When you talk about side hustles, a lot of people are immediately drawn to ideas like blogging or freelancing. While these are excellent ways to earn some extra money on the side, there are many others that get neglected. One of these is flipping furniture for money, which isn’t just a side hustle but can also serve as a full-time job.
Flipping furniture is a great option for those who wish to make money from the comfort of their own homes. It’s also ideal for those who are looking for temporary work.
The choice is yours, though; become a full-time flipper or do it as a side hustle. The idea here is to make some extra bucks if you are willing to put in some elbow grease!
What Is Flipping Furniture?
Flipping furniture is finding furniture pieces and objects that others don’t see value in, giving them a makeover, and making money after you sell them.
For instance, if someone is selling an old dresser at a low price, you purchase it and bring it home. You give it a makeover by painting it, fixing any loose ends, and then selling it at a higher price. After deducting the money spent on supplies, the remaining amount is your profit!
From dressers to kitchen tables, you can transform any piece of furniture to give it a brand new appearance. It is often referred to as the ‘upcycled’ look, which seems to be trending among millennials.
So, from the looks of it, flipping furniture for money sounds like an excellent opportunity to begin right at home. If it is something that interests you, you could actually turn it into something permanent, too!
How and Where To Find Furniture Items?
To get started on flipping furniture, you first need to find good quality furniture pieces and objects. It might be a little challenging at the start, but you will learn where the best places are over time.
There are a few great options to begin with where you can look for the best furniture to flip. These include the following:
Thrift Stores
We all know thrift shops sell second-hand or used things that aren’t in perfect condition but can still be used. Many thrift stores have amazing furniture pieces to sell, and the chances are that you will find something great there.
The only issue with furniture thrift stores is that prices tend to be firm since owners aren’t keen on haggling. However, they do have impressive collections, so you can expect to buy good furniture items at the given prices.
Flea Markets
These also sell second-hand goods, but what’s great about flea markets is their prices. The majority of the sellers at a flea market aim to sell as much as possible because that’s their main job and sole source of income.
So, it’s usually the case that these sellers are willing to haggle prices to give you the best deal in monetary and quality terms.
Garage Sales
If you head out on a Sunday morning, you will likely come across a garage sale happening somewhere or the other in your area.
A lot of people often hold garage sales where they sell unwanted household goods at reasonable prices. This presents a great opportunity for you to find the best furniture products at excellent prices. The only catch with garage sales is to go as early as possible in the morning to get the best quality items.
Online Marketplaces
eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and Craigslist are some popular online marketplaces where you can look for furniture to flip. These are excellent furniture sources given how most people these days put up goods to sell on online platforms.
These sites usually have impressive deals going on, and you might be able to negotiate the price even further to suit your bottom line!
Just keep in mind that it’s best to buy local goods and products that you can pick up yourself. This is essential to sustain your profit margins, considering how expensive shipping furniture can be.
Estate Sales
An estate sale is a type of sale that aims to dispose of materials and objects owned by someone who has passed away. Such a sale could also be held by someone facilitating a move to another house – maybe even a different country.
Estate sales are often referred to as a ‘gold mine’ for people who are in the business of flipping furniture for money. This is simply because they usually include top-quality wooden furniture pieces at very reasonable prices. Since the seller aims to get rid of as much as possible, they might even be willing to bring prices down a bit.
Social Media
Another simple option is to resort to different social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Put the word out that you are looking to buy old furniture at reasonable prices. If anyone is selling their furniture, they will respond and reach out to you. A plus point here will be if you offer to pick it up yourself. In doing so, the seller might agree to decrease the price or perhaps, throw in something for free.
Key Steps to Flipping Furniture for Money
Once you manage to get your hands on quality furniture goods and items, the next thing to do is restore them. The goal here is to give the furniture a new look, fix visible issues, and make it perfectly usable again.
The restoration process differs from one object to the other, but the core idea is the same. Take a look at some key steps involved in restoring old furniture.
Identify the Old Finish
When flipping furniture for money, you must identify the current finish on the wood. You will find different types such as wax, oil, shellac, varnish, lacquer, and many others.
Doing this will help you determine what exactly you need to do in order to give the furniture item a new finish. You can begin by doing a patch test on an inconspicuous area by applying denatured alcohol. If the finishing comes off easily, it’s probably a shellac coating. If it’s lacquer, you will need to apply lacquer thinner to get rid of the finish.
Clean the Surface Thoroughly
You need to clean the surface of the furniture thoroughly if you want to get a clean canvas for subsequent steps. The cleaning materials majorly depend on the furniture and the type of finish it has. For instance, when scrubbing up wood or wicker surfaces, an oil-based commercial wood cleaner is what you need.
Such a cleaner penetrates through the layers of wax and dirt on the furniture surface. If this doesn’t work well, you can further clean it with the help of a solution of liquid detergent and warm water.
Don’t let the wood get too wet – instead, apply the mixture with the help of a clean cloth. Then, rinse the surface properly and dry it out using a soft cloth to prevent any water damage.
Stripping and Refinishing
Stripping is an important step when flipping furniture for money. To restore the furniture and give it a new finish, you must strip away the old finish. You need to loosen the old coats of paint and finish so that you can easily scrape them off. If the object has thicker layers, it might require several applications of a stripping agent to remove the old finish successfully.
Once that’s done, it’s now time to give the furniture a new look by applying a fresh coat of stain. Some important items that you might need here include:
Tips For Increasing Profits When Flipping Furniture for Money
Flipping furniture might sound like an easy option, but there are some tips you must know to increase your profits.
Look for Reasonable Prices
If you wish to profit from flipping furniture, you should always look for reasonable purchase prices. You will be putting in so much time, money, and effort to repurpose it and give it a makeover. So, you might as well get a good deal out of it.
The ideal thing to do here would be to find furniture pieces for free. Oftentimes, people end up giving away their furniture for free, especially when they are relocating or getting new furniture.
Know What You Are Going to Do
Before you decide to bring home an antique furniture piece, give it some proper thought. It will help if you have some idea as to what you are going to do with it. One of the biggest mistakes people make when flipping furniture for money is buying things without having a plan.
This way, you will likely end up with furniture pieces just sitting in your home for weeks. If a certain item catches your eye, give it a few minutes to figure out what you’ll do with it. Even if you have a vague idea in mind about how you will change it, then go for it!
Take Stunning Pictures
Pictures are such a huge selling point when flipping furniture for money. Taking stunning shots of your newly repurposed furniture will convince potential buyers to buy from you.
The idea here is to let the potential buyer imagine that particular furniture item sitting in their home.
Ensure that the pictures are clear, don’t contain clutter, and display the full furniture piece in the first shot only. You don’t even need fancy camera equipment to do that. All you need is a nice spot with proper natural lighting. You can even pull up some lamps to create the desired lighting effect.
Don’t Overspend on Supplies and Tools
While you are definitely going to need quality tools and supplies, don’t spend too much on these resources and materials.
Making a profit means keeping your purchase price and restoring costs as low as possible to earn something out of it.
Consider Offering Delivery
One of the best things you can do for your flipping business is offering delivery or shipping.
This will extend your furniture flipping business to a greater number of people and set you apart from others. Not just that, but it could possibly even be a huge game-changer for your business!
Oftentimes, customers are completely sold when a business offers to deliver them their products right at their doorstep. You could use this to your maximum advantage by offering convenient and hassle-free delivery of furniture items. However, you need to ensure that the products are delivered to them in perfect condition.
Quality, security, and care are three major requirements here because products often end up being damaged during the shipping process.
Also, make sure to charge the right amount of delivery fee from your customers. It should be enough to cover the costs of fuel and transportation at the very least.
Final Thoughts
Flipping furniture for money comes with great potential and rewards. However, before opting for this side hustle, make sure that you are interested and have the right skills for it.
It’s quite a fun and creative idea but does require hard labor, precision, and care. After all, if you want to make money off it, you must create the perfect end product. Some key takeaways from this article include the following:
- You can easily earn money flipping furniture as a side hustle with even a few hours per week to spare.
- The process is quite simple and standard: Find used and undervalued furniture, give it a new look and sell it at a premium.
- Learn how to identify bargain furniture so that you can quickly restore it to its full potential.
- Make sure to market the product effectively.
- Pay attention to developing relationships with regular buyers and sellers to grow your business.
- Get started with a few supplies and tools. Try to get your hands on quality furniture pieces from thrift stores, garage stores, etc.
- Look for online marketplaces that facilitate and cater to both local and nationwide furniture sales. You should ideally choose the one that best fits your niche so that you can start promoting your work at the earliest.
Ultimately, what’s great about flipping furniture for money is that you are the boss. You can decide to make extra money through it on the side and give it a few hours per week. Or, you can also take the necessary steps to turn it into a full-blown business. The choice is yours, so make sure to do what works best for you!
For more furniture tips, check out this post on how to create metallic painted furniture!
