We all have hobbies, right? A lot of us dream about making our hobbies our full-time jobs. That rarely works out, but not being able to work at your hobby full-time doesn’t mean you can’t make some money on it. For example, maybe you are into restoring old furniture. Did you know you can earn some extra cash by furniture flipping?
Furniture flipping is the interior decoration equivalent of home flipping. It is based on the same principle but doesn’t cost you nearly as much money and doesn’t come with all the inherent risks of buying and selling real estate. It is also a ton less work. If restoring furniture is something you enjoy doing, why not sell some of your pieces? After all, you only have so much space in your own home.
Furniture Flipping Basics
Lehi, Utah’s Jami Ray Vintage explains that furniture flipping is just what its name implies. You buy a piece of furniture, refurbish it, and sell it for a higher price. The principle is no more complicated than that. However, Jami Ray says that making money takes skill and know-how. It also takes practice.
The people most likely to buy flipped furniture know what they want. They are very fussy. They also know how much they are willing to pay. The hardest part about making money on furniture flipping is learning all of that. It takes time to figure out your customer base. It takes time to figure out pricing. All the while, you don’t want to go broke buying pieces you can’t sell.
Do Some Window Shopping
A good way to get started in furniture flipping is to do some shopping yourself. Actually, you want to do more window shopping than actual purchasing. The goal is to visit local antique shops and craft co-ops to see what other vendors are doing. Look at the kinds of pieces they sell and what they price those pieces at.
While you are shopping, ask questions. Ask shop owners what customers like and don’t like. Ask them what types of pieces sell the most. The more information you can glean from people already in the business, the more prepared you will be to buy that first piece and get going.
Customers Will Want to Negotiate
Making money as a furniture flipper requires at least a fundamental ability to negotiate. You are going to set your prices at one point; customers are going to counter with lower prices. You will eventually wind up settling on something in the middle. However, an inability to negotiate can seriously reduce your profit. So that’s something else you’ll have to work on over time.
Refurbishing Your Pieces
Most of this post has talked about the business aspects of furniture flipping. Do not forget the refurbishing aspect. Every piece you buy is going to be cleaned up at the very least. You are probably also going to do a lot of sanding, painting, staining, etc. You may even have pieces that need minor repairs.
These are all things you can learn with time, practice, and a bit of instruction. Make the most of internet resources. If you can take continuing education classes in your town, do that too. It might also help to do a little research on upscaling. That is the big thing with millennial homeowners right now. If you can give your refurbished pieces that upscaled look, you’ll find them a lot easier to sell.
Furniture restoration is a fantastic hobby. It can also be a way to generate a little extra walking around money. It is called furniture flipping.
