Upcycled furniture is old furniture made new again by replacing broken parts, refinishing surfaces, refreshing or picking new paint, and updating old furnishings, like knobs and handles, with new ones. Upcycling is a popular hobby. However, regardless of how amazing the refinished piece looks, you cannot keep it all. Luckily for you, upcycled furniture is one of the many ways you can make a passive income while being creative.
Sell your upcycled furniture by promoting it online and at trade shows. Utilize creative social media tactics to create buzz for your upcycled items and increase interest for potential buyers.
You know how to recreate old furniture and make it beautiful, but where do you start when it comes to selling those renewed pieces turning an activity that was just a hobby, into making a profit? Read on to learn how to successfully sell your upcycled furniture to profit off of your hobby.
This article was originally published on https://www.aaloftsdesign.com. If this article appears on any other site other than https://www.aaloftsdesign.com without clear referencing it is a violation of the copyright owned by https://www.aaloftsdesign.com.
This article may contain affiliate links. That means if you click & buy a product, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. AALofts Design is a participant in the Awin Affiliates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising & linking to participating merchants. For more information, please view my Privacy Policy & Terms & Conditions Pages.
How to Sell Your Upcycled Furniture.
Being able to create upcycled furniture is an amazing talent. It takes having an imaginative eye, a creative touch, and a lot of time. This is a talent that many people lack or just don’t have the patience for, making them the ideal customer. What may have begun as a DIY for your own use, can now be turned into another source of income.
Selling your upcycled furniture can be a breeze once you figure out where to start and get going. Here are some great ways to get your side hustle up and running.
- Take great product photography
- Share your creative process on social media
- Sell your upcycled furniture online
- Sell your upcycled furniture at trade shows
Once you get familiar and comfortable with this process, creating your furniture and selling it will be a breeze.
Take Great Product Photography
With the highly digital world that we are living in, it is important to take some product photography. It is even more important to make sure those photos look appealing. The type of photos that you take will be the key difference between your listing and another designer’s listing, whoever had the fittest photos, will get the cash prize.
If you have never been much of a photographer, following the basic composition rules of photography will do more than get you by.
- Fill the frame
- Have good lighting: ensure that you are in a space that has good light
- Set the scene
You do not need to go out and purchase a top-of-the-line camera in order to accomplish this part of the process, the camera on your phone will more than suffice.
Fill the Frame
When snapping a photo of the furniture up for sale, make sure that it fits tightly within the frame.
Capturing your subject further back in the frame creates a lack of focus, your potential buyer will not know where to look. A closer shot will provide better quality and give the buyer a chance to get a good look at the product.
Have Good Lighting
Ensure that you are in a space that has good light. This helps the buyer see the detail of the furniture on top of just making for a good photo.
Set the Scene
When taking product photography, it may be a good idea to set the furniture in a scene that would show how it would be used.
Take examples from interior catalogues and how they show the appearance as well as the functionality of the product.
However, this step may not be practical for everyone, therefore it is not required.
Share Your Creative Process on Social Media.
Social media is a good area to dive into when finding ways to sell upcycled furniture. There are many different types of social media accounts that you can have to help you document and share your creative process with potential buyers.
Great social media outlets include:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
All of these have big reputations when it comes to social interaction and even business sales.
The reason you may want to look into making a social media account for your furniture redesign hobby is because of the budding following of potential buyers you could gain. Having a well-established following means that you have an audience that really likes your creations, and will buy it quickly.
Gaining a large following will also contribute to the possibility of creating an income solely with your social media accounts. If your accounts drive enough traffic to one site or another, search engines and brands will recognize this and begin to pay you for your exclusive content.
Sharing the creative process behind upcycling furniture has many benefits, but the most important factor is that it gives you the space to list as well as sell your pieces.
Sell Your Upcycled Furniture Online.
Now that you have taken great product photos and have looked into creating a creative presence on social media, the next step will be to find where you should be selling your upcycled pieces.
As briefly mentioned, online selling is one, if not the most, common way people sell their merchandise. What makes selling online so impactful is the fact you can have one item listed on several different sites, including:
- eBay
- Etsy
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
Each of these sites has its own set of visitors that will see your upcycled furniture. Uploading your items for sale on multiple platforms will give you a greater chance of making a sale.
Selling Online: eBay
eBay has been a trusted site for selling old, new, and re-used goods. This site has the ability to give you a cash-out higher than you listed with the bidding options that it offers.
However, with eBay, it may take longer to get your upcycled piece of furniture out of your hands and into the hands of your buyer.
Selling Online: Etsy
Etsy is comparable to sites like Amazon and Shopify. Essentially, it is the equivalent of creating your own website, just without the intricacies of creating multiple landing pages, and you will be competing against other sellers and their items.
Etsy is often used for handcrafted items and vintage pieces. Upcycled furniture can often fit into both of those categories.
Selling Online: Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is steadily becoming one of the most used sites for selling items of all kinds.
Facebook is accessed frequently causing it to be a highly trafficked area when someone is looking for a special item to buy from someone. It also helps that a lot of the time all it takes is a message and a scheduled meeting time to make the purchase exchange.
Selling Online: Instagram
Instagram was mentioned already as a social media platform, but it is also a marketplace to buy and sell items. Instagram is fairly new to the game of being a site where one can purchase items they come across while scrolling on the app.
This option may be better for those considering making upcycling furniture a regular source of part-time income versus someone who does it here and there when they have the excess in resources and time.
Sell You Upcycled Furniture at Trade Shows.
If you are a creator that enjoys the simplicity of a face-to-face exchange, selling your upcycled furniture at trade shows may be the more suitable option for you. You can find local trade shows and their dates by doing a quick google search. An alternate route to finding trade shows would be to contact your city organizers, hotels, and conference centres.
Many sellers will have booths where they can proudly display what they have to sell. These do not have to be large or elaborate booths. Ideally, they should be accommodating to you and what you will need to ensure your day goes smoothly.
Conclusion.
You have the beautiful upcycled pieces of furniture that you have taken the time and resources to repurpose, now you have the tools and information to take those pieces and successfully sell them to people that will enjoy them as much as you did.
Remember the tactics given and you will be having just as much fun selling your pieces as you did making them.
Sources:
https://www.ecosolutions.co.uk/upcycling-furniture-faqs/
https://girlinthegarage.net/2017/01/11-mistakes-people-make-when-trying-to-sell-refinished-furniture/
https://www.logicblock.com/how-to-find-trade-shows-in-your-industry/
If you’re interested in further reading, please see the links to my trusted resources page & related articles below. To find out more about AALofts Design, please click here. If you found this content helpful, want to collaborate on a project, or would like to request an article topic, please click here to get in touch via the contact form. Feel free to share & connect on social media, if you found this content helpful.
