How to Sell Homemade Furniture

Determine Prices for Your Furniture

• 1

  Calculate how much it cost you in materials and labor to create your homemade furniture. Selling for less than this price is like giving your furniture away for free.

• 2

  Decide if you will be selling only a few pieces or many pieces. If you plan to offer lots of furniture for sale, lower prices will help you sell more units.

• 3

  Create a price list for all of your furniture. That way you will be able to keep track of how much you charge and what you sell.

• 4

  Research shipping costs to various destinations. Potential buyers will want to know this before they buy.

• 5

  Include auction sales fees and swap meet booth rental charges in your calculations where appropriate.

Prepare Your Furniture for Sale

• 6

  Dust or clean handmade furniture so it looks its best.

• 7

  Tag each piece with the price you have decided on.

Sell Your Furniture Online

• 8

  Arrange a piece of furniture against a pleasant backdrop.

• 9

  Shoot a few digital images of the piece from various angles and distances.

• 10

  Upload your photographs onto your computer.

• 11

  Log onto an online auction site such as eBay (see Resources below).

• 12

  Register for an account by following the prompts on the auction site's homepage.

• 13

  Click on the auction site's "Sell" tab and follow the prompts to list your furniture for auction.

• 14

  Upload the best photos you took when prompted to do so.

• 15

  Enter the lowest price for which you will sell the piece. Setting the price too high may prevent bidding.

Try Renting a Booth at a Swap Meet

• 16

  Contact your local swap meet vendor to discuss booth rental fees and locations. Selling at a swap meet eliminates the need to charge your buyers shipping.

• 17

  Bring a variety of your handmade furniture to offer.

• 18

  Consider how much you would charge to create a custom piece. When selling face to face, this may come up and you should be prepared.