Office Furniture Liquidation

The voice on the radio announces another office furniture liquidation sale that ends on Saturday night at nine. Right. That's a yawn because the guy has been saying it ends on Saturday for three weeks now, but the commercial is back every Monday at drive time. The commercial conjures up the idea that somehow not enough desks have been turned into some sort of brown goopy liquid and so the sale must continue so that more liquid goo can be produced. If the words office furnishings liquidation really mean scratch and dent sale to the listener, that's probably a pretty good read. The desks that are too scratched to be sold, the chair with two of four wheels missing, the bookcase that was backed into by a semi and the desk lamp with no shade are all probably part of an office furniture liquidation. Perhaps a better come on would be, "workspace equipment that has character" sale.

There are always code words in every trade, like the word cozy in real estate ads means so small you can't turn around in the place. Reliable transportation means the car looks like a circus wagon, sociable means the dog will always growl before the animal bites someone and affordable office furniture often means its in a box and the stuff has to be put together quickly because if not, the one assembling the thing will lose his or her mind in frustration. Once again, the term affordable office furniture really ought to be workspace equipment in a box. That's why the six foot high bookcase that weighs a hundred pounds when fully assembled and looks pretty good is affordable. The fact that the furniture has to be assembled is often not a reflection of the quality of the product at all. The self-assembly is why the office equipment is affordable however.

Those attending an office furniture liquidation event usually know what is ahead in terms of product selection. The furnishings being offered will be those items that were not popular or have been discontinued or damaged, or any combination of the three. Often these reduced items are displayed in the back part of a warehouse or store where circumstances are common that see legs missing from desks or office chairs without backs. For the person with an eye for a bargain, or the ability to restore broken things to a like new condition, the sight may be reason for optimism, but for the one looking for a quick bargain, the choices can often be disappointing. There are times when an office equipment blow out event may actually be a truckload sale of low price office furnishings bought from a manufacturer's over run or discontinued line. Look for a giant tent out in a parking lot and there just might be the opportunity to pick up some real bargains. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16)

In discussing low price office furniture, the keyword is affordable, which then becomes a relative term. Affordable to the "I Have a Hole in My Muffler" Shoppe will probably be different from affordable according to First Snobby Bank. For the very small business, the office furniture liquidation sale may be just the thing, especially if the furniture is going to the "I Have a Hole in My Muffler" Shoppe. A strong desk made of steel that has one leg missing can perhaps be propped up by a discarded muffler from an exotic sports car, and suddenly you have a functional desk that is also a conversation piece that is perfect for its surroundings. And perhaps the owner doesn't really need a back to the desk chair and suddenly liquidation furnishings have just found a welcome home. It just takes some real imagination!

On the other hand, affordable office furniture for First Snobby Bank may be that solid cherry wood executive desk with mahogany inlays and bronze tipped lion's feet for legs and the four thousand dollar price tag for the president's desk is a steal at twice the price and for the bank, quite affordable. Isn't it amazing how so many things in life come down to the concept of relativity? Yet the world of advertising has attempted to make people from all walks of life hungry for the same things, even if they are not affordable for all people. So the owner of the "I Have a Hole in My Muffler" Shoppe reads through the trade journals and sees muffler shops with nice office equipment, maybe even the "furniture in a box" line. The furnishings look good, the customers in the ad seem really happy that the muffler shop has nice workplace furniture, but is it really needed for this owner's shop? So the owner has to ask, "Is the equipment affordable because I can put the equipment on a credit card, or is it really affordable only if I can pay cash?"

The bottom line is liquidation furnishings will really work in certain applications. Low budgets, minimum public access to the furniture and the type of business will often dictate that the scratch and dent equipment will work just fine. If affordable office furniture means new furniture at very low prices, then it probably dictates equipment in a box that requires customer assembly. But many of these pieces are very nice looking and in some cases, one must look very closely to tell that the equipment was self- assembled furnishings. In either case, if the business is profitable, the scratch and dent or boxed furnishings were a sound choice.

Add to: File Insurance Business article Teen Photo Images