Second unit...questions on restoring items.

All day auction and all I got was your classic $10 unit. Couch blocked most of the contents, crappy tables stacked on crappy tables.

So 5 decent things came from this unit; A blue rockaware baby hat for my little boy, a clean blue $30 hoodie with tag still attached, a unique kitchen table that needs some serious work, and two headboards with mirrors in them. The rest got trashed!

Pic of the unit:



Pic of the decent stuff:



I really thought the kitchen table was unique, the way the sides swing out to extend it. But heres my question; can anything be done with the particle wood headboards? I know nothing about restoring, but a friend of mine says you cant restore particle board. They each have mirrors and lights attached, but should they of gone to the dump too? 

But heres my question; can anything be done with the particle wood headboards? I know nothing about restoring, but a friend of mine says you cant restore particle board. They each have mirrors and lights attached, but should they of gone to the dump too? 

They would have gone to the dump if I had bought it. 

Amazing isn't it what high hopes we have for 8 hours of auctions at 10 sites only to find out the pickin's are slim or too expensive.

A really good primer and a light to white paint color might work. Use a good quality primer and paint. The issue then becomes by the time you spend 50 on primer and paint and rushes and two dys to get it done they still won't be worth the effort , time and money because you'd be lucky to get 20 each out of it. My recommendation and what I'd do also is trash them. Take the mirrors out if you can and drop those on CL for 5 each and be done with it.

Good idea about the mirrors, thanks.

Since you are just starting out in this business, and since you don't have alot of inventory from other units yet and therefore not generating good cash flow, I suggest trying to get something out of every piece you find in a unit. $10 is $10. I don't know how bad a shape that furniture is, but from the pictures it doesnt look all that bad. Interestingly, I won a unit with the same style furniture in it except it was washed oak in color and included a chest of drawers and the dresser for the vanity mirror. The furniture set was the only thing in the unit and I won it for $110.00. It took three months, but I eventually sold the set for $375.00.

Once you are stock full of inventory, then you can start ditching all the marginal stuff you don't want to deal with. Just my thoughts.

I agree, the furniture does not look all that bad, redo the table, it should be well worth it. The particle board, either sell very cheaply to make some of your money back, and ditch it and take out the mirrors and sell those. If the lights are in good condition, and you know anyone that decorates houses or fixes them, you may be able to sell the lights there, I would say between $2 - $5 for the lamps.

I would agree. If you are just starting and have the room, I would hold on to stuff unless you know it really is not worth enough to justify it. Im guessing you prob have the room if you are just starting. The table is not in that bad of shape. You should be able to get a little out of it. The sides going down like that would make it a drop leaf table, may be wrong. I found a Harvest drop leaf table in my first unit that is currently at a high-end antique shop selling for 700$, but they take 50% unfort. I would throw the table up on Clist for around 35$ bucks or so to start off with. You can always drop it down if you don't get any emails on it. A lot of people like fixing up furniture as a hobby, and that table could be a good project for someone. I had an older dresser that was beat to ****, way worse than that, but probably more collectible, I put it up on Clist for 40$ and had a tone of emails and sold it within 3 days.