Starting your couch flipping side hustle

1. Starting your couch flippingsidehustle • Alright,let’s get rightintoit.Furnitureflipping (especiallycouchflipping) isahighly rewarding andlucrativeside-hustle.In future blog posts my wife,Emma,willshareher successwith flipping othertypes of furniture including shelves, dressers,and tables. • Below Iwillsharethebeststrategy forgetting into couchflipping.GettingStarted • Likeallthings, you muststartsmallandscale overtime.Below,Ioutlined afew thingsto consider before pickingupyour firstcouch: • What’syourpersonalgoalforspending time onaside-hustle (saving foratrip, movingtowardsfinancialfreedom,giving backtoothers,etc.)? • This isoneof themostimportantstepssince thiswillfeedyourmotivationto persevere evenif youbumpintochallenges. • Who will be helping you with this side hustle or is it something you will attempt alone? • You canmakealotmore money tackling thisalone,butwe highly • recommend workingon thiswithapartner.When movingfurniture,you

2. won’t always be able to get the seller to help you move their old piece of furnituretoyour vehicle. • Where willyoubestoringfurniture youpickup? • Andrew andIstartedin ourgarage,butstorageunitsarealsoaviableoption inthe instanceyoulivein an apartment. • How muchyouare willingtospendonacouch? • Tostart,we limitedpurchasesto $50orlessforasinglecouchand $100or lessfor acouchsetor sectional. • How willyousplitincome? • We choseto put 50%asideforexpenses(gas,cleaning supplies,etc.)and split theremaining 50%50/50.In theinstance,onepartnerisusing theirvehicle you mayopttogivethemahigherpercentage. • Howwillyoutransport purchased andsold furniture(e.g.truck,tiedownstraps, etc.)? • Becauseyou obviously can’tstrapasectionaltothetopofyourFord Focus…atleast,it’snotencouraged. Finding &Picking Up YourFirst Couch Once youfigure outhowtotacklealltheaboveit’stime to schedule yourfirstpickup.When we first started we exclusivelysurfedCraigslist,OfferUp, andFacebookMarketplacetofind couchesthat fit ourbudget.We would setalertsbasedon thedistance fromwhere we lived and thepriceso we could easily tracknewly postedfurniture.The secret here isbeing the firstto reachoutto theseller andofferingpick-up ASAP.Itisahuge inconvenienceto the

3. seller whenthebuyercan’t pickuporasksto pickupinafew days.Getahead ofthisby offeringtopickupthe same day. • We recommend using our tactic of having a budget for each couch but be respectful to sellers.Neverlowballasellerwith youronly intentbeing to resell(e.g.,Offering $50fora • $400couch).It’sjustrude. • Instead,focus on findingcheaporfree couchesthathave potentialtobeflipped foralot moreonce cleanedup. • Once asellerhasagreed tosellyoutheircouchand youarrive forpickup thereare afew thingstodobefore payingthem: • Checktheoverallcondition of thecouch(don’tbeafraid to askthemif thereare anyissues). • Wasthe couchpreviouslyinahomewithpets? • Isthere anystructuraldamage(e.g., brokenframe)? • Are there any buginfestations(e.g.,carpetbeetlesorbedbugs)? • This is the most important one and you can see a video of how tocheckforbugshereor thisarticlehere. • Don’t be afraid to turn down a couch if you don’t like the quality. Worst thing you can do when you have limited space is to buy a couch that is toughtosell.Ifyoulikethecouchbutthereareissuesnotmentioned inthe post negotiatethe price further inperson. • Askthemtohelpclearaspaceforyoutomovethe couch tothe door (youcan • alsomessage theminadvance torequestthis). • I can’ttellyou howmanythingsI have bumpedinto while moving bulky furniture fromtheliving roomtothefrontdoor. Best to besafe byensuringthere isapathcleared. • Assuming everything looksgood,move yournew couchdownto you vehicle, makesure it’s secured,andyou’re goodtogo. • Cleaning • When we first started we didn’t have any professional cleaning supplies. We picked up our first couch from a family so naturally there were stains that come with having small kids (marker,foodspills,etc.).With yourfirstcouchthe easiest way to cleanmostof the couchis by throwingthecushion coversin yourlaundrymachine.Makesurethatyou lookatthe tagsor research the materialto knowhow you shouldwash thecoversto preventdamage.

4. Once thecoversare in thewashyoustillneed to clean thearmrestsand backrests.Start withvacuuming the whole couch.We foundthat warmwaterandadropofdishsoapwas sufficient to help usspotclean anysmallnon-permanent stainsoutof the couch.Avoid using too much dish soapas thiscan leadto somespotsordiscoloration once it dries.If discolorationoccursjustre-clean withwarmwateronly and waitforitto dry. • Aftereverything isdryput the cushioncoversbackon and get readyfortaking photos. • TakingPictures • Thisstepisstraightforward,but thereareafew pointersthathelp ensurethephotosyou take willmaximize the offersyougetonceyoupostitforsale: • Makesureyou have great lighting.Sincewe started in ourgarage,wewould movethe couchesoutside aroundnoon totakephotos.Thishelpedusgetgreat lighting while avoidingshadows thatoccurwhen snappingphotosin theevening. • Takephotosstraightonandgetphotosallaroundthe couch(armrests,cushions, backrest,etc.). • Take photos of all issues with the couch (stains etc.). Being honest about the issues is not only the right thing to do, but helps buyers be confident about puttingan offer onyourpost. • Belowisaphoto ofthe veryfirstcouchwe picked up,cleaned andresold. Posting

5. Once you haveallthe pictures,we recommendpostingacrossallplatformstoensure potentialbuyersfindyourpost regardlessof wheretheyshop(Craigslist,OfferUp,and Facebook Marketplace). As mentioned above, an honest description is important. Call out any issues and mention that you are open to any questions about your posting. To increase the chances of selling the couch quickly we also recommend offering free delivery near you. Most people won’t buyacouchtheywantifdeliveryisn’tavailable. Reinvesting&FindingYourNext Couch Afteryourfirst salebecarefulabout immediately spendingallthemoneyyou just made. Withourfirstfew salesAndrewand Ireinvestedinto ourside-hustlebypurchasing professional cleaning supplies (vacuum, upholstery cleaner, steam cleaner, etc.) to help simplify cleaningforfuturecouches. Ona futureblog post,wewilloutlinesomeof the supplieswe purchasedwhenwefirstgotstarted. And…that’sit!This formof income isnottruly “passive” but you willhavethechanceto earnsignificantside income.Time torepeatandfindyournextcouch. Feelfree to postinthecommentsbelow and wewillfollowup assoon aswe can toanswer your questionsaboutstartingyour side hustle. Subscribe to our RSS feed to get notified of future postings around cleaning supplies, cleaningtactics,andothersuccessfulside hustles and hobbies. AbouttheAuthor Roman is the co-owner of Couch Cycled which he started with Andrew Muniz in 2021. Professionally,Roman hasabackgroundinsoftware salesandhasworked forcompanies ranging from small startups up to large companies like Cisco. Outside of work, Roman has always hadapassion fortheoutdoorsandregularlyspendstimecampingandflyfishing. Don’thesitateto reach out overtextoremailif youhave any questionsabout Couch Cycled or justwanttoconnect. AboutCouchCycled CouchCycledoffersfree in-homecouchandfurnitureremovaltoreducefurniturewaste in Dallas/FortWorth while giving backto thecommunity.Allremoved couchesare renewed and resold atanaffordable price.A percentageofallsalesare donated.