Selling used furniture: how to calculate the value
Want to move, but preferably without your furniture? We’ll show you how you can not only save precious time, but even earn a bit of money with our tips for successfully selling your furniture to the next tenant moving into your old apartment.
Most important questions:
How much can you get for used furniture?
You have a bit of room for manoeuvre when selling used furniture, but you can’t demand outlandish prices. Calculate the fair value to determine the ideal price for the objects you want to sell: 1st year: -24%, then -4% (high quality) or -8% (lower quality) for each additional year. Negotiating skills are also important: it’s best to start with a price 25% higher than the calculated value. This way you can come down a bit and still get your desired price in most cases.
Where can you sell used furniture?
If you can’t sell your furniture to the new tenant, it’s a good idea to find a suitable selling platform. We recommend tutti.ch. There, you can easily and safely sell your second-hand (or designer) furniture.
No obligation to take over the furniture
Are you moving out at the end of your contract, the management has already found a new tenant and now you, as the outgoing tenant, want to sell your used furniture to the incoming tenant? Bear in mind during your negotiations that the incoming tenant is not obliged to buy your furniture and the only solution is a sale by mutual agreement. But this usually only occurs if the incoming tenant views the situation as favourable for them. So, your negotiating prowess and persuasiveness will come in handy.
You’ll be in a somewhat better negotiating position if you are moving out before the end of the contract and are therefore personally looking for a new tenant to take over the apartment. As it’s up to you to find a suitable successor, you can decide to consider and forward to the management only the prospective tenants who are willing to take over your furniture.
Depreciation and sale of used furniture
If you have managed to find a new tenant who likes your old furniture – for instance your armchair, sofa, table or bed – then it’s time to determine the sale price. This is up to you to decide, but remember that exorbitant sale prices are prohibited by law. Set a reasonable sale price that corresponds to the value of your used furniture and the amount of time you have used it. Furniture begins to lose its value as soon as you buy it, and its value also depends on whether or not it is a unique piece of furniture, a design classic or a series product. The condition of the used furniture is also important. You have some room for manoeuvre in determining the decline in value, but there is also a formula that you can use if you wish.
Calculating the value
The best thing to do is calculate the ‘fair value’ of your furniture. This is the value that your furniture still has after x years of use:
replacement value (the price that you would pay for the piece of furniture today) - depreciation in the 1st year (24%) - depreciation in the following years (4% for high-quality, 8% for lower-quality products) = fair value
If you want to independently find out about the re-sale value of used objects, take a look around some selling platforms, pop into your local second-hand shop or get some inspiration at the nearest flea market. A reconnaissance tour of this sort might give you some idea of realistic prices for your furniture.
And, of course, there is always some furniture whose future should already be quite clear: getting picked up by the local waste removal company or disposed of by you personally.
Negotiating skills
Always keep in mind that you’ll be most successful if you negotiate prices rather than insisting on a particular sum. Don’t scare off potential buyers with excessive prices – let them know you’re willing to negotiate. There’s a useful tactic for this: start at a higher price, say 25% over the desired price, and be ready to haggle your way down to your ideal price.
Selling furniture on tutti.ch
Of course, not all incoming tenants buy the furniture of the former tenant, and in these cases it can be a good idea to sell your bed, chair, table or sofa on a portal like tutti.ch. Here too, you’ll have to set a reasonable price, taking the depreciation, duration of use and condition into account when you make your calculations. You’ll generally find a buyer pretty quickly.
But if you fail to find a buyer, you can always give away your furniture for free. After all, it’s better for environmental reasons if the furniture can continue to be used. See our guide for useful tips on clearing out.