Where to sell nice furniture

shoes

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
Specifically a large, very very nice coffee table.

It's likely that neither of our new places will accommodate such a large table, so ideally we need to sell it. It cost £750, and looking on ebay/gumtree, we'd be lucky to get £50 for it. Can anyone suggest somewhere to sell it where we might get serious interest from serious buyers? I'd sooner keep it in mothballs than sell it for that.
 
Jonah

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
Obviously you could put an advert on the forum but it's hard to recommend anywhere. I've found people want to get everything for precisely £0.00.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Would it be reducable in size? Perhaps by a Neon-coloured personage?

I can't remember what it looks like....
 
shoes

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
This is what I'm finding out - same experience when we cleared my grandmother's house last year.
 
hop

hop

Well-Known Forumite
Firstly what is the rush ?

You haven't sold the house yet and even a quick sale would typically take 6 weeks and at the moment sales are very slow since the banks are inundated with applications from buyers keen to avoid the 3% increase in stamp duty on BTL and second homes which comes into effect at the end of the month. Even a quick sale would take 6 weeks, but mostly likely a buyer in your area would be part of a chain rather than a cash buyer so I would expect the sale to take about 3 months.

If you sell it is possible you can strike a deal with the house buyer, this will often be a side transaction to the main deal. When I bought our current house I bought
dining table with 16 oak chairs
oak sideboard
Beckstein piano
rattan outdoor furniture
lawn tractor

For the suspicious minds, this wasn't to avoid stamp duty and made no difference to the amount of tax paid.

If you fail to negotiate a deal with the buyers I would suggest taking a look at facebook groups, search for terms such as "for sale in x" where x is a location (there might not be any in Stafford and surrounding areas but I would be surprised). I have found facebook groups a good way to buy furniture for houses I will rent out since a photo is included, the price is clearly marked and you can Instant Message the buyer to arrange a viewing. As a seller you will also avoid any commission or transaction fees that a site such as ebay take.

So perhaps a plan in descending order might be.

- See about selling to the house buyer
- List on facebook groups for a week or 2
- List on ebay with reserve
- Take it with you and re-purpose. e.g. If it's a big as you say and has a glass top replace this with a piece of 16mm chipboard, throw a mattress on the top and you have a spare bed.
 
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Katniss

Katniss

Well-Known Forumite
You must live in a mansion @hop I can only fit 8 chairs around my dining table. I agree with the waiting until you have sold the house because you don't know if the coffee table might fit in your new property.
 
shoes

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
No rush, but like selling a house, selling furniture takes time and I'd rather not have to move/store it really as it's very large and very heavy. I'll be negotiating with the buyers re: a few things, if it's not gone by the time that comes then perhaps we will try and get it included. When we bought the house we negotiated several things - curtains, sheds, garden swing etc. so I see no reason why we can't do it the other way.

The rush is the fact we're splitting up and living in the same house, and neither of us particularly want to take on another property with a £1,100/month liability to also pay for - it makes no financial sense.

It may fit in one of our new properties, but I highly doubt it. We have a gargantuan living room and it sits nicely in there, it's likely the entire footprint of the next house would fit in my current living room.
 
Katniss

Katniss

Well-Known Forumite
hop said:
What a pointless article. I asked what your definition was @Katniss. Size is subjective. The article even shows this by saying how 6000 sq ft in an Atlanta Suberb would be classed differently.
Click to expand...

I was having a little joke, I do have a dry sense of humour. ;)
 
Carole

Carole

Well-Known Forumite
Sorry to hear that you have split from your ladyfriend @shoes

I feel your pain over the furniture though. I have sold a fair amount of good quality stuff for a pittance over the years, but moving house or just having a change of furniture means getting rid of things. One rarely gets back anywhere near what it is worth.
 
Chillybean

Chillybean

Well-Known Forumite
As previously mentioned Ebay with reserve or fixed price and then the local news papers. If there's any interest from the paper you can can always direct them to your photos on Ebay. If someone is looking for a quality piece of furniture they will be more interested in a realistically priced piece than a bargain basement price you mention. It's uniqueness i.e. its size might be its selling point. Wish you luck.
 
E

everard

Newbie
What size is the coffee table and how much do you expect to get for it? I know someone who wants a big coffee table.
 
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