The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: windriver on February 07, 2015, 04:28:12 PM
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Hey all,
So my anti-mustachian in-laws have decided to move overseas and need to sell all of their furniture asap. Before placing an add in the paper they are giving us first opportunity. I am recently married and we are currently using furniture that came with our rental as well as some old yard-sale type stuff that you'd expect from some young mustachians just starting out. The items for sale are all very high end products and all purchased within the last two years. They are asking $3K. I figured retail value around $15K. We will have to blow our meager savings account to buy this stuff so I'm not sure if it's worth it or if it would be stupid to pass up since at some point we will be needing this stuff anyways. Help?!
Included is:
- (2) 60'' flat screens. One is a year old, and the other probably 3 years old.
- Posturepedic fancy king bed that has a remote control to rise/massage etc. 1 year old.
- Bedroom dresser and chest of drawers. 1 year old
- Bedroom night tables with lamps matching other furniture.
- Fancy humidifier/air filter
- Bed spread and other bedding that fits the bed
- (2) Leather couches. 1 year old. Probably $2K each retail.
- (2) End tables with lamps
- TV cabinet fancy and matches other furniture
- Ottoman
- (2) Fake trees with pots
- (2) Framed artwork we like
- Bose sound system
- Blu Ray player
- Rug
Is this a good opportunity or should we say thanks but no thanks?
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Do you have room to hold some of it temporarily? Would they be mad if you kept a few pieces and sold the rest on craigslist? You could cherry pick a few items you really want and recoup your cost by selling the rest.
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Is it stuff you love and want to keep? Some of that seems OTT fancypants that I would never want (eg I'd be happy not to have a TV or sound system - a laptop is more than sufficient for me). Ditto the bed. But if some of it is stuff you'd buy for yourselves in the future (maybe the furniture?), then just buying that may be worth it.
I have a bad reaction to any family or in-laws foisting their stuff on me, but generally it's been because of inappropriate boundaries. So this might be a more benign situation, but just be mindful of whether this is something you're comfortable with or whether it's better to say no to some or all of it.
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It is a hassle to move good quality furniture that you like. Only buy what you really would if this was a stranger, let them sell the rest, then take for free what you like but don't need.
I have accepted this type of 'gift' before, and it really isn't. I was stressed about kids juice pills, etc. Three moves later it was a bit worse for wear and did not fit in our place.
I learned to only take what I really really wanted, or items I would be okay giving away on my next move.
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Hi all,
Thanks for the responses so far.
Yes we do have room for it, and would sell/give away our current trashy furniture. We would definitely sell one of the TV's and possibly one of the couches.
There is no sentimental tie to the stuff. We do appreciate that it is high end, and we like the style.
There is no way we would ever buy this kind of fancy stuff from the store, and our plan was to eventually furnish our house modestly and in steps. However, we feel that this stuff might be cheaper than even modest furnishings.
They are selling it as an all or none deal.
Yes it is a weird family transaction, and there has been historical unrelated issues, but I don't think this transaction could worsen anything.
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$3K is a great price for what you've described.
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It is a great price & you could sell what you don't want & get back some of your $. Since you like it I would do it.
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If you wouldn't have some hangup about selling pieces you won't use, then this seems like an obvious buy.
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You listed retail as 15k. What could you sell it for? Used furniture has a huge price drop.
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I think that is is reasonable to buy it all if you like it and will use it. Like you said...sell some that you won't need/use and you will be set for furniture for the long term. Quality furniture can last a long time (if you don't have pets or kids!) so I think the short term pain of parting with your money would be worth it. Having said that...hopefully you will have a plan to re-jig your budget to save up that emergency fund again quickly!
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What will it cost to get it to your home? Figure that into the price.
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If you love enough of the furniture that it is with 3,000, then perhaps you should buy it. But in reading your original post, it sounds like you just don't want to pass up a good deal. Decorating over time can really be fun and make memories as well as a home. I would hesitate to take up any buy all or nothing deal.
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How much does it cost when bought used? Can you sell most of it through craigslist? If the resale value is higher and you can sell almost all of it, then you can do a quick buy and sell for a good profit.
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Since you mentioned you're renting, you may want to consider the size of the furniture and how settled you are in your current living situation. My husband and I have moved several times in the past few years, and a lot of "normal," house-sized furniture we received from family became a tremendous burden in apartments and older homes with anything other than cookie-cutter layouts. The king size bed and huge TV would give me pause--they could limit how you arrange your home and even what homes you can live in, if you can't easily sell and replace the bed, for example. You have to decide if your freedom to get exactly what you want and need is worth the discount. Unless you are really settled and would purchase items that large anyway, I'd be inclined to pass.
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For 3k, I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
Maybe some stuff will go unused, but you'll probably come up ahead.
Could you buy a part of it for less money?
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Wow, I am the outlier I guess. Have I wondered onto a forum other than MMM?
$3,000 for this stuff, none of it necessary, means that you are $3,000 out.
To me, this is a life lesson: there will always be "deals" that lure you into spending your savings. Hence, you will have no savings.
And if you think that you can resell it for more, good luck with that. People think their crap is worth a whole lot more than it is worth. Now, I will say that probably your parents could get more than $3,000 for this stuff as you describe, but they've got to put in time and effort to do so, as would you.
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Wow, I am the outlier I guess. Have I wondered onto a forum other than MMM?
$3,000 for this stuff, none of it necessary, means that you are $3,000 out.
To me, this is a life lesson: there will always be "deals" that lure you into spending your savings. Hence, you will have no savings.
+1
I would pass. Put the $3k in a brokerage account.
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Wow, I am the outlier I guess. Have I wondered onto a forum other than MMM?
$3,000 for this stuff, none of it necessary, means that you are $3,000 out.
To me, this is a life lesson: there will always be "deals" that lure you into spending your savings. Hence, you will have no savings.
And if you think that you can resell it for more, good luck with that. People think their crap is worth a whole lot more than it is worth. Now, I will say that probably your parents could get more than $3,000 for this stuff as you describe, but they've got to put in time and effort to do so, as would you.
If they are going to be buying the same stuff anyway, I don't see the issue. We paid 3K over ten years ago for a nice bed and dresser, and I have never regretted it. It's nice and sturdy and has held up well. If they are getting high quality furniture that will last a long time, it would be worth it. Also, used couches can be iffy because of bed bugs, and they won't have to worry about that in this situation.
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Sounds like a worthwhile expense to me. You are getting a very good deal on lightly used furniture that you ultimately are going to have to buy anyway for a lot more money. Sell what you don't need/want to help reduce the cost somewhat.
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PEOPLE! No one "has to buy anyway" ANY of this stuff!
I am 60 years old and have never had a matching bedroom set or a big-ass moving-parts bed. I think the former is tacky and the latter is for out of shape old people.
And a faux ficus tree????!!!! Come ON.
I didn't have new upholstered furniture until I was 45 years old. I didn't have a new sofa until I was 55 years old. (Agreed, the bed bug scare wasn't out there in those days.) "New" furniture is one of the things one really does not need, and matchy matchy stuff is uncool.
But ya know what? I've got big fat investment accounts and I could have retired years ago by the standards of this board.
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I think the difference in opinion is that many people posting are assuming most will be sold on Craisglist or similar sites, potentially making this a cash positive transaction- or near zero if some furniture was kept.
If this was me, I would only buy it if I were SURE that I could sell it for more than $3000- and due to the size of many of the items, and my lack of a desire to spend too long on selling it, I would want the TV's alone to cover most of the cost. And I wouldn't buy it at all if it didn't look possible to easily break even on.
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I wouldn't want to sleep on a bed that my ILs had used, for one thing. I'd pass. It sounds like you'd be paying to buy a huge hassle. I hate stuff. Two 60" TVs? I can't imagine.
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Do they have to have cash for it all up front? Will they let you make payments for it?? Even if they will? Cost shop similar items on Craigslist before you buy it. Perhaps what you'd keep of it could be had for much less money and a whole lot less hassle unless you can upsell part of it at a significant profit. I'd surely hate to see you invest your whole young wad of cash on it and leave yourselves spread too thin.
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Really to me it's a no-brainer "No!!". You're not actively looking for furniture. 1)Hassle factor as noted above. 2)Weirdness factor as well if you care.... 3)Loss of independence will always factor in no matter how nice they are. I'd rather struggle my way up within my means, unless its an emergency. 4)Plus yeah, you'll be out $3k.
PS can they do consignment?
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I would tell them to try to sell it all first and then you'll take whatever they can't sell for free, as a favor to them.
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^This.
Not sure where you live, but even high end used furniture here does not sell for very much money. People who have $3K for furniture generally want to buy new furniture. Period. Especially for things like couches and mattresses. They might be able to unload the electronics, but that furniture, fake plants, and art are going to go for a lot less than they think. Unless they have several weeks to list it and find the right person who wants that style, they might be able to sell it all for $3K, but I'd be shocked if they get more for it than that.
(Source of knowledge: just furnished an entire apartment for less the $1500 with very nice, perfect condition used modern furniture including a spectacular modern leather couch, 2 modern upholstered chairs, bar with granite top and heavy mirror, 2 nice bar stools, dining room set, TV stand/entertainment center, coffee table, end tables, book cases, several lamps, 7 piece bedroom set including queen mattress, another 5 piece queen bedroom set, and 4 pieces of modern art for walls.)
Also, it annoys me that you are just starting out and they are trying to sell you their stuff.
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Thanks for all the responses. It's been good seeing the differing opinions. I agree with many of the opinions on both sides which is why the decision is so tough. After considering all the posts so far I am leaning towards the purchase. Here's my analysis:
Pros:
-My wife and I listed out each individual item and assigned a price we'd be willing to pay for it at a random garage sale (we are frequent garage sale shoppers). Coincidentally the total came out to be exactly $3K.
-Craigslist opportunities to both buy and sell are almost non-existant in our town. We live in a small remote town so it's difficult to find suitable used stuff, and buying new stuff would require at least a 2 hour drive to a furniture store each time we were looking to get something.
-If we lost our current rental, bought a house, or moved into an unfurnished place we would have to buy a lot of these items anyways and there might not be a sweet deal at that very moment.
- We could probably sell our old couches, tv's+stand for $200. Furthermore we would at the very least sell one of the 60'' tv's and get at least another $200 out of it. Since we have the luxury of waiting until someone is willing to pay our asking price I am confident we could get these amounts at the very least - possibly more.
- I don't plan to live out my life in a home furnished like my college apartment. I'm not ashamed, and am known to be frugal and thrifty, but I'm not going to be cheap forever.
- I don't see us ever getting a better deal on quality stuff. (I would never buy a bed or couch used from anyone other than family).
- I have a truck and utility trailer to aid in moving the stuff around.
Cons:
- Moving this stuff into our upstairs apartment is going to be painful. Moving it again when we eventually move will be all the more painful.
- If we needed to sell all this stuff in a hurry we might take a small loss. But why would we sell? We will most certainly not be moving overseas.
- Due to their anti-mustachian lifestyle they need the money badly and I'd feel bad placing a lower bid.
- Weird family transaction in an already often difficult relationship.
- I feel slightly embarrassed at the thought of a 60'' tv in my house.
Although this would stretch us thin for a few months, we just finished paying off student loans and otherwise live a very mustachian lifestyle. No cable, modest phone plans, one low car payment, etc. We will be able to quickly rebuild our savings. Added peace of mind knowing that we own basic furnishings and no longer need to prioritize yard sales as part of our Saturday routine.
Please feel free to shoot holes in my analysis if I'm flat out wrong.
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I think you forgot to add in disposal costs for the likely 50% of misc. Items you and others don't want. Tossing mattresses, ficus plant, TV and such often have fees. I do get that there are limited second hand choices nearby.
Will it be weird to live the your IL's house/ decoration style? Would they be disappointed if you put their prize sofa in the dump / free cycle share shed or used it as a sawhorse while painting after a year?
Inlaw gifts can come with hidden expectations..
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Honestly, why can't they just sell their stuff or throw it or give it?
I doubt they would get 3k for it. We moved overseas and got rid of everything. Selling furniture is a tedious, drawn out task and no they won't get anywhere near retail, probably much less than 3k for it.
What they seem to be asking for is money. If you want to gift them, do it.
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^^^ This. Looks like they want money and you want to give it. In that case, just gift it to them. It'll atleast save u the hassle of moving stuff up and down and would not have any hidden expectations in future.
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I like your pros and cons list. That is always a good strategy for deciding. If you and your wife both really, really, really like the style of furniture, and you want to give them $3K, then it's probably okay.
Unless they have months to work on selling this stuff, you are actually doing them a big favor, but they will never, ever see it that way. Just be prepared to express eternal gratitude for their furniture "gift" to you, because that is likely how they will see it. They might also always view that stuff as theirs and take exception to how you use it as another poster pointed out. Two sides to every story.
Good luck with it!