Furniture Pricing Question For All

[RoyTheHammer]

Hey guys and gals,

I just had a question as to what i should pay my buddy for furniture.

Here's the situation:

We got a bachlor pad apartment and bought an entire living room set of furniture since neither of us had much. We split the cost down the middle and it was 1200 total for a sofa, 2 recliners, a coffee table and 2 end tables.

Its exactly one year since we bought the stuff and my buddy is movin back in with his parents so i was going to keep the furniture and pay him for his half of the set.

The stuff is in relatively good condition with a few scrapes on the table and a small stain on the couch that's pretty small.

My question is what is the highest amount you would pay to him for the other half of the set?

I certainly wasn't going to give him the 600, but im not quite sure how much furniture depriciates yearly. He wanted to charge me 550, but i thought that was way too much.

If any of you could help me out here i'd appriciate it greatly. Thanks.

 

[YosemiteSam]

It's only a year old? Half the paid value, 60% if you want to be nice. No way I give him more than $350. Hell, if he was selling to someone he didn't know, he wouldn't get $300 probably. (ie, it ALL wouldn't sell anywhere close to $600. (for both halves) Probably closer to $400/$450)

 

[SC Cowboyfan]

I agree, $350 is more than fair.

 

[Signals]

I would say that $350 is fair, $400 if you wanted to be really nice to him.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

You could look at it like this. He paid 600.00 If you gave him 300.00 that means he would have paid 300.00 to rent the furniture from you for a year. That's 25.00 per month to rent the furniture.

I wouldn't give him more than 300.00. But f you want to kick in the extra 50.00, cool.

 

[ologan]

Go to one of those "Aaron Rents",or a "Rent-a-Center" and see what they charge,either per year or per month,and show him what he would have had to pay if he were to use one of them. The $300 you offer him would look like a great deal,IMO.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

I think it's more a matter of how much your friendship is worth.

The furniture is probably worth less than half the original price. However, if it is a good friend and you want to stay good friends, give closer to his $550 request.

Personally, I would sell it for whatever you could get. Split the money and go buy yourself some furniture on Craigslist. You lose money in the end, but there are no problems with the friendship and it is totally fair.

 

[big dog cowboy]

$300, $350 if you want to be cool, not a penny more.

 

[Hoofbite]

Just tell him you want to sell all that stuff and get new stuff.

Seriously, some people do not realize what value is fair and will automatically think that they deserve more.

If he wants 550, there's no way in hell he won't feel shorted with anything less than 500.

Agree to sell it. Have him do all the leg work in doing so but say that you both have to agree on a price.

Eventually he will see that no one wants used furniture at 90%+ of the original price. His demands will go down.

I've had roommates before who fight tooth and nail for every single dollar. It's almost maddening to see someone who is excessively unreasonable play the victim card like someone just broke into their house and raped their entire family.

 

[Hoofbite]

I think it's more a matter of how much your friendship is worth.

The furniture is probably worth less than half the original price. However, if it is a good friend and you want to stay good friends, give closer to his $550 request.

Personally, I would sell it for whatever you could get. Split the money and go buy yourself some furniture on Craigslist. You lose money in the end, but there are no problems with the friendship and it is totally fair.

Why?

If that guy's being a tool and wants an unreasonable amount, how much do you think he values the friendship?

I'd sell the entire lot before I gave in like that.

There's really no good move when dealing with people who feel a sense of entitlement for some reason.

 

[Idgit]

If you can't find a market rate for the same manufacturer on ebay/craigslist, personally, I'd straight-line depreciate it over 5 years despite the fact that it probably is only worth 60% of what it was worth new on the open market. But the 5 year depreciation is pretty much non-objectionable.

Either way, put your reasonable number out there, and negotiate his. If you're apart, flip a coin for the difference and let fate decide. Ease the strain on the friendship.

 

[Wimbo]

put it up for sale at $1100, and agree to split the money with him. When it doesn't sell, drop the price to $900. When it doesn't sell @ $900, drop the price to $750. When it doesn't sell for $750, tell him you will just give him $300 for his half & keep it.

Seriously, if you got a whole living room set for $1200, then you did not buy quality furniture... Rooms2Go, maybe? There is not much of a market for that class of used furniture. He should be happy to get $300 out of it.

 

[Hoofbite]

put it up for sale at $1100, and agree to split the money with him. When it doesn't sell, drop the price to $900. When it doesn't sell @ $900, drop the price to $750. When it doesn't sell for $750, tell him you will just give him $300 for his half & keep it.

Seriously, if you got a whole living room set for $1200, then you did not buy quality furniture... Rooms2Go, maybe? There is not much of a market for that class of used furniture. He should be happy to get $300 out of it.

That's what I was thinking too.

Dude has to learn he isn't getting ripped off and that he just isn't going to get much.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Thanks to everyone for the responses.. it really is appriciated. Yea, i got it pretty cheap, its not high quality stuff, just can't seem to make him see that he's ripping me off. He's kinda stubborn and cheap when it comes to stuff, but i just want to get a fair price.

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

Thanks to everyone for the responses.. it really is appriciated. Yea, i got it pretty cheap, its not high quality stuff, just can't seem to make him see that he's ripping me off. He's kinda stubborn and cheap when it comes to stuff, but i just want to get a fair price.

If that's the case do like others have said and offer to sell it and split it. No way you get anywhere near a grand for it. The sad fact of life is stuff depreciates once it leaves the showroom. It doesn't matter what it says you paid on the receipt. It matters what it is worth on the open market.

 

[Teren_Kanan]

put it up for sale at $1100, and agree to split the money with him. When it doesn't sell, drop the price to $900. When it doesn't sell @ $900, drop the price to $750. When it doesn't sell for $750, tell him you will just give him $300 for his half & keep it.

Seriously, if you got a whole living room set for $1200, then you did not buy quality furniture... Rooms2Go, maybe? There is not much of a market for that class of used furniture. He should be happy to get $300 out of it.

This.

I'd initially offer 350$. But I'm generous. IF he forces the issue just tell him you can sell it and split the price you get. He won't make 350$ you can guarantee him that.

For future references. People who do stuff like this need to think it through.

I did this with my past roommate. We split nearly 3000$ on a TV and surround sound system for our place. Only difference is we discussed BEFORE we made the purchase what we would do if we were to separate, money wise.

At the time he fronted more money than me, so I gave him first pick of keeping it if we split up. We also discussed what we'd pay after how many years and what kind of condition it was in, and agreed that if we couldn't come to an agreement on money for whatever reason, we'd sell it and split from there.

 

[k19]

I'd tell him thats your offer and he can take it or leave it. If he doesnt want to take it tell him take half of it back to his mommy and daddy's place with him. I'm sure they have room for half a living room set or would be willing to pay to keep it in storage for him