EXAMPLES

Start-Over Success Business Under $500: Furniture Flipping

You’ve heard of house flipping. It’s expensive to get into, takes enormous work, and there’s a risk of not being able to sell the property for enough profit.

Enter Furniture Flipping.

With minimal startup costs, work, skill, and workspace, you can begin buying unloved furniture, giving it some TLC, and selling your work locally. Not only that, the time from start to money in your pocket can be pretty darn quick. 

Furniture Flipping can be a side hustle (a few hundred dollars a month), working full-time to replace your current job ($2,000 to $4,000 a month), or adding income to your retirement, all while doing work you enjoy. 

If you love working with tools and wood, refinishing furniture will be a fulfilling and fun way to add income. Obviously, you can set your own hours and work as much or as little as you want., all.

How Much Can You Make Flipping Furniture?

How much you make (per hour or per project) flipping furniture depends on

  • Your source of furniture to flip
  • How much and how quickly you work
  • How many people in your area will buy what you’re selling and for how much

It’s typical to take an item you buy for $40 and sell it for $250. Of course, your costs also include the materials you use and your time.

This is not work that will make you rich. But if you love the work and want to make extra hundreds or a couple thousand dollars in a month, this might be for you.

While you may be able to set an hourly amount you want to make and add that into the price, in the end, the buyer determines the price and what you will make on a piece. When you consider time you should be compensated for, don’t forget the time you spend finding furniture and marketing your pieces for sale. Be sure to pay yourself.

What Do You Need to Start Flipping Furniture?

1) VEHICLE. The vehicle you have may limit your options. A car can’t hold big pieces. (Although I am often surprised how much I can fit into my Prius Hatchback.) If you already have an SUV, van, or truck, you’ll be able to buy bigger pieces of furniture and even charge for delivering your finished products to customers.  ($0)

Only have a car? AFTER you have done enough furniture flips to know you love and can make money with it, consider buying a used cargo trailer and a trailer hitch or a used truck, van, or SUV.

2) HELP. Got an extra set of helping hands to help carry bulky, heavy items?  A hand cart can help, but not with getting items into and out of your car.

If you don’t have help, restrict your work to smaller pieces you can handle by yourself. 

Again, once you get going, if you’re missing out on a lot of income, consider paying for some muscle to help when you need it. With just $10 or $20, you may get the help you need. Be careful, though, those costs eat into your profits!

3) STORAGE & WORK SPACE. You’ll need space for storage for tools, furniture pieces in the queue and those waiting to be sold. You’ll also need a place to use as a work area. Good lighting is a plus. ($0)

When you get rolling, you may want to rent a storage unit. ($200+/mo)

4) GOOD PICTURES. Posting good pictures is key to selling your products and for the best price. (Your smartphone probably has a good-enough camera.)  Set up a place for styling with a pleasant backdrop, plants, decor, emotional trigger, and lighting (from a window is best).

5) TOOL & MATERIALS. You’ll need tools, gear, and materials, depending on what pieces you will work on:

  • Vacuum, dry vac to clean & take out stains (Bissell upholstery vacuum $155)
  • Paint, brushes, sand paper (120 & 220 grit) , spray paint, sealer spray paint, plastic wood, Phillips screwdriver,
  • Brushes w short handles. 
  • LATER: Rotating sander, foam rollers, and more

6) INTERNET SERVICE. You’ll need to be on the internet to buy and sell furniture online. ($50/mo) 

Money-Saving Tips & More

MONEY-SAVING TIPS

  • Look for discount paints at Home Depot/Lowes and pay $10 instead of $30!

  • At thrift shops, garage sales, and swap meets, be on the lookout for tools and materials that you can buy cheap.

  • Check Restore (Habitat for Humanity) for parts and pieces that may come in handy some day.

ORGANIZE. Organize your Time, Your Processes, and Your Stuff. This will reduce stress, save time, and help you make more money. 

Christina Mascari, YouTube

Where You Can Get Education & Ideas

Allison Furniture and Design offers free classes and certification. Hey, free is always in the budget. 

YouTube is a great source of inspiration and learning which tools, paints, materials, and processes to use on your projects. Check out these YouTubers.

  • Christina Miscari shows exactly what she does to TLC furniture; you can literally follow along with her videos.
  • Furniture Flipping Teacher
  • Furniture Flipping Entrepreneur
  • MissFlips

Lone Fox, YouTube

So you know which colors and styles will sell best, and for inspo, watch design makeover videos on YouTube, too. Check out these YouTubers:

  • Lone Fox shows lots of DIY projects.
  • Alexandra Gator adds new items but also shows redos of furniture and other items.
  • House of Valentina mostly shows new items. Search her video on how to paint pictures; brilliant.  
  • Designed to the Nines shows lots of DIYs. She got a huge set of tools and skills. She’s a great inspiration. 
  • DIY with KB shows lots of design what and how to’s, along with DIY projects. 

Furniture Flippers also  showcase their work on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Where Can You Buy & Sell Furniture?

You can find furniture to sell at thrift shops, garage sales, swap meets/flea markets, and on Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, and Craigslist. You may even find pieces on the side of the road for anyone – like you – to take. And, dumpster areas at apartment and condo complexes can be great sources of free finds. 

When you’re ready to sell, the internet is best. Again, use Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, Craigslist, or other online classified ad boards for your area. (If you have a lot of furniture to sell, you may want to sell at a swap meet/flea market, but that will take a lot of work and a fee to display.) 

Create your Facebook account; use good pictures and a good description, mention any blemishes, use an eye-catching title, and be friendly.

What's Next for You?

You won’t make a lot of money for the time and work you put into flipping furniture. There isn’t room in your prices and profits to hire other people and scale. 

  • In addition to furniture, add decor items that don’t need much or any work to your inventory.
  • Depending on your area, it could even work for you to open a store. If you own a shop, you could sell items from local artisans and more.
  • You could offer to build Ikea and other new furniture. Just be sure to get paid enough to have it make sense.
  • When you develop expertise in refinishing wood furniture, you may want to offer to refinish or paint kitchen cupboards.