If you have spent as many hours scrolling through FurnitureTok as I have, you have seen more than your fair share of incredible furniture flips. Experienced flippers can transform what seems to be an irrevocably unstylish piece of furniture on its last legs into an attractive and functional piece that would look beautiful in any contemporary home. In TikToks, the process of breathing new life into furniture seems incredibly simple — just a bit of sanding and painting — and if you are rather handy, you might think of giving furniture flipping a go for yourself.
Indeed, furniture flipping is a rewarding job, both personally and financially. Some flips can result in hundreds of dollars of gained value, not to mention keeping perfectly good furniture out of the landfill. Yet, flipping furniture demands more time, energy, and skill than most TikTok videos reveal. If you want to make it as a furniture flipper, here are a few tips to get you started.
Where to Find Furniture to Flip
The best way to maximize profits from flipping is to minimize expenses — and that means you want to focus on finding free furniture to flip. Most flippers keep their eyes trained on the curb as they explore different neighborhoods to find unwanted furniture that can be flipped into desirable pieces. If your city has alleys, you should also spend some time driving through alleyways to look for potential flips.
After the curb, garage sales are the next best place to find flip opportunities as garage sale prices tend to be remarkably low and most garage sellers are happy to haggle, as they are eager to get rid of whatever they have on offer. You can search several with service providers to find scheduled sales in your area, and you should try to visit them on their first day to ensure you see the best pieces.
Finally, you can look for secondhand furniture from thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and similar sources — but you should be careful when purchasing furniture in this way. The worst outcome for a flipper is paying too much for a piece and being unable to sell it at a profit, so you might avoid secondhand markets like these until you have a better sense of flip potential and furniture value.
6 Essential Tools for Furniture Flipping
Furniture flipping is all but impossible if you don’t have the right tools. Some basics you should invest in include:
Read Also: The Best DIY Tools For Every Homeowner
1. A Truck or Trailer:
You need to be able to haul furniture finds whenever and wherever you discover them, so you might need to start traveling in a vehicle capable of containing large furniture pieces.
2. Cleaner:
Before and after your flips, you need to ensure your pieces are totally rid of dirt and grime. You can use white vinegar to clean furniture, or you can invest in specialized cleaning products.
3. An Orbital Sander:
Most of the time you spend flipping furniture will involve sanding, so you need a reliable sanding tool to speed up the process. An orbital sander is effective and convenient, and you can get a quality sander for a relatively low cost.
4. Wood Filler:
A good amount of free secondhand furniture has been treated poorly and will be covered in scrapes, chips, dings, and holes. Wood filler hides these blemishes and makes furniture look new.
Read Also: Types of Wood
5. Furniture Paint:
Almost all flips will need to be painted, but not just any paint will suffice. You need furniture paint, which offers the right combination of thinness, coverage, and durability to work for flips.
6. PPE:
Stripping, sanding, painting and other tasks tend to involve dangerous particles and chemicals that can impact your health, especially as you increase your flipping capacity. Respirator masks, goggles, gloves, and more are essential for keeping your body safe on your flipping journey.
How to Sell Your Furniture Flips
A furniture flipping business is only successful when it has a ready audience of potential buyers eager to acquire attractive secondhand pieces. You don’t want your workshop filling up with finished flips that you can’t move, so you need to think about where you will sell your goods before you start flipping.
The same secondhand markets you might use to acquire furniture can be used to sell your furniture when the flip is complete. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and Etsy are all popular platforms for flippers. You might spend some time exploring these markets to get a sense of how other flippers are pricing their goods, writing descriptions, taking pictures, and more.
Once your flipping business is up and running, you might consider building your own shop where customers can find and purchase new flips without pursuing wares from other flippers. You can open booths at arts and crafts fairs or makers markets, and if you are successful enough, you might even launch a brick-and-mortar where you can sell furniture full-time.
Conclusion:
If you love breathing new life into old furniture, flipping could be a lucrative enterprise for you. Still, flipping is a business, and a business strategy is mandatory for success. If you plan appropriately, you can make furniture flipping your life’s work — along with the other flip creators on TikTok.
