Believe it or not but furniture is the integral part of a healthy and happy work place. As an owner you should know that the productivity of your employees is directly concerned with the quality of your furniture. Buying brand new office furniture is the kind of luxury that some of us can’t afford but the good news is you can buy used office furniture manufactured by some of the coolest brands in the industry for nearly less than half the original price. Here are four companies you should know if you are buying branded used office furniture.
Herman Miller
Based in Zeeland Michigan, it was founded in 1905. Winner of several “Best of NeoCon”awards; Herman miller provides some of the best office furniture designs and layouts. The infamous Aeron Chair is proof enough to understand the efforts taken by their designers to provide comfortable and stylish furnishings for offices. The cost is not going to be much of deterrent if you buy second hand furniture manufactured by this popular brand. There are second hand stores selling slightly used Herman miller cubicles and chairs at discount rates. Buying used Herman miller chair like Aeron is the best deal you will ever get. It is the most comfortable chair your employees can ever imagine. It automatically adjusts to your body and it is 94% recyclable.
Steelcase
It was founded in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1912. It has been in the furniture business for more than a century. The company offers different office space solutions from cubicles to filing cabinets. The company won the Editors' Choice award at the 2014 NeoCon product competition for Quiet Spaces, a series of workspaces designed for introverts. Due to the high demand many second sales stores have large inventory of used office chairs and cubicles manufactured by Steelcase. Especially used steel cabinets and desks are in huge demand. Discounted rates and good quality attract many office owners looking for used office furniture.
Knoll
Founded in 1938 by Hans and Florence Knoll, it is headquartered in East Green ville,Pennsylvania. The company was renowned for providing detailed attention to the client’s requirements, a commitment it still upholds today. Many second sales store owners claim that it is the second most favorite brand for buying used cubicles and desks. The company sues energy management program to make its manufacturing process eco friendly so you will be contributing towards a greener planet while buying knoll furniture. The office furniture is suitable for small as well as large businesses including cafes and restaurants.
Teknion
Teknion Corporation was founded in 1981 and is based in Toronto, Canada. It designs and manufactures panel systems, desks, chairs, private office systems/case goods, filing cabinets,architectural products, tables and collaborative spaces, storage products etc. Thus it offers a wide a range of used office furniture that you can lay your hands on. You can normally expect around 40% discounts on the original purchase price however if you are luck you can get
discount up to 60% too. Some shop owners have exclusive dealership contract with Teknion. If you could a strike a deal with one of such dealers you may get reliable products at above market
discount.
In conclusion
Contrary to the popular belief used office furniture is mostly branded with a life of about ten years. You don’t have to buy run of mill products from obscured stores anymore. Most of the new furniture dealers also deal used furniture manufactured by all the aforementioned brands.
In this fragile economy everyone is trying to save as much money as possible. Although furnishings are an essential part of office décor budget cuts are forcing companies to adopt cost effective measures like buying used office furniture. Until a few years ago buying second hand office accessories was accompanied with the taboo that you get cheap quality and out dated material. But this point of view has changed significantly in last couple of years thanks to posh second sales store and of course ecommerce. Still some people think that pre owned furniture is not worth buying hopefully below mentioned reasons would change their point of view.
Saves Money
Truth be told, every businessman tries to save as much money out of every deal as possible. If you are looking for quality furniture at affordable rates then there is no better alternative than buying pre owned furniture. Gone are the days when second sale stores used to be dumpy shacks or dusty go downs. Today second hand furnishings are sold in nicely packed boxes and delivered to your address at your convenience. Generally you would buy any slightly used office chairs, desks etc. at a discount in the range of 20% to 90% on the purchase cost. Some dealers might throw in a free home delivery that means saving of extra couple of hundred dollars!
On the top of that when you resell this pre owned furniture you actually end up saving money.For example if you bought say 20 Herman Miller cubicles at 80% with purchase cost of$10,000. Meaning you paid $2,000 for them, later you sold them for $1,000 (at 50% discount).
So you sent only $1,000 for the entire deal which means you got a discount of almost 90% on the purchase cost.
Quality
Most of the people think that used office chairs and desks will be of poor quality however they are wrong. Believe it or not even the second sales dealers have reputation to maintain that’s why they don’t like to sell cheap quality goods. Secondly any furniture whether wood or steel has a life of about twenty years which means even if you buy 5 years old Herman Miller cubicles you would still get better quality material at almost 80% discount.
Secondly you can always check the quality of the used office chairs before buying; you don’t have relied on the photos on the dealer’s website or product catalogue. This ensures that you get the quality worth every dollar you spend. Besides many blue collar and white collar companies get rid of their old office furnishings every two three years just for the sake of it. You can buy such used cubicles, cabinets, chairs, desks and lord knows what else for ten cents a dollar and it is not even out of fashion.
Eco Friendly
Like I have said before the hard economic times may force one of us to look for cheaper alternatives but that’s not the only reason you should buy pre owned furniture. Most of the furniture is made up of wood and steel. The steel brackets used in making chairs as well as the plywood are not recycled but dumped in landfills which leads to soil pollution. We know that every year thousands of trees are felled for making furniture if you buy used office furniture you will be able to save at least some of the trees. Going green is not just a fashion but a necessity we all must embrace and buying used office desks is the best way to do that.
Saves Time
One of my best friends was telling me the other day about the delay in opening his new office.Apparently he and his partner had decided to order new cubicles and chairs; although the alleged dealer had delivered cubicles the chairs he delivered weren’t the same model they chose from the store. On the top of that the dealer had only managed to deliver cubicles and chair but cabinets were still being delivered. If only my friend had decided to buy used cubicles and chairs from a office that was being closed down just two blocks away he could have saved not just money but a lot of time too (which is invaluable by the way) .
What I am trying to say is that in case of used office furniture there are fewer chances for manufacturing defects hence you don’t have to ask for replacements, which in my opinion saves considerable time.
As we all are aware there are several advantages of buying used office furniture. However low cost and high quality remains the major driving force behind buying used furnishings and office accessories. Plus it is environment friendly since it saves thousands of trees from cutting and recycles steel and aluminum parts of the furnishings.
The second hand or slightly used furniture industry is expanding due to large influx of buyers from all over the nation. However you need to be cautious while buying used furnishings. This blog post illustrates on the points you should keep in mind while buying used office furniture.
Thorough Inspection
When it comes to buying used cubicles or desks or any type of furniture you should carefullyinspect it. Buying used office furnishings online without actually visiting the store can be risky so the best way is to window shop online and then visit the real store for thorough inspection.
Naturally the condition is not going to be like brand new furnishings there will be few scratches or marks here and there. You can use these to drive the price down further. Secondly make sure to check for loose bolts, missing screws, internal damage, and mold on fabrics and cushions.
Branded & Slightly Used
Most of the white collar companies as well as blue collar companies change their office furniture every five years or so, for the sake of fashion. This proves to be ideal opportunity for second hand furnishings consumers like us since we can buy quality furnishings at huge discount rate.
Chances are you will end up buying branded used office chairs at a huge discount. Used but branded furniture not only stylish but it also has a longer lasting power. Usually the life of any branded cubicle or desk is around twenty years if used properly so even if you buy a say 7 years old desk you can use it for at least another ten years.
Age of the Furniture
Although there is no direct relation between age of furniture and its price, when it comes to durability age is very important factor. For steel and aluminum furnishings like used office chairs, age is not major concern since most of the material used is either steel or aluminum which neither rusts nor degrades. But make sure that you are not buying more than seven years old furnishings. It will not only be out of style but also require a lot of maintenance.
Discounts
There is no standard guideline for deciding how much discount you can get on any particular item. You may be able to buy used cubicles at 80% discount on the original price and you may get only 60% discount on the filing cabinets of same make and year. If possible look for more than one second hand stores and try to bargain the best price for the same material. Discount generally depends on age, quality and quantity of the furniture. Luckily haggling is not at all bad in any second hand stores so haggle as much as you can. Usually you can get discount on the original purchase price from as low as 40% to as high as 80%. Sometimes people even end up getting 90% discount on good quality furnishings.
Bulk Purchase
This is the first rule of thumb, if you are buying used office furniture try to buy it in bulk. It will not help you to drive down the price but it will easier for delivery and installation too. Plus second hand shop owners love to sell in bulk since it empties their storage space and save maintenance on stored material.
