Selling a sofa, dining set, or designer chair through a consignment store can save you from photographing the piece, answering buyer messages, negotiating prices, and arranging individual pickups. That convenience comes at a price.
Furniture consignment fees usually take a meaningful share of the final sale price, so the percentage matters. The listed price isn’t the amount you’ll necessarily take home, and markdowns, pickup charges, or other terms can reduce the payout further.
Quick Answer: Furniture consignors commonly receive about 50% to 60% of the final sale price, leaving the store with roughly 40% to 50%. A 50/50 split is common. Some stores use tiered rates that give the seller a larger percentage on higher-priced pieces. Always check whether the split is based on the original asking price or the actual price after markdowns.
How Much Do Furniture Consignment Stores Charge?
For furniture and home décor, a store keeping around 40% to 50% of the final sale price is a reasonable range to expect. That leaves the owner with roughly 50% to 60%.
The exact furniture consignment fee depends on the store, the item, and the agreement.
Here’s what those percentages look like in dollars:
| Final Sale Price | Store Keeps 40% | You Receive 60% | 50/50 Split |
| $500 | $200 | $300 | $250 each |
| $1,000 | $400 | $600 | $500 each |
| $2,000 | $800 | $1,200 | $1,000 each |
| $5,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 | $2,500 each |
Those numbers are based on the final selling price, not necessarily the price you first see on the tag.
If a dresser starts at $1,000 but sells for $750 after a markdown, a 50% consignor share gives you $375, not $500.
That difference becomes more noticeable with higher-value furniture.
How Furniture Consignment Fees Work
Consignment is different from selling furniture directly to a dealer.
The store usually doesn’t buy your furniture upfront. You still own the piece while the store markets it, displays it, and tries to find a buyer. Once it sells, the store keeps the agreed commission and pays you the remaining share.
The store’s commission helps cover floor or warehouse space, photography, online listings, staff, customer service, payment processing, and the work involved in closing the sale.
Flat Percentage Splits
The simplest agreement uses one percentage for every accepted item.
A 50/50 arrangement means the store gets half of whatever the furniture actually sells for, and you get the other half.
If your table sells for $1,200:
Store share: $600
Your share: $600
The advantage is that you know the split before the item goes on sale.
Tiered Consignment Rates
Some stores give the consignor a larger percentage as the selling price rises.
A lower-priced chair may pay the owner 50%, while a designer dining set worth several thousand dollars might qualify for a better split.
That makes sense for the store too. Selling a $4,000 cabinet doesn’t necessarily require four times as much work as selling a $1,000 one.
Don’t assume a premium piece automatically earns a better percentage, though. Ask what the store’s actual tier structure is before signing the agreement.
The Markdown Schedule Can Matter as Much as the Commission
A 60% seller share sounds better than a 50% share until you look at how aggressively the store reduces prices.
Furniture takes up a lot of room, and consignment shops need inventory to move. Many agreements allow the store to lower the asking price after the piece has been available for a certain number of days.
For example, a store might list a table at $1,500 and reduce it by 10% after 30 days, another 10% later, and continue discounting if it hasn’t sold.
If the table eventually sells for $1,050 and you receive 60%, your payout is $630.
Compare that with a store that sells the same table for $1,300 on a 50/50 split. Your payout there would be $650.
The higher percentage didn’t produce the higher check.
Before consigning, ask how often the store marks items down and whether you have any say in the minimum selling price.
Are There Other Furniture Consignment Fees?
The commission isn’t always the only cost.
Large furniture has to get from your home to the store or warehouse. Some consignment businesses don’t offer pickup at all. Others charge a transportation fee, deduct it from your payout, or only offer complimentary collection for higher-value inventory.
If transportation is going to be part of the decision, our guide on whether furniture consignment stores pick up furniture explains the common pickup arrangements and restrictions.
Some agreements may also include charges connected with cleaning, repairs, storage, payment processing, or returning an unsold item. These aren’t universal, which is why the written agreement matters more than a general industry percentage.
A store offering you 60% but charging $150 to collect the furniture may leave you with less than another store offering 50% and handling transportation differently.
What Determines the Consignment Percentage?
Furniture consignment percentages aren’t based on price alone.
Brand and Resale Demand
Recognizable furniture brands, sought-after designers, and styles with an active secondhand market are easier for a store to justify accepting.
A well-known designer chair has a more predictable resale audience than an unbranded sofa from ten years ago.
Stores may offer better terms for inventory they expect to sell quickly.
Condition
Good furniture doesn’t need to look unused, but buyers expect secondhand pieces to be clean, functional, and presentable.
Deep upholstery stains, cigarette odors, pet damage, major scratches, missing hardware, water damage, and structural problems reduce the resale price and can cause a store to reject the piece entirely.
Spending hundreds of dollars repairing ordinary furniture before consignment rarely makes sense. Basic cleaning and small fixes are different. They can make the furniture easier to photograph and sell.
Size
Large furniture consumes valuable showroom and warehouse space.
A dining table for twelve may have real resale value, but it needs a large buyer pool and a lot of floor space while it waits. Smaller pieces can sometimes move more easily simply because more households can accommodate them.
Expected Selling Price
A store may not accept an item if its likely resale price is too low to justify the work involved.
Even a perfectly usable bookcase can be a poor consignment candidate if the expected selling price is only $75.
If you’re trying to decide between listing an item yourself, consigning it, or simply clearing the space, understanding the comparison of furniture removal vs. selling can help put the value of your time into the decision too.
What Happens If Your Furniture Doesn’t Sell?
This part of the agreement deserves just as much attention as the commission.
Furniture consignment periods commonly last a few months, but every store has its own policy. During that period, the price may gradually fall.
When the contract ends, you may be asked to collect the unsold item, extend the agreement, allow another markdown, or authorize donation.
Don’t assume the store will keep the furniture indefinitely.
If you’re moving or selling a property, pay particular attention to return rules. Getting a six-foot sideboard back after three months may be a much bigger problem than dropping it off was.
For furniture you don’t want returned, it helps to understand your other old furniture removal options before the consignment period ends.
Is Furniture Consignment Better Than Selling It Yourself?
Consignment trades part of your potential earnings for less work.
If you sell a $1,000 dresser yourself for $1,000, you can theoretically keep the full $1,000. But you’re also responsible for pricing, photos, listings, messages, scams, negotiations, scheduling, and getting the buyer through the door.
A consignment shop may sell the dresser for the same $1,000 and pay you $500 to $600. In return, someone else handles most of the sales process.
For a desirable piece worth several thousand dollars, that convenience may be worth the commission. For a $150 table, giving up half the sale may not feel worthwhile.
If speed is more important than squeezing every dollar from the furniture, selling unwanted items quickly may require a different pricing strategy than traditional consignment.
What Furniture Is Worth Consigning?
Stores generally want pieces they believe their customers will actually buy.
Designer furniture, quality contemporary brands, solid wood pieces, mid-century furniture, attractive vintage items, art, and distinctive décor tend to have stronger resale potential.
Basic flat-pack furniture, heavily worn sofas, damaged upholstery, outdated entertainment centers, and inexpensive pieces may be harder to consign.
Age alone doesn’t decide value. A well-designed vintage dresser may be more desirable than a newer mass-market one.
Before arranging transportation, send clear photos showing the entire piece, brand labels or maker’s marks, dimensions, and any visible damage. Let the store decide whether it wants the item before you move it.
Read the Consignment Agreement Before You Hand Over the Furniture
Don’t focus only on the headline percentage.
Before signing, you should be able to answer four questions:
- What percentage of the final selling price will you receive?
- When and how can the store reduce the price?
- How long does the consignment period last?
- What happens if the item doesn’t sell?
Also check when payments are issued and who is responsible for retrieving unsold furniture.
If the agreement says “60/40,” confirm which party receives 60%. Consignment businesses don’t all describe splits in the same order.
How Remoov Handles Furniture Consignment
Remoov uses resale as part of a broader removal process rather than asking customers to find separate destinations for every item.
Furniture accepted for resale through the Remoov service is assessed based on factors such as condition, category, demand, and expected resale value. Consignment pieces are professionally photographed, appraised, and marketed, and owners receive 50% of the gross resale price when an item sells.
The current consignment period generally runs 60 to 120 days, depending on the piece and market demand. Other items in the same pickup can be assessed for auction, donation, or recycling rather than requiring several separate appointments.
If you have several pieces and want to know which ones may have resale value, you can request an estimate using photos before arranging the pickup.
How to Get More From Furniture Consignment
A good consignment result starts before the furniture reaches the store.
Clean the item well and gather any useful information about the brand, model, age, original price, or designer. Take photos of labels and maker’s marks because those details can affect appraisal.
Choose a store whose inventory resembles what you’re selling. A shop specializing in traditional antiques may not be the best place for a modern modular sofa, even if both are expensive.
Most of all, set realistic expectations about the resale price. Retail price, sentimental value, and secondhand market value are three different numbers.
A sofa that cost $4,000 five years ago isn’t automatically worth $2,000 today. Brand, condition, style, buyer demand, and local inventory determine what someone will actually pay.
Is a 50% Furniture Consignment Fee Worth It?
It can be.
If the store has the right buyers, handles photography and marketing well, stores a bulky piece for months, manages buyer questions, and completes the sale, giving up half the final price may be reasonable.
If you already have a buyer or don’t mind managing the sale yourself, paying a 50% commission is much harder to justify.
Compare the likely net payout, not just the percentage.
A store offering 60% isn’t automatically better than one offering 50%, and the highest asking price isn’t necessarily the best deal if the item sits unsold until it gets heavily discounted.
Know the split, know the markdown schedule, and know what happens if the furniture doesn’t sell. Once those three things are clear, you can decide whether the convenience of consignment is worth the fee.