by Michy Lynn

Created on: August 20, 2009

Selling used office furniture isn't all that hard, since quality office furniture doesn't lose value, don't go out of style like home furniture, and good items can sell quickly. How to go about selling office furniture depends upon many factors, such as how much office furniture or equipment is to be sold, how quickly it needs to be sold, and where it can be sold.

Going Out of Business Office Furniture Sales

If a company is going out of business, they likely have excess furniture to sell. If the furniture is owned by the company, and the company isn't subject to a bankruptcy, the furniture and equipment can easily be sold at an auction.

One of the best ways to sell used office furniture, especially if trying to sell large quantities of it, such as an entire building or company's worth of office furniture, is to hold an auction. An auctioneer can be hired to handle the auction, and it can be silent bids, sealed bids or the auctioneer and interested parties can walk around the office building and bid out loud on items in the office.

Reselling Used Furniture to Make Way for New

If the office doesn't have room for the old furniture after new furniture is purchased, selling the old furniture can help pay for the new. Employees might be interested in buying the furniture for home offices, so posting on employee bulletins boards or in the company newsletter about the furniture for sale can help.

Advertising Online - Locally

The local newspapers might have online advertising with furniture and office furniture categories for selling used office furniture. Placing an ad should be inexpensive.

Advertising Online - Nationally

Auction and bidding sites can be utilized to sell used office furniture, such as eBay and other online auction houses, but it should be made clear that the shipping is paid by the buyer. Large pieces of furniture can be costly to ship, so it's unlikely used furniture will do well online nationally, and focus should be put on more local advertising efforts.

Newspaper Advertising

Most local newspapers and nickel papers have sections for selling furniture and office furniture, both new and used. An ad in the local paper or nickel paper can be very inexpensive and get great returns for buyers who want to purchase used office furniture.

Office Surplus Sale

One Saturday afternoon, advertise and host an office surplus 'garage sale' at the office, inviting people to come and browse through the old used office furniture and either sell it for a flat rate or let folks make offers.

Trade or Sell to Thrift or Second Hand Stores

A business wanting to get rid of used office furniture can donate it to a second hand charity store, like Goodwill or Catholic Charities or Salvation Army, and the business can get a receipt for the items that is then used as a tax deductible donation. The charity store then resells the office furniture. While it's not quite the same as cash, charitable donations can help most businesses with their tax deductions if the value is high enough on the items for sale.

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