What should I check before buying a used office furniture dealer?

A used office furniture dealer is not a furniture store with a different stock. It sells to businesses, buys from businesses that are closing or moving, and often handles the moving and set-up. The questions are different from those for a residential retailer, so start from how the dealer gets its furniture and how it sells it on.

Where the stock comes from

Ask how the dealer finds furniture to buy. Typical sources are office closures, moves, liquidations and decommissioning jobs. Find out whether those leads come from relationships the owner holds personally, from brokers or property managers, or from a steady flow of calls. A dealer that depends on one source is exposed if it dries up.

The warehouse and inventory

Visit the warehouse. Look at the condition, age and mix of the stock, how it is stored, and how long pieces have been there. Ask how the dealer records what it holds and what it cost to acquire. Slow-moving or damaged pieces matter, and your accountant can help you decide how to treat them in the purchase.

Clients, crews and demand

Ask who buys. Repeat facility managers and commercial clients usually matter more than one-off sales, so ask how those relationships are held and whether the owner is the main contact. Check the install and moving crews, the trucks and their upkeep, and any licences the work needs. For demand, ask for sales records by client type and talk to a few clients, rather than relying on general claims about the market.