So one thing I've discovered is that you don't necessarily need to sell anything unique or awesome (in fact - kijiji isn't the place to sell something like that - try an auction to get the most bang for your buck that way) and that IKEA furniture goes like hot-cakes.. here are my theories why:
- Everyone in the city has been to an IKEA show room at least once in their lives
- People have already seen/touched/smelled the item you are trying to sell
- Probably more than a few have thought about purchasing the item you are currently selling at one point in time and now they can re-live that experience from the comfort of their own homes while looking at your ad on their screens
- Buying an item that is currently for sale at 1/2 price is a nice alternative if you don't mind a few nicks here or there
- It's easy to see if you are getting a good deal or not (the ability to lookup prices online)
- Sometimes people are looking for a discontinued item or color of item to match whatever it is that they have in their house (use IKEA's success without having anything to do with the associated overhead costs) :)
- Their furniture is just so darn practical
Honestly, whenever I sell IKEA furniture - I have trouble keeping it long - it turns over fast and if you bought using my aforementioned methods to get a deal in the first place... you can make a few dollars lickety-split.
Case in point: Noresund tables.
I've wanted these tables for a very long time now (reference to number 3 above) so when I saw them come up in a listing for $10 - immediately I was interested. They retail for $20 a piece so I figured they would want $10 a piece (using the standard 1/2 retail value equation) but NO... apparently this buyer (and fortunately for me - many like them) don't know about the equation so they said they would give me both for $10! Excellent - knowing that I could sell for $20 for sure - done deal.
Now - here's where I push the envelope... 1/2 retail price is a fair price.. so I should have listed for $20 for the pair. I was feeling particularly cheeky this night and decided to test the waters with a $25 list price. Risky, I know - but to tell you the truth - I was kind of hoping they wouldn't sell and I could keep them around a little longer.
Okay - so I cleaned it, and staged it a little bit with some Lunaria and a mini Eiffel Tower (who doesn't like Paris?)
Alas - for probably a lot of the reasons above - I had a buyer almost instantly.. boo.
$25 full price offer... how could I refuse?
Summary
Purchased: $10
Sold: $25
Profit: $15
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