Friday, January 17, 2014

Help - I Can't Sell This Vanity!

There are always an abundance of vintage vanities for sale at antique malls.  They look very pretty in a booth, but usually take a while to sell - longer than most other bedroom furniture.  Recently, two different vendors at the store I promote had to mark theirs down and down, until finally they were just $85 a piece. One of them still hasn't sold.   Why?


Here's my answer.  Vanities aren't sought after for every bedroom.  You seldom see one in a boy's room. They are nice in a girl's bedroom if the room is large enough.  Not every master bedroom needs one.  A vanity would be right at home in a master decorated in a shabby chic style.  It would be a harder fit for most other styles.  In a family home, many wives tread a fine line trying to keep the master balanced in terms of masculine and feminine.  A vanity is quite feminine.  In other words, the market for a vanity is fairly narrow.

First, you have to find someone who could use a vanity - a small percentage of shoppers.  On top of that, you'll need to have the size and shape and style and color they want at a price they're comfortable with.  If the vanity sells quickly, consider yourself very lucky.

What to do if you have a vanity that just won't sell?  I probably wouldn't mark it down to nothing unless I just wanted it gone and didn't mind taking a loss.

You have other options!!

If you don't want to wait out that eventual sale, you could break it up and show it as something other than a vanity.  It pains me to encourage someone to break apart a vintage piece.  I sure hope you don't have to break up a really pretty one that's in great shape.  But sometimes, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

The least drastic option is to simply remove the mirror and market it more like a desk.  They often sell faster like this.  Mostly because now it's appealing to a larger market.  It could still be used as a vanity - just hang a separate mirror on the wall.  But now, it's also a desk and might be used in a number of rooms.  You just expanded your market!
All photo sources are listed at the bottom of post!

A low vanity could easily be turned into a storage bench.
All photo sources are listed at the bottom of post!

The mirror could be turned into a chalkboard and/or coat rack and sold separately - earning you even more profit on that vanity.  The base could be reworked to be used as an entertainment shelf or sink or....
All photo sources are listed at the bottom of post!


And of course, if you are willing to deconstruct the vanity (fairly easy), the sides could be sold as end tables, which tend to sell rather quickly.
All photo sources are listed at the bottom of post!

If you enjoyed this post, I sure hope you'll pin, leave comments, subscribe to the blog, like on Facebook, tell your vendor friends, etc!   Posts like these take ages to create and it sure would be nice to have a larger audience.  Even though this blog is fairly new, I sure hope it takes off soon!


PHOTO SOURCES

Desks:
White Desk - A Swell Place to Dwell 
Aqua Desk - Dead Link from Pinterest

Benches:
Top - The Centric Home
Bottom - B and Me

Other Options:
Sink - Dead Link from Pinterest
Back with Fan - Remodeloholic
Chalkboard Mirror - Refresh Restyle
Multicolor Shelf - The Smith Garage
Silver Rolling Shelf - Reuse Repurpose Recycle

Side tables:
Black Set - Apartment Therapy
White Set - Brambleberry Cottage
Quirky Red - Gadget Sponge on Etsy
Cream and Tan Set - Dead Link from Pinterest
Decoupaged - Three O'Clock on Tuesdays