7 Reasons Your Flipped Furniture Isn’t Selling
It can be a flipper's biggest hassle. You spend hours - sometimes days - pouring your heart, soul, and literal sweat (and maybe tears!) into a flip. You FINALLY finish and can’t wait to post your final product! You just know it’s going to FLY off the market.
Right??
But what happens when it doesn’t? I get so many questions in my Facebook Group and DMs about furniture that just won’t sell. While there isn’t a “fix-all” solution for furniture that doesn’t sell quickly, here are seven important questions to ask yourself about why your furniture might not be selling:
1. Did you stage well? I go over this pretty extensively in my Flip It! eCourse. Staging is important for aesthetics, but it goes far beyond that. Sometimes your potential buyers need to see the many ways a flip can be used. Try to change your staging, take new photos, and re-post!
2. Are you appealing to your target customer? Remember, just because YOU like a piece doesn’t mean everyone else will. Do your research - look at what’s moving quickly on Facebook Marketplace and what other listings exist. Bold choices are fun and you should absolutely paint with that neon green if you want to, but don’t expect it to move as fast as something more neutral.
Still no bites?
3. Is it a large piece? I’ve noticed commonly used items like dressers and nightstands move quickly. Large pieces in general (think huge table or media center) are harder to sell. If a piece is larger it helps if it serves multiple purposes. Get creative with your listing!
4. What’s going on in the world? Is it a high vacation time and families are saving money? How are gas prices? Is a major gifting holiday like Christmas approaching? If so, it might be time to take your piece down and re-post in a few weeks.
5. Do you have quality photos? Lighting, lighting, lighting! If you have dark or blurry photos, you are going to have a much harder time selling your flipped furniture. Be sure your photos are well lit, straight on, not at weird angles, and clear!
Bonus Tip: Before taking a photo, take your shirt or a towel and wipe off your phone’s camera lens! You would not believe the amount of oil and fingerprints that build up causing blurry photos.
6. Does your post title have important key words in it? If it IS something like an armoire, you should include words like “armoire,” “wardrobe", “storage,” etc. Include the style, as well! Something like, “Mid-century Modern, Black and Brown, Armoire and Wardrobe”. Clarify measurements and other details in the description.
7. How committed are you to keeping it like it is? I almost never encourage completely re-doing a piece just to get it to sell, but you might need to think about what you can do to change it up. Can you add a wall paper accent to elevate it? Switch out the hardware to something more modern?
I always encourage patience if you’re receiving low-ball offers. As long as you’ve done your research and you know you aren’t overpriced for your area, don’t sell yourself short (literally)! There is no harm in taking something down and re-posting it when you feel the time is right.
Still feeling stuck? Post your pictures in my free Facebook group and ask for advice! You’ll get tons of feedback from flippers across the globe.
