Sell Furniture Like A Gypsy

You can sell furniture door to door and make a lot of money fast.  How do I know that?  I’ve seen it in action.

I’m not sure if it is politically correct to call someone a “Gypsy” these days or not, but that’s what they were called when I was a little boy back in the 1960’s.  During the summer months, I remember seeing a large flatbed truck loaded with wooden patio furniture slowly driving up and down the streets of my neighborhood – parking at various corners for awhile before moving on to the next corner.

The hand-painted sign attached to the side of the truck said “Gypsy Furniture For Sale”.  The furniture was a simple design made out of unfinished wood – much like recycled pallet wood. 

The furniture was certainly nothing fancy – just solid and simple.  Single chairs, Double chairs, and small tables.  Perfect for patios and basements.  (How do I know?  Because to this day, my mom has pieces of that furniture on her patio and in her basement.)  People came out and bought it – all cash – and it didn’t take long at all to unload a whole truck full of furniture.

Could you become a Gypsy furniture maker too?

With a simple design that you repeat over and over again, until you can produce each one in a matter of minutes – you can create a load of inventory in your “spare” time.  You can do the door to door route if you have a truck or display a few pieces in front of your home with a for sale sign on ‘em.

You could utilize Farmers Markets and Craft Fairs to display your wares.  Use Craig’s List to sell locally.  Sell them at garage sales or sell on consignment to other folks doing garage sales.  Find one of them corners on the weekend to hang out displaying a few pieces for sale.

The point is that you don’t have to be highly skilled to sell something of value quickly and easily.  You can get started with a skill saw and a hammer.  Got a kid who doesn’t know how to pay for college?  Hey kid!  Have I got a job for you!

Chairs and tables too bulky for you? 

Try birdhouses and feeders, quilts, lawn ornaments, old-fashioned toys.  My grandfather made beautiful baby cradles and couldn’t keep up with orders – but I’m wondering if he could get away with that today with our litigious society.  So you might want to stay away from selling items that could cause injury.

If you do this on a large scale, be sure you follow tax laws and get any necessary business licenses you might need.  I doubt if them Gypsies had business licenses back in the day, but don’t get yourself in trouble!   As with the majority of the extra income ideas, I suggest you set a short term, fixed amount idea that you have a specific target for the money.  “Earn enough to pay off this credit card” or “Earn this amount to use as Christmas money”.

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