In my first 8 months of flipping furniture part time, I have sold 9 pieces and made a profit of $550. Here is a roundup of those 9 flips, what I did to flip them and how much it cost me to do so.
The first flip I finished only sold for a $5 profit. Overall, this end table was a pretty simple flip, which is good for the first time.
This end table was already in good shape, so all I needed to do was do a scuff sand and paint. I also tried to keep costs low by only cleaning and reusing the original handles. I was really nervous selling this end table because of how visible the paint strokes were.
I was so afraid that someone would comment on them and think that it wasn’t worth what I was selling it for, so I only sold it for $40. And after the initial cost of the end table and paint supplies, that only gave me a profit of $5.
My next flip was a mid-century modern desk that gave me a profit of $25. This was the first time I used my paint sprayer, and it definitely created some learning lessons. Unfortunately, those learning lessons cost me extra money in paint.
This entire flip cost me $100 to finish, which is one of the highest I’ve spent on any flip so far. The biggest cost on this desk was the initial cost and the paint.
Nowadays, I get most of my furniture from the trash, but in the beginning, I started by using furniture pieces we already had that we didn’t want anymore, so that increased the overall cost of the piece.
This piece ended up sitting up for sale for several weeks, so I kept lowering the price and eventually sold it for $125, only giving me a profit of $25.
This blue dresser has given me my biggest profit to date- $150, but there was a lot of work that went into it. This is actually one of the few pieces that I bought from a thrift store specifically to flip.
This dresser was in pretty good condition, but I really wanted to make the base unique and stain it. So I painted the top blue and then went through the painful process of stripping the base down to the bare wood.
This is where I spent the bulk of time on this piece, but I also think it helped give the dresser a higher price point. This dresser did sit for a little bit, maybe because of the price or color, but eventually sold with a profit of $150.
I was not feeling confident about this green night stand flip at all. This was the first piece I was flipping from the trash and I decided to go with green since it’s supposed to be a trendy color.
And I think it worked! I was able to sell this night stand for $75 and since it was a trash flip, the overall cost was fairly low, allowing me to gain a profit of $55.
This entryway table needed so much work. It was pretty disgusting when I found it out for trash. I actually found it after a snow storm and it was covered in ice. But once it thawed out, I followed my typical process of cleaning (it needed a lot), sanding, and painting.
One of the challenges of this piece was replacing the bottoms of both drawers- they were both warped and pretty well coated with makeup and who knows what else.
The good thing about this though, was that it allowed me to put wallpaper in the drawers, which I think amplified this piece and helped me sell it at a higher price point. I eventually sold this piece for a $70 profit.
These dining chairs were a super easy flip. They were out for trash, so the initial cost was $0. And they also were in pretty good shape. So, all I did was clean them off and post them for sale.
I initially set the price at $40, which was a little high, so I slowly lowered the price over a couple of weeks. Eventually, I was able to sell the pair of chairs for $25, which isn’t a bad profit for very minimal work and pretty much no cost to me.
Dressers have been giving me the best profit so far on my furniture flipping journey. This dresser was another trash piece that needed lots of love.
The base had major water damage so I cut it off and built a new base for it. I also decided to go with a sage green, which ended up being such a beautiful color on this piece.
I added on some new handles and it was ready for sale. Supplies for this dresser were a little pricier because of the wood for the base and handles, but I still brought in a $140 profit.
The next sale was another easy flip- an end table found out for trash. This was another piece in good condition, other than the spots on the top.
To solve this problem, I sanded, restained, and sealed the top. I was able to sell this end table for $30, giving me a profit of $25.
This pink bookshelf was my latest flip and it sold within two days of posting. I was a little shocked by that. I just figured between the awkward size and pink color, I would be holding onto this piece for awhile.
I guess this just shows that all you need is the right buyer to come along. The original piece was found in the trash, so the only big costs were the legs and paint. I was able to sell this bookshelf for $90, giving me a profit of $55.
So over the course of eight months of flipping furniture part time, I have gained a profit of $550.
But, I want to keep everything in perspective here. These “profit” numbers are only including how much I spent on supplies for that specific project. The reality is that I’ve definitely spent more than what I’ve made so far flipping furniture. And that’s mostly my mistake.
I purchased a lot of supplies in the beginning that I really didn’t need to invest in yet. I’ve also spent a decent amount of money making sure my business is set up properly- getting a business license, Quickbooks, and website. All of those things I would recommend investing in because it’s better to make sure you’re protected for the long run.
My goal here is to share with you a realistic idea of what flipping furniture part time can look like. Sometimes you’ll have quick sales and success or, you might have a more slow process like I’ve been having.
Either way, progress is progress and I’m not giving up. So I’m curious… What is stopping you from getting started with furniture flipping? Let me know in the comments.
Obviously, the more you can flip, the more you can sell and earn. It all depends on how much time you have to designate towards flipping furniture.
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