Pricing used furniture the wrong way can cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
So, how do you price used furniture accurately every time?
I’ll share exactly how to price used furniture effectively, based on years of selling used items like furniture both locally and online.
How to determine used furniture’s value?
The first step to figuring out the value of used furniture is identifying the brand/maker. This is usually labeled on the back, underneath or inside a drawer of the furniture.
In addition to brand, the label might also describe what material was used, where it was made, and/or the furniture model.
Common ‘high dollar’ furniture brands to know:
- A&E
- ACME Furniture
- Ashley Furniture
- Baker
- Ekornes
- Ethan Allen
- GDF Studio
- Herman Miller
- Human Touch
- Knoll Systems
- Ralph Lauren
- Restoration Hardware
- Simmons
- Stickley
- Thomasville
With this information, we can learn how much people paid for similar pieces.
My favorite marketplace to check is eBay, because it’ll show current market data for used furniture, plus a wide assortment of furniture so it’s more likely your piece will be searchable.
If you aren’t familiar with how to check sold listings on eBay, simply type your item’s details into the search bar, filter to ‘sold’ and ‘used’ listings, and then find close comparisons or ‘comps’ to your own item.
If you’re able to find your specific furniture item, take an average of several sold listing prices to get an estimate of your furniture’s value.
If you are unable to find your specific item, we can use a pricing chart instead.
Check out our pricing guide below, based on actual sales data, to see how much to sell used furniture for.
Used Furniture Pricing Guide
A used furniture pricing guide is a must when you’re getting ready to have a sale.
If you are selling a high end brand, it’s best to also check the specific item using the method mentioned above to double check the value.
Check out our second hand furniture price guide below, which is based on recent eBay sales data.
Each item has a price range, which is based on your furniture’s condition (mint condition means top end of range, and vice versa).
Used furniture price estimates:
- Sofa – $50-$200
- Desk – $50-$250
- Nightstand – $50-$125
- Dining room table – $100-$450
- Dresser – $50-$400
- Chair – $25-$350
- Bookshelf – $25-$150
- Bed – $100-$400
- Coffee table – $50-$150
If you make money building furniture, having a solid understanding of current furniture prices is a must to ensure your projects are profitable. Feel free to use this pricing guide for those purposes as well.
What is the fastest way to sell furniture?
The quickest way to sell furniture is local methods that avoid shipping.
The best places to sell used furniture quickly are Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor, which have better security measures than other local selling platforms like Craigslist.
That’s not to say Craigslist isn’t worth using – you just need to take extra precautions.
Although it probably won’t be as fast as selling on Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor, setting up a garage sale is another great option, especially if you’re moving, and need to sell multiple pieces.
Furniture is one of the top things to resell these days, so you’re likely to sell it quickly no matter what (assuming it’s priced right).
Tactic for Success:
To avoid tire kickers and time wasters, make sure you are crystal clear in your item descriptions. Include things like furniture dimensions, features, and price (whether ‘firm’ or not).
How to sell second hand furniture online?
Selling used furniture online is not too different from other items.
The only potential difference is delivery. If your item is under ~150lbs (the limit for most shipping carriers), there won’t be any special customizations needed for shipping.
If your piece of furniture is over 150lbs and you want to ship it, you’ll need to use a freight service.
If you sell used furniture online though, you can set your listing to ‘pick up’ only, which eliminates any shipping hassle. This is what most people do, since freight shipping is fairly involved and expensive.
These online platforms support ‘pick up’ delivery for used furniture listings: Mercari, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor.
Tactic for Success:
If you want to sell your furniture faster, try cross-listing it on several platforms at once. This way your furniture is shown to even more shoppers. I’ve been cross-listing for years when reselling online, and am still surprised how well it works.
How do you price high end furniture?
Pricing high end furniture uses a similar process as less expensive furniture.
If you are selling a very high end and/or rare piece, an auction is also a common way to sell high end furniture. In that scenario, the price will be decided by the bidders.
If auctions aren’t in the cards for you, plenty of high end furniture is sold online and picked up or shipped.
In that case, I would check sold listings on a marketplace like eBay, to get a general idea of the price range.
If you cannot find the item, set the price 30%-50% below the MSRP (depending on condition) as a starting point.
Wrapping Up
Whether you want to price used office furniture or a high end bedroom suite, the core strategy will be the same.
Hopefully this guide helps you with the process!
John-Paul Cody has been an avid online seller for years, across platforms including eBay, Mercari, Craigslist, and more. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from UNC Chapel Hill, and works in data analytics and marketing.
