Not Thrifting: A Great Way To Score Secondhand Office Furniture For Less
Have you ever wondered what happens to all the perfectly good furniture when a business remodels, moves, or closes? In many cases, that furniture is sold to a liquidation service so that the company can empty their building and recoup some cash. Office furniture liquidators are a helpful resource for businesses in more ways than one. After buying up their old, unwanted furniture, they then turn around and sell these items. Most often they'll be dispersed to other office buildings in town, but there's a little-known secret: You don't have to own a business or even work at an office to shop at these stores.
Shopping at office furniture liquidators is a brilliant way to find unique, comfortable, and high-quality furniture pieces for much less than you'd pay at a brand-new box store. Well-known names like Steelcase, Kimball, Paoli, Herman Miller, Hon and even several mid-century furniture brands could be worth looking for at your local liquidation warehouse. Many of these stores also post their inventory online. You'll find more than just space-saving furniture ideas that can maximize your office space. Desks, tables, shelves, chairs, and other pieces make a statement if you can style them creatively.
Think outside the box with used office furniture liquidators
Office furniture liquidators typically have warehouses or large storefronts filled with all the usual corporate comforts: file cabinets, computer desks, chairs, bookshelves, meeting tables, and so on. This might have you worried that the selection will make your space feel like a conference room, but gray cubicles and swivel chairs aren't the only kinds of pieces you can find at these furniture outlets. They'll often stock pieces from much more interesting places too, including banks, churches, libraries, waiting rooms, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, and other public spaces. If you've ever admired a plush armchair in a cozy café lounge, there's a chance it's still waiting for your at your local liquidator.
A solid wood credenza, matching bookshelf, and leather armchair is the perfect setup for a moody study. Cubicle walls can be used to partition your office space or create a kids' study corner. You might even find other useful office accessories, like a whiteboard, a desktop lamp, or a convertible standing desk mount. If you don't have or need a home office space, you can still successfully shop these stores. The key is to think creatively about repurposing common office items in a casual home environment. You might find a tall reception desk and barstools for your basement bar, or a storage cabinet for bathroom essentials. Use an antique desk as a vanity for easy organizing, or tuck a break room table into the corner of your studio apartment kitchen.
How you can save big by shopping liquidated office furniture
Shopping at a liquidator could save you hundreds compared to buying brand-new office furniture. For example, the Steelcase Leap V2 is one of the most highly rated ergonomic office chairs, and it costs between $1,399 and $2,086 when bought brand new from the Steelcase website. You can score the same gently used chair model starting at $399 from National Office Interiors and Liquidators. More simple, break room-style chairs could be as low as $10 each.
Of course, you might pay a little more here than you normally would for used furniture, but unlike typical thrift store items, these office furniture pieces aren't as picked-over as your local Goodwill, and they tend to be in relatively clean and sturdy shape. After all, they're liquidated, not donated. Still, it's a good idea to check the quality of your furniture before buying. Inspect all the drawers and cabinets, ensure no hinges or knobs are missing, and take your wheelie chair for a test drive.
There are other perks for shopping your local liquidators. Some might accept your old used furniture for trade-in credits. If you're furnishing a whole room, you can also see about getting a discount when buying a matching set or multiple items. These places can be packed wall-to-wall, so they're often happy to get the merchandise off their hands. While you're at it, ask about delivery or installation — nobody wants to spend all weekend moving an 800-pound credenza.