AIBU to think £1,000 is reasonable for nearly new DFS sofas?

[AMurderofMurderingCrows]

I bought new sofas from DFS a couple of months ago and have decided I don't like them.

It's a current range (New Libby) and consists of a 3 seater, 2 seater and matching storage footstool. They're basically as new and cost me around £3,000 altogether including the fabric protection. No damage or stains etc.

I know I'm obviously going to take a hit selling them secondhand, but I'm trying to work out what would be a realistic asking price.

If you were looking for sofas and these were currently around £3k new, what would you genuinely expect/pay for them at only a couple of months old?

I'm thinking maybe advertise around £1,000. Am I being wildly optimistic? 😂

YABU - I'd give you £100 and a Freddo
YANBU - I'd pay £1000

DFS NEW LIBBY

OP I am going to say something really boring. Is there any way you could just try and make it work for a year and see if you get used to it?

I was thinking exactly this

Sorry OP but I have been looking for a second hand sofa and often save listings I like as I know they will come down in price massively, often to less than £100 (the crappy ones often end up listed for free but that's because some are very manky, unlike yours!). £150 is about the limit for a good quality modern 2 or 3 seater sofa local to me. 5 years ago I bought an immaculate corner sofa for £350 and that was during the pandemic when supplies were running low. Most people looking for secondhand want a bargain as otherwise they will get interest free credit and pay by installments.

I'm going against the grain here, to say I would absolutely pay a grand for your sofas of they are as you describe. I've paid 600 for a second hand dfs set before and they were old with some slight marks/ tears. For those who say people are put off by having to hire a man with a van - it's super easy and cheap! Cost me fifty quid last time.

You can put it on eBay and local buy and sell sites and try. My experience has been people want something for nothing and bulky items are really tricky to off load as collection only and they need a van.
We bought a show home which came with some furniture including a cream habitat settee which we sold as new for a few hundred and it was retail several thousand. It’s also a hassle too - there was a daybed in box room again unused and a decent brand we sold for very little and she turned up in a mini and seemed to think it was our issue to resolve.
I’d worry about a quick resale may be something dodgy. There used to be a thing where people would buy sofas on credit then resell for small amount on local buy & sell as a way to get cash when they weren’t eligible for loans.

Can I ask roughly where you're based OP?

YABVU. As soon as you’ve bought a sofa it drops in value astronomically.

You won’t get anywhere near £1000 for them. Consider yourself lucky if you get £200 - £300 for them.

Secondhand furniture which isn't antique never sells for much- you will be lucky to get a few hundred TBH.

I frequently buy all manner of household items from Marketplace and Ebay but not Vinterior as the prices on there are ridiculous.

I wouldn’t pay anywhere near that for a DFS sofa, in my personal opinion the quality is lacking. I would much rather have a second hand Wesley Barrell or a Duresta for that type of money and am slightly tempted by Schplendid recently, they have a 50 day free return policy from memory.

Your price point will be under £500, also worth considering that your buyer will probably have to hire a van to transport it so they will add that into their calculations.

yes sorry but my first thought was bugs or fleas. I have twice moved into nice furnished rentals and had to immediately fog treat them for fleas.

I think the prospect of loosing that much money would help me get over it.
If the combination is too big for the room could you not use the two seater elsewhere in the house or sell it? Keep the three seater and maybe get a different chair which makes space flow better.

I personally wouldn't pay £1000 for a secondhand sofa. I'm sure you are completely bug free and incredibly hygienic, but the buyer doesn't know that.
I'd only buy a secondhand sofa if I was really in need of one, and just holding out until I had the money to buy what I wanted brand new. In that situation, I'd go to the secondhand Heart Foundation shop, and get one there for a couple of hundred quid. I wouldn't go anywhere near a grand for a "place holder" sofa.

But there's no harm in listing it and holding out for £1000 if you're not in a hurry to shift it.

If it was the exact sofa/set I wanted anyways then I would pay that. If I was just looking for any sofa secondhand then I think £500 max.

I am shocked by the number of people who would 'never' buy a second hand sofa. At 53 and not on my arse I have never bought a new sofa. 3k for a sofa! nope. Only ever bought antique and never lost money reselling. The waste and impact on the environment is huge, plus the fumes from fire retardant chemicals is extremely dangerous. There is a lot of evidence now that fire retardant chemicals in our homes lead to neurodevelopmental problems in children, cancer and respiratory issues in humans and animals.

I think you would be lucky to get 300-400.

I don't think I'd pay more than like £200-300 for a secondhand sofa because of the risk of cleanliness (it could be infected with fleas etc, you have no idea who you're buying off) and also the collection would be such a headache it's almost not worth it.

And I spent £3k happily on a new sofa and £1k on an armchair. I just think there's a lot of downsides to buying a second hand sofa (id buy something non fabric like a wooden table as the cleanliness risk is less).

Did the sofas come with any guarantee for the covers and frame? Are the guarantees transferable?

I wouldn't personally look in that price range for second hand sofas. All my sofas are second hand. They are 'high end' second hand - e.g. one is Duresta but bought in good used condition rather than nearly new, I paid less than half what you are asking for yours.

My reason for choosing second hand was a. to afford better quality and durability than I could buy new and b. I have cats so there's not a lot of point buying new when it won't stay immaculate for long.

I suppose if I had been thinking of buying that particular DFS sofa brand new and saw yours after I had already thought it was worth spending £3k for that exact design I might jump at yours, but that isn't how I have ever approached buying furniture - I go by having a colour, size and style loosely in mind and see what is on the second hand market rather than looking at new and trying to find the same things cheaper.

My advice would be to advertise at the price you hope to achieve but be prepared to haggle or to drop the price if you have no takers within a few weeks.

Agree, I have a dfs sofa that is nearly 4 years old and it still looks new
I think 1000 is a bargain.
OP, do you really dislike them that much to sell them at such a low price?
You must have liked them enough to buy them originally?

The thing is, 'worth' is impossible to evaluate. It's easily worth £1k to you, because you love it, and you're the one shouldering the loss in relation to what you paid.

It's unlikely to be 'worth' £1k to anyone in the market for a second hand sofa, because you're up against umpteen other sofa sellers who just want rid and therefore are happy with £100 or whatever.

You'd need to hope that you would catch a buyer who had been in DFS last month, fell in love with that exact sofa in that colour, but had decided that £2800 was just too much. They'd be delighted, and £1k would definitely be 'worth' it to them.

I was in the market for a second hand sofa suite earlier this year, maximum budget of £200. I got a reasonably comfortable DFS one for £30 - not beautiful to look at, but clean and it serves a purpose.
I also got an older Laura Ashley one for £65, which I love.

I came across one on Facebook marketplace for £1200. Exactly the colour/style/size that I would have chosen if I had the money. I looked it up online, and it was still selling for over £7k new!
Even if she'd reduced it to £500, I still couldn't have bought it.

I'm surprised by the number of people that would rule out second hand. Whilst I know you can't be sure, surely the risk of bed bugs is low from a home that looks otherwise clean and tidy?

Saying that, I'm guessing you will struggle to sell it for £1k. I would usually say a third is the right amount for a second hand item, I think with the faff of delivery and loss of warranty you're going to get offered less. Maybe £500 is more realistic. Have you put the style into eBay and filtered for sold listings?

Sofas don’t hold their value at all. We recently bought a beautiful hand crafted 3 seater sofa from Facebook market place for £250. It’s barely been sat on and the woman paid £4500 for it.

She had it listed at £400 for ages but it was more than I wanted to spend (we already have a sofa and this was for the back room). I saved it and it was clearly more than anyone else wanted to spend as she reduced it to £250 so I snatched it up. It was brand new condition as she also used it as a spare sofa.

I should also add, it doesn't matter what you paid for it but what it is available for now. If that's £2,300 not £3,000 work off that price.

I have had plenty of second hand soft furnishings in the past when I was not financially in a position to buy new but if I had £1000 for a sofa best believe it will be brand new!

For me there is an element of what would I be prepared to pay in cash? Normally larger purchases would be bought using a card with some payment protection, when you’re buying from someone’s door you lose that security. So yeah, sorry I wouldn’t pay more than £500 despite them clearly being worth more

See, I think you are in the majority there but if I had £1k to spend on a sofa I'd just get a nicer second hand sofa for £1k, although I don't believed there'd be many without being very specific statement pieces. So I would probably spend £400 on a really nice second hand sofa (worth North of £3k new) and £600 on something else I wanted.