Free tool

Sell it or move it?

Compare what it costs to move a piece of furniture with what it would cost to sell it now and buy another one after you move.

Our take

Move it

Keeping it saves about $200 compared with selling it and buying another one.

Cost to move it

$280

350 lb at $0.80 a pound

Cost to sell and replace

$480

$700 to buy again, less $220 from the sale

Weights use typical sizes and the moving industry’s common 7 lb per cubic foot. Your mover’s estimate is what counts. Sentimental value isn’t in the math; only you can price that.

The math

Keeping it costs what your mover charges to carry it. Selling it costs what you’d pay for another one at the new place, minus what you get from the sale. Whichever is smaller wins.

  • Long-distance moves are usually priced by weight. Movers estimate weight from volume, commonly at 7 pounds per cubic foot, so a 50 cubic foot sofa counts as about 350 pounds.
  • Local moves are usually priced by the hour, so one item adds only the minutes it takes to wrap, carry and load it. Selling locally is more about space, stairs and time than money.

What the math leaves out

  • Whether it fits the new place. Measure doorways and rooms before you pay to move anything big.
  • How hard it is to replace. A well-made dresser may cost far more to buy again than its resale price suggests.
  • Sentimental value, which only you can price.

Still deciding? What to sell before you move walks through it room by room, and the price estimator fills in the resale number.

Questions

Is it cheaper to sell furniture and buy new after moving?

Often, for bulky things that are cheap to replace, especially on a long-distance move priced by weight. For valuable or hard-to-replace pieces, moving them usually wins. The calculator does the math for one item at a time.

How do movers charge?

Long-distance moves are usually priced by the weight of your shipment and the distance. Local moves are usually priced by the hour for a crew and truck. Your written estimate tells you which applies to you.

How much does a sofa weigh for a move?

Movers often estimate a three-seat sofa at about 50 cubic feet. At the industry’s common 7 pounds per cubic foot, that counts as about 350 pounds on a weight-based estimate.

More free tools