. Make up for it on the other end.  There is a great deal waiting for you on your next purchase.  Spend some time hunting before you jump. We know of a great Furniture Consignment Store in Hanover, Massachusetts where you can quickly counter your loss.

On the other hand, there are other individuals who will make a spectacle of selling an old coffee mug. So how you sell your personal items, and specifically your furniture, depends on your personality, how much time you have and how much effort you are willing to expend. There is a different method of selling for each seller!

Consider the Newspaper: If you have vintage non-antique items dating from the 1940s through the early 1970s.  It is true that the newspaper readerships are plummeting faster than a piano out a seventh story window, but buyers for pieces from that time frame still tend to get their information from old fashioned print. Therefore, print media still has its place. Newspaper advertisements run from $15 - as much as you want to spend depending on the publication and size of the ad.

Consider CraigsList: If your items have minimal resale value associated with them. For starters, it is free to post an item on there. Secondly, there is a great market on www.CraigsList.com where individuals are looking for something functional for a low price. This is the perfect place to sell your sofa for $50.

Even for high-end furniture CraigsList can still be effective. If you have the time, like the sport of selling your pieces and want to maximize your proceeds from the sale, CraigsList can get the job done. You may have to deal with some missed appointments, low ball offers, and a shady character or two, but you may be pleased with the results. Spend some time researching the active scams before agreeing to an offer.

eBay: is the most difficult avenue for selling furniture as most people want to see it, feel it, sit on it and touch it in person.  Though furniture certainly sells on ebay, it tends to be expensive to ship.  eBay does a great job of maintaining privacy and confidentiality for sellers.

An Auctioneer: is a great option for vintage 1940s pieces and older.  Auctioneers are especially effective if you have a rare piece, have items that include collectibles, jewelery and silverware, etc.  An auctioneer is generally not going to be very interested in "newer" items.  Auctioneers operate on a percentage basis and also charge a buyers premium.  A good auctioneer should offer a pick-up service for your items.  Be sure to check reputations and references before selecting an auctioneer.

An Estate Sale or Tag Sale is another great option for an upscale estate looking to sell many pieces of furniture. This option allows for quick payment and divestiture of your items. Your estate sale specialist should be extremely trustworthy, a good marketer and have a plan for items that don't sell.  Comfort and trust are paramount in an Estate Sale as they will be dealing with handling the general public in your home while you are not there. Estate Sale specialists will take anywhere between 15% - 35%.

Consider Consignment for most situations. Similar to an estate sale, it is important to be comfortable with and to trust the business owner. Consignment stores generally have space constraints and serve a specific market based on their business model. It is important to partner with a consignment business that sells the types of things that you have. A well-run consignment store should have good customer traffic, and as a result will be able to show your items to a lot of buyers. This allows you to achieve a strong purchase price. Merchandising is also important in a consignment store. If you had a living room grouping in your home that was coordinated to go together, it would be great if the store has the appropriate space and layout to display the pieces together.

Unlike an estate sale, consignment stores offer anonymity and confidentiality when selling your items. They protect your home and your name from the prying eyes of the general public. Most importantly, consignment stores give your items time to land in the hands of the right buyer. A consignment store will take a higher percentage for the conveniences and overhead that they must supply.  Consignment stores take anywhere between 30% -70% for the sale.

There are positives and negatives associated with all of the options. The solution is different for each individual.  Sometimes the right solution is a combination of the available options.  Someone might swear that CraigsList is the answer and that he or she would never pay a consignment store half of the sale. The next person would never subject him or herself to the in-home risks of dealing with anonymous strangers from the Internet under any circumstances. Every piece of furniture, seller, and buyer is unique. Likewise, so is every sale.