It is a wonderful thing to finally be close to realizing a lifelong dream of opening a new business or adding a new location to an existing business. A lot of hard work and careful planning have gone into the process. Money has been raised over time with a lot of effort. Now the building has been procured and it is time to furnish the offices and retail space. At this stage, money is always an issue. Why not consider used office furniture and store fixtures to save money?
Is Used Office Furniture or Store Fixtures a Viable Option?
For using preowned office furniture or store fixtures to be an option, the business owner must choose the Best Store Liquidation Company possible. Some companies specialize in-store fixtures, others specialize in used office furniture, and others can provide both. It may be necessary to shop at several highly rated liquidation companies to get everything a location needs to get up and running.
Consider these pros and cons to decide to buy new or used office furniture or store fixtures and shelving.
Pros:
- Purchasing used furniture and fixtures saves a lot of money and the business owner can get quality brands for less money.
- The business owner can shop for style and comfort among the different venues. Used furniture can be broken in instead of stiff and new.
- Purchasing used furniture and fixtures is eco-friendly because it keeps these items out of landfills and lengthens their usable lifetimes.
- When purchasing used fixtures or furniture, you are choosing from existing items in stock and ready to ship or be picked up. The lead time is shorter.
Cons:
- Used items don’t carry warranties and are sold as-is, so inspect them carefully.
- The condition of the furniture might not be perfect with the possibility of dents, scratches, or stains to be dealt with.
- The business owner should budget some money for repairs once the items arrive on site.
- Since this furniture of those store fixtures has been used already, they might not last as long as items purchased new.
- When shopping for used items, the quantities are limited to what is on the floor. You can not order additional items to match. So, purchase only items that are in the right quantity and match. It might be possible to shop at several places and find items that match or coordinate that way.
- Transportation might be an issue for the budget or just convenience. Local companies might require the buyer to pick up and transport their own purchases. Out-of-town suppliers might charge significant shipping.
How To Get The Best Results
A business owner can ensure the best possible results with these strategies.
- Before shopping for fixtures or office furniture, decide on a retail store layout or office layout, then you can choose furniture or fixtures that fit that layout and avoid wasted purchases.
- Create a blueprint or floor plan on paper to guide you in purchasing fixtures and furniture. This blueprint must be scaled with accurate measurements. Grid paper works well for this. The blueprint needs to include window and door locations and other permanent features. Then, the plan should include the layout you want for the office or retail space including all fixture locations or furniture locations.
- Purchase a combination of new and used items that work well together.
- Consider the traffic flow and customer behaviors in making the store layout and worker convenience and work habits in an office layout.
Shop carefully to get the furniture that fits the layout for either an office or retail space. Make sure the furniture or fixtures are pleasing styles and colors and that everything coordinates. When the office or retail space is completed, it should look like everything was purchased together. No one wants to end up with the look of garage sale purchases or poor planning. The whole idea is to save money without sacrificing quality or design.
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