WHOA Is me, Only furniture rental company is Rent-A-Center

Patti, my sister, I hear you.  We have a rent a center, a rentway and an Aaron's.  IMHO, all the same companies, just with different names.  I visited the Aaron's on some bad advice and they actually had a set in the showroom that had cigarette burns on the sofa cushion. If they will display it, they will deliver it. 

We have a Cort 90 minutes away that will deliver twice a week, but not on short notice.  I have been lucky so far finding astonishing deals when I need them (God is Good) or have sellers that are willing to invest in furnishings for their new home.  I hope it stays that way.

I have had bad experiences with rental furniture companies.  One company in particular was named above.  I have been lucky enough to be able to start buying and renting out my own furniture.  It is much easier and the furniture looks a lot better!!!

 Good Luck,

Dawn

Hi, I deal with a company such as Rent- A- Centre and have found a way around their beaten up furniture.  I used their services, as is, for two stagings before I went to talk to the manager.  I developed a relationship based on the services we could provide eachother. 

I knew there was a time when this furniture was new, so I asked for furniture "out of the box" from now on.  Low and behold, because I ensured the furniture was well looked after once it left the store, they started only giving me brand new furniture that they hadn't previously rented.

I was looking after it, so they had no worries about the condition in which it would be returned.  They knew that if they rented to me first, they could actually carry that furniture for a longer period of time before it became unrentable.

It is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Another angle you may want to try is a local furniture store that you can explain what it is you do and if they have "scratch and dent" furn. in a clearance center you may be able to work a deal to rent that instead of buy (go by pricing from your local rental company) - they can deliver and pick up for a fee and they get it back to sell.  I know it sounds confusing but it really isn't - it's a win win for them and you and if the home is vacant, no one will be using it anyway.  I don't know why more furniture stores aren't on board with this idea - even for model homes - it's a great way to get their company noticed too.  It's really thinking outside the realm of what we'd normally want to do but it's worth a shot.

Patti,

 

I'm in area with no furniture rental options so I work with a mom and pop furniture store that sells new and gently used furniture.  They deliver and pick up the pieces I have chosen and bill the client directly.  So far it's been a good arrangement for everyone--the furniture in the vacant homes frees up their limited display space, gives them an income and can be sold either to the people buying the house or when it goes back to the store.  Sometimes necessity really is the mother of invention ; )

 

Good Luck,

Deb 

Debra I just read your post, that's exactly what I was talking about in my comment - find a local furn. store who you can explain the process to and work a deal.  That's a great thing!  I'm so happy to hear it worked for you!

Finding furniture is one thing, getting your client to agree to pay for the fees are another. I have found that by pulling together some key pieces and staging beds with blowup mattresses and some creativity for desks, tables and nice chairs is something that you can do with a little imagination and really make the home look amazing. This will help you, although it will be more work on your end, and your clients fees will be alot less which means more jobs for you.

Shop you local stores for furniture pieces and think outside the box. For instance, a console table can be used as a writing desk, dining room buffet, vanity in guest room. Chair covers work wonders to tie rooms together. Card tables, round resin tables all covered with long sheets and table runners also look great. Start to think outside the box and ask how yourself what you can use to make a space more inviting.

Phyllis Pafumi  

I agree with Phyllis, clients just don't want to pay the high price of renting from a furniture company, we need to come up with very inexpensive ways to create the same look for less money.  It is hard work, but I also think it is fun when I get another ahhah idea without making them pay for it dearly.

I wanted to add to that we are CREATING EQUITY for our clients.  I know people are reluctant in some cases to pay for staging - turn the negative into a positive - it is an INVESTMENT - I don't think we're price gouging in any sense, we work with the budget but like it's been said this is HARD work, physically and mentally challenging - we are worth it - it's just a matter of educating the client that you are too!

I orginally felt when I started I almost had to apologize for the fee - WHY? I don't feel that way now.  An investment in staging is always less than the first price reduction (which can be 5 or 10% in some markets and on a $200K house that's $10 or 20K! They are kidding themselves that they "arent' paying for that" when you give them your estimate.  They'll be paying for it in other ways; their mortgage (2 if the house is vacant they're selling) utilities, maintenance like landscape and pool serv. the list goes on... They just don't THINK about it at first.  But when the home sits 3, 6, 12 months on the market the money is draining out!

In one case of home we recently staged (it sold 15 days later after 5 offers), where furniture was rented, the house ended up being listed at $25K more than had it not been staged (with rental funiture). The home sold for and made $22.5 of the $25 above the original list price (again had it not been staged) that NOT ONLY PAID for the furniture rental & staging + accessories, it paid for carpet they put in and gave them over $10 K more in their pocket.

Unfortunately if you live in an area where there are not very many furn. rental companies, you'll have to come up with ways to creatively stage or purchase an inventory IF you want to work with vacants - maybe you'll choose to only do a couple until they sell and move the furniture after, that way you don't have to keep buying - it's another whole business to get into with rental furniture between storage, depreciation, damage delivery etc... your physical health will surely be tested! 

Best of luck to everyone I'll get off my soap box now....

We have a lot of old victorian homes in my area so I have rented furniture from large antique shops.  The furniture suits the home and the dealer almost always has things in storage they cannot fit into their shop.  Also, many antique shops deal in reproductions which can be brand new furniture or decorative accessories.  They can be a great source for chandeliers, oriental rugs and art work.

All good ideas - I'll check out Terry's blog.

I had the same situation and decided to build my own inventory.  I made that decision 2 years ago.  It is hard work to manage but I have been happy with the results.

I would have to agree with a lot of the ideas that I have read here. Where I live there are not a lot of rental places around, so I have decided to go through the yellow pages in the phone book. Due to the fact that we are a tourist area, there are a lot of smaller boutiques around that I'm hoping will work with me. I am hoping to place a small sign in the homes that I stage advertising where the furniture came from. In some cases these pieces can be quite unique. Our area is also very big on the concept of buy locally owned which I have tried to capitalize on. When we can get people to buy locally, then everyone wins. Hope this has been of some help.

Sheryl Delorme, Special Effects