The Best Market You’ve Never Heard of Moving into a new place? Going to college? In between jobs? Trying to get both feet on the ground?
Being a college student who only has time to put in scattered hours at a work-study job that pays minimum wage, I understand the paradox of wanting to have your own place, and having to spend basically every cent on rent. Sleeping on the floor, staring at stained chipping white walls with nowhere for you and your friends to hang out, often keeps students racking up student loan costs so they can afford expensive campus housing in addition to skyrocketing tuition costs.
However, you do not have to sacrifice your personal independence for fear of living an unfurnished and uncomfortable lifestyle. There is a furnishing goods market that few know about. This hotel liquidator market is the answer to your prayers.
According to USA Today, in 2006, the American Hotel & Lodging Association suggested that hotel spending for the year was likely to amount to $5 billion in upgrades. Noting all of the money being spent on these renovations and improvements, the shrewd consumer may be wondering: what do these hotels do with all of the furnishings they are replacing?
Hotels have found that the best way for them to keep up on hotel fashion trends without bankrupting themselves is to sell their furnishings at uniquely low costs to hotel and motel liquidators. The liquidators then in turn sell these furnishing products to the low-budget, collegiate, and parsimonious consumer like you and I.
The hotel liquidation and liquidated furnishings market has really opened up in recent years as the need for cheap but reliable furniture increases as well as consumer awareness of the market. This great because as liquidators compete, the already unbelievable prices are driven down even further! The prices are often less than quarters on the dollar or 25% of the original price for the good.
But what type of goods do hotels turn over to liquidators? Everything from nightstands to TVs and alarm clocks to fine artwork is available. If you can conceive it in a hotel room, there is a good chance with some phone calls and internet research you can find what you are looking for.
The main criticism of the hotel liquidator market by consumers is that, well, who wants to sit in their jammies in a used chair or have a romantic dinner on pre-owned table? But what few who level this criticism realize is that furnishings at four and five star hotels have at least a three year use period and at most eight years.
Also, do not forget that this stuff is kept up daily by professional cleaning services. It’s not like you’re get a table that’s been wiped down twice in four years (like you’d probably get if you were to get it from my apartment). Furthermore, hotels intentionally buy furnishing goods that are not only of the highest pedigree but are also exceptionally durable. This is good news for you.
Getting all of the stuff for my apartment, from the chairs to the blender, through a hotel liquidator has surely saved me a ton of money without making me embarrassed to have friend and dates over. It’s really a no-brainer.
Now that you know where to look for reasonably priced and good quality furnishing products, below is a list of some useful tips I have discovered in my experience on how to maximize the deal you get.
• Chances are you are going to need a vehicle and possibly a friend or two to move your furniture because liquidators rarely, if ever, provide such services.
• The best way to find out the most up-to-date information on a hotel liquidator’s inventory is to call them. Websites do their best but may be unable to keep up with the pace at which the furniture is overturned.
• Make sure that the item you called about last week is still there before you head down to pick it up. Things go faster than you can say "hey-dude-where-are-you-going-with-my-couch"!
• Hotel liquidation companies are also good places to give your money to, as opposed to, say, larger corporations, who rarely give back to the communities in which they operate. For example, Universal Hotel Liquidators has been donating furniture and employing under-privileged teenagers for years, working hand in hand with Teen Challenge New England, a teen resident and outreach nonprofit organization.
• Before handing over that precious dough, give a thorough inspection of the product you are looking at. It can be easier than you think to miss broken boards, loose parts, unsanitary stains, and the like.
• If you are going to need basically everything that goes in a room, i.e., a table, chairs, a couch, an armoire, a bed, a night stand, etc., then you can usually get a package deal. This can cut down on your cost even further. So when you call a hotel liquidator, just tell them you are looking for a “whole room” package. They’ll know what you’re talking about
• If you want five star furnishings just ask. If you want sheets with pink poodles on them – just ask. This is an already huge and increasingly-expanding market, you can get basically anything you want or something very close to it, do not settle for anything less. Don’t let someone sell you on a hot dog when you’d rather a turkey burger – you dig?
One of the best sources that I ran into when I discovered the liquidated furnishings market was Universal Hotel Liquidators. Hotel Liquidators was easy to navigate, informative, and presented a wide array of top-notch furnishings at an affordable cost. I recommend starting your furniture search at their site: www.FurnishCheap.com.
The best of luck to you on getting the furniture you need without breaking the bank!

1060 State St.
New Haven, CT 06511
203-776-7000

www.furnishcheap.com