Your furniture is worth what a nearby buyer will pay for it this month. That isn't what you paid, and it isn't what the store charges today. Here's how to find that number, set a price that sells, and know when to cut it.
What sets the price of used furniture
Start with the hard truth. In its guide to valuing donated property, the IRS says the fair market value of used household items "is usually much lower than the price paid when new" (IRS Publication 561). Six things decide how far below new your piece lands:
- Brand. Buyers search by name. Kaiyo, a used furniture marketplace that wound down in 2024 (Modern Retail), reported in 2021 that West Elm, CB2 and Ethan Allen topped its list, with most pieces selling within a few days. Herman Miller and Design Within Reach held the most value, at prices close to original retail (Domino).
- Construction. Reperch, a secondhand home goods seller, says construction matters more than age: a 10-year-old solid wood dresser can be a better buy than a one-year-old particleboard one (Reperch). To check yours, look at the back panel, the drawer sides and any unfinished edge.
- Condition. Stains, odors, pet damage, wobbly joints and broken hardware all cut the price.
- Age and style. Older pieces usually bring less unless they're a style people are hunting for or a genuine antique. Get a real antique appraised before you price it.
- Size and pickup. A sectional that needs three people and a truck reaches far fewer buyers than a nightstand that fits in a hatchback.
- Your market and your deadline. A big metro area has more buyers than a small town. Four days left is a different sale than four weeks.
How to research comparable listings
Comparable listings, or comps, are the most reliable answer to "what is my furniture worth?" Give each big item about 15 minutes.
- Find the exact name. Look for a label under the seat, inside a drawer or on the back panel. Photograph it, because buyers search by brand and model.
- Look up what it costs new today. Use the current price of the same piece or the closest match, not your old receipt. That's the number buyers compare you against.
- Search local listings. Check Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp near you for the same brand, or the same type, size and material. Save 5 to 10 close matches.
- Separate asking prices from selling prices. On eBay, filter a search to Sold items to see what buyers paid. eBay says those results only cover listings that sold in the previous 90 days (eBay). Shipping changes what people will pay for furniture, so use eBay to gauge brand demand, not as your local price.
- Note how long listings sit. If a matching dresser has been up for three weeks at $300, $300 is too high.
- Pick your spot in the range. To sell within a week, price at or a little below the middle of your matches. To hold out for top dollar, price near the top and expect to wait.
Run each item through the used price estimator for a starting range, then check it against the local comps you saved.
Rules of thumb for used furniture prices
There's no official formula, and published rules of thumb vary widely:
- Reperch suggests roughly 70-90% of retail for like-new pieces, 50-70% for gently used, 35-50% for good but visibly worn, and 10-30% for project pieces. It calls these rough ranges, not hard rules (Reperch).
- HomeLight, a real estate site, says a newer piece from a trendy brand in great condition might bring up to 70% of what you paid, and furniture that is 9-10 years old more like 25-33% (HomeLight).
Neither set of numbers comes from a study. Reperch sells curated pieces, so for mass-market furniture, treat its tiers as a ceiling. Check your comps first, then use percentages only to spot a price that's way off.
A condition grading guide
Grade each piece honestly and put the grade in your listing. The percentages below follow Reperch's tiers. Apply them to today's retail price for the same or a similar piece.
| Grade | What it means | Rule-of-thumb starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Like new | No visible wear. All parts and hardware present. No odors, pets or smoke. | About 70-90% of retail |
| Good | Gently used: small scratches or slight fading. Sturdy, and everything works. | About 50-70% |
| Fair | Clear wear: noticeable scratches, a small stain, worn cushions or a loose joint. Still usable. | About 35-50% |
| Needs work | Broken parts, deep stains, odors, wobble or missing hardware. Sold as a project. | About 10-30%, or free |
Then take a little more off for anything that makes pickup harder: a very heavy piece, a third-floor walk-up, or flat-pack furniture with no instructions.
Which furniture holds its value
Some categories hold value. Others barely sell.
| Category | How it usually resells | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| High-end and designer pieces (Herman Miller, Design Within Reach) | Hold value best. Kaiyo found they sold close to original retail, though not always as fast as its top sellers (Domino). | Price from sold comps for the exact model. Don't rush to cut. |
| Popular mid-market brands (West Elm, CB2) | Sold quickly on Kaiyo, and in 2023 Kaiyo said West Elm kept more of its original value than any other brand on its site (PR Newswire). | Put the brand and model in the listing title. |
| Solid wood tables, dressers and nightstands | Often worth more than particleboard pieces, even newer ones (Reperch). | Say "solid wood" only if it's true, and list the dimensions. |
| Particleboard and flat-pack furniture | Mass-market particleboard usually doesn't hold its resale value, according to Reperch. | Price low, sell it assembled, or give it away. |
| Sofas and upholstered chairs | Very sensitive to condition. The EPA tells people to check secondhand furniture, beds and couches for bed bugs before bringing them home (EPA), so expect buyers to look closely. | Clean it, photograph the cushions up close, and say pet-free or smoke-free only if it's true. |
| Mattresses and box springs | Hard to resell. Habitat for Humanity ReStores don't accept them (Habitat for Humanity). | Plan to recycle or haul it away. The Mattress Recycling Council's Bye Bye Mattress program supports recycling in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island (Bye Bye Mattress). |
| Very large pieces (sectionals, armoires, wall units) | Fewer buyers can move them. | Price lower, post exact measurements, and offer help loading. |
| Cribs and nursery furniture | Federal rules limit what you can sell (see below). | Check the rules before you list. |
Pricing psychology for a quick sale
- Decide: firm or negotiable. If you price at the low end of your comps, write "price is firm" and stick to it. If you expect haggling, a common rule of thumb is to list about 10-15% above the number you actually want.
- Precise numbers can draw better counteroffers. In Columbia Business School negotiation experiments, people who got a precise opening offer (think $5,015 instead of $5,000) saw the other side as better informed and gave up more ground (ScienceDaily). So if you expect haggling, $185 may hold up better than $200. When you price firm, round numbers make cash easier at pickup.
- Bundle what belongs together. Matching nightstands or a table with its chairs can sell as a set. Price the set a little under the sum of the parts.
- Let the listing answer questions. Include the brand, dimensions, condition grade, a photo of every flaw, and pickup details.
- Don't take a lowball offer early. If you have weeks, wait. Let your deadline set your price cuts, not one pushy buyer.
When to drop the price, and by how much
Cut prices on a schedule, not on impulse. First set your floor, the lowest price you'll accept. A good floor is what the piece is worth to you after counting what it would cost to move. The sell-or-move calculator helps you work that out.
As a rule of thumb, your price is probably too high if you get no messages in 3-4 days, lots of views or saves but no questions, or the same piece is listed nearby for less.
| Time until move-out | What to do (rule of thumb) |
|---|---|
| 4 weeks or more | Start near the top of your comps. Cut about 10% after a week with no serious interest. |
| 2-3 weeks | Start in the middle of your comps. Cut 10-15% every few days without interest. |
| Final week | Cut a little every day toward your floor. Add "must go by [date]" to the listing. |
| Last 1-2 days | Hit your floor, then make anything left free. |
These steps are a starting plan, not research. The price-drop planner turns your starting price, floor and move date into a day-by-day schedule. On PieceOut, prices drop automatically every day until move-out, never go below the lowest price you set, and you can make an item free on the last day.
When to give it away instead
Give it away when:
- The best realistic price isn't worth the hours of messages and no-shows.
- It's particleboard, worn or very heavy, and you're down to the last two days.
- You'd otherwise pay someone to haul it away.
- Moving it would cost more than replacing it. See what to sell before moving.
Free items still need rules. Set a pickup window, say "bring your own help," and make it first come, first served. For pieces in good shape, try your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Habitat says ReStores take furniture in gently used or like-new condition (Habitat for Humanity).
Furniture you can't legally sell (or shouldn't)
- Recalled products. The CPSC says it's illegal to sell any recalled product, including when a consumer sells secondhand online (CPSC). Its rules apply to anyone who sells or distributes consumer products, including people holding yard sales (CPSC). Search cpsc.gov/Recalls by brand and model before you list. If the recall fix has been applied, you can sell the item, and your listing should make clear the fix is included (CPSC). Keep unfixed recalled items off your free pile too.
- Dressers and chests. Check the model number. In June 2016, IKEA recalled about 29 million chests and dressers in the U.S., including the MALM line, because of a serious tip-over hazard to children. The recall offers a refund or a free wall-anchoring kit (CPSC). The federal tip-over standard covers units made after September 1, 2023 (CPSC), so for older dressers the recall check is what matters.
- Cribs. Federal crib standards (16 CFR parts 1219 and 1220) became mandatory on June 28, 2011, and they apply to used cribs too. The CPSC says cribs made or sold before that date are very likely noncompliant and illegal to sell, and many have dangerous drop sides (CPSC). Recycle or throw out an old crib instead.
- Broken nursery items. The CPSC says not to sell broken or wobbly nursery furniture, or durable infant products with missing parts, even if they've never been recalled (CPSC).
- Used mattresses. Some states regulate used bedding. New York requires a yellow "Used Material" label on used bedding (New York Department of State). Connecticut requires secondhand dealers who sell used bedding to hold a sterilization or sanitation permit (Connecticut DCP). Those pages are written for businesses, so check your state's rules before you list a mattress.
Once your prices are set, the moving sale guide walks you through listing, scheduling pickups and getting paid.