Sell Antique Furniture
Kijiji also has a robust “furniture, décor” category. On a recent check of its New York City offerings, a Bo Concept bookshelf was listed for $1, 500 (compared with about $2, 500 retail) and a Nicoletti sofa and chair for $2, 600 (about $8, 000 retail).
If you’re selling housewares like plates or vases, another option is Portero (portero.com), where pre-owned luxury items can be sold at fixed prices and at auction. The bulk of its business is jewelry and fashion, but it also has a home furnishings section. The customer ships the item to Portero, in Armonk, N.Y., and pays the shipping cost. If it’s sold, Portero gets a 30 percent commission; if not, the object is returned at Portero’s expense.
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If the items are of lesser to medium quality, or if you simply prefer to sell them through an actual store, a thrift or resale shop is an option. To find a local one, a good resource is narts.org, the Web site for the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, where you can search for stores based on city or ZIP code; its directory gives information like store addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
For those who have inherited furniture and have an overwhelming need to sell it immediately — or even those who have owned heirloom-quality antiques for years — the best advice is to proceed with care and to consult a professional dealer.
The National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America (naadaa.org) and the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America (adadealers.com) provide information on registered dealers, and many states have their own dealers’ associations.
If you decide to sell, Guy Regal, the owner of an antiques showroom on Manhattan’s East Side, urged caution. Mr. Regal suggested asking an appraiser to give “a true, unbiased sense of what your item is worth before you start shopping it around.” The International Society of Appraisers (isa-appraisers.org) and the Appraisers Association of America (appraisersassoc.org) provide information on registered professionals.
