Buying furniture from vendor — reasonable price?

[FrustratinglyIrrational]

I'm bad at decisions at the best of times, but I have to make a decision tonight on whether to buy a dining table and chairs set from our vendor, and it's really stressing me out (please don't be too hard on me — I am generally very anxious, and especially when it comes to purchases. You can imagine how the house-buying process went..!).

I do like the set, as I think it goes very well with the colour scheme of the kitchen/diner. It's more high-end than anything I've ever bought before (moving from rental/IKEA furniture etc.), and I'm not sure what to do. The vendor has said it'll be £1000 for table + 4 chairs. If I were to buy them new now, it would be £1500 (as they are on sale). Is that a reasonable discount? I think they've had it for about 1.5-2 years. I do like it, but I also haven't spent any time researching dining sets. Normally I'd do a lot of research before committing to something like this!

The chairs look uncomfortable

Yeah, I'm someone else who definitely doesn't find it to their taste. Specifically, I feel like the chair backs are at an odd angle (sort of reclined, which isn't really the posture you want to eat your dinner in), and I really don't like the base of the table - it's dark and chunky and feels like it doesn't belong with the top. But that's just not the sort of thing I'd ever like, and that's fine - you'd probably hate my vintage G-Plan table and chairs!

Trust your own judgement here. You do like it and think it goes with the space. You also think (and I agree) that £1k is too much for it second hand. £500 seems a lot more reasonable.

I would definitely make a low offer. If they wanted to keep it they wouldn't be offering it to you, they're probably just trying to save themselves the hassle of getting rid of it.

We just moved and our seller offered to sell us their gorgeous kitchen table for £1k. It's quartz and just lovely. We offered £500 and they accepted.

If you actually want it of course...

Furniture village is like dfs- everything is always on sale. So I would ignore the “before” price. Personally I’d just move in and then source my own. I couldn’t bring myself to spend that on a table and chairs!

Not to my taste at all. Sorry.

I have bought furniture off the vendor in the past, and got some great bargains, but it was more of a lump sum for a few items, plus curtains etc.

Have you actually sat on one of the chairs to see if they are comfortable?

£500 is reasonable. And not a penny more.

And if the vendors say no I wouldn't be upset either.

The joy of getting it new is worth the extra £1000 imo.

www.furniturechoice.co.uk/dining-room-furniture/dining-tables-and-chairs/extending-dining-sets/ has loads of choice including some high gloss options and some with chairs like the ones in the set you linked to. They are cheaper than the vendors are asking for their second hand furniture. I know quality is always a big factor in price but even so I wouldn't pay more than £600 personally and would want to have a really good look at it first.

Yuck that looks like a conference table and chairs in a cheap office. I wouldn't spend a tenner on it!

The balance is not to lay through the nose or irritate the sellers unduly. Why don't you say that you might have found something "a bit cheaper" which you'll go for instead and you don't want to keep them waiting so they should probably go off and sell it privately.

That will flush out whether in fact they're desperate for you to take it and will actually take a much smaller sum for it.

It's not my taste fwiw but it's not my house so that's not really relevant!

Having just sold various bits of expensive furniture at auction as part of a probate sale, you can pick things up pretty cheaply there!

@FrustratinglyIrrational

It looks like it was ~£2500 before going on sale.

No. FV are like DFS - they artificially inflate RRP to make their sales look better than they really are. They'd only be on sale at full RRP for short periods of time, and they probably never sell any at RRP. They're the kind of store that have some kind of sale/discount/offer every few weeks. So, ignore the £2500 - it's not a real comparison/value.

If you like it and it looks good in the kitchen, I'd make a counter offer. £1000 for second hand is too much, definitely. But have a go at getting it if you like it, as you'll kick yourself otherwise. I'd say 500 is fair.

I'd say "thanks for asking, it's not quite what we're after but if you want to save the trouble of selling yourselves we'll give you £200" and leave it to the vendor. Furniture village is not high end, you genuinely are doing the vendor a favour. If they take it, fine, no bother. There's plenty around the £500 mark that would be as good, and would be your choice.

It's not to my taste but if you do like it I agree with everyone saying 1k is far too much. Even if you couldn't get that exact set, you could get a similar look elsewhere, secondhand, for a fraction of that. I also agree with the poster who said 4 chairs for an extendable table doesn't seem right.

In terms of your point about it matching the glossy kitchen, I would actually like a wooden table in a glossy kitchen. My taste in interiors is not for everything to match or be of the same style/era. Of course, you should have exactly what you want in your own house but I wouldn't rule out something wooden and less desigerny just yet.

FrustratinglyIrrational I got mine from Swag in Sheffield, but I would imagine most towns & cities have as similar place.

I don't really like it but if you do I would only offer them £200. You can pick up furniture as you go along. Anything second hand unless it is rare and sought after doesn't hold its value. I bet they haven't got room for it in their new house.

I have never understood this selling furniture on thing. I would have just offered it to you.

Thanks for all the opinions! Very helpful. In the end I told the vendor that I'd be happy for the table and chairs to be left behind if it's easier for them, but that I'd rather take some more time to decide what furniture to spend money on (which is true — I get very stressed when I feel rushed).

No that's way too much. On FB marketplace you don't generally see any second hand tables for more than £500.

OP good for you 🙂 👍🏼

I think its horrible but different people like different things. Think its way over second hand value so I would have done same as you, well actually I probably would have told him to take it.

Looking at what's sold on ebay gives a good idea of secondhand values but generally they are very low compared to new prices.

The starting new price for furniture is ALWAYS overpriced on purpose so £1500 is what it should be new (and that's a rip off probably!). £750 is what it should be second hand.
He just thinks he can play on your desire to own it. Look around for an alternative you like so you are not dependent on this set. Offer him the £750 and let him sweat Hee Hee!

We paid £2000 for a big table with benches and chairs and the table still had its protective plastic on. Plus a leather reclining sofa and chairs, a wooden framed double bed, a wooden framed king size bed, bedside drawers and free standing drawers set.

If you post photos of the kitchen on here, I'm sure people can suggest a much more stylish option at a better price that will fit in with the kitchen style

The table and chairs are not to my taste so I'd say no.