What should you pay attention to when ordering used office furniture?
Used or reused office furniture may seem attractive in the first instance. You think you have obtained a great chair for a bargain. Then, six months later, the chair breaks. You are looking for a replacement part online to repair your seat, but companies stopped production of that specific part five years ago. Reports and left with a broken chair, you buy another.
There are many disadvantages when buying used office furniture. Buying second -hand furniture is a gamble - you do not know how it was used in the past, and often furniture that looks good on the surface is delivered hidden damage or incompatible parts. The right office furniture is essential to help your company move forward, so where should you pay attention when ordering used office furniture?
What should you pay attention to if you opt for used office furniture?
5 Disadvantages of buying used office furniture
People usually choose to buy use of office furniture due to lower initial costs. Although you may be attracted by the attraction of lower prices, there are many disadvantages to buying second -hand office furniture. If you now choose new office furniture instead of buying furniture that has been used for several years, you will save money and time in the long term. Moreover, New Furniture is a great way to freshen up your office and to boost the morale of your employees!
The five biggest disadvantages of buying used office furniture are:
Note this money for Refurbished office furniture
- No guarantee
- Furniture in poor condition
- Higher long -term costs
- Incompatible with other furniture and technology
- Missing or broken parts that are no longer manufactured
1. No guarantee or service plan
One of the many disadvantages of buying used office furniture is that it is sold as it is. Because guarantees usually only apply to the original buyer, your new furniture will most likely not be supplied with a guarantee or service plan, and many retailers do not accept returns. Although buying used furniture can save you some money in the beginning, you take a gamble because you do not know who used the furniture in the past.
You also throw the dice with the quality of second -hand furniture, so sellers usually understand that they do not offer a service or guarantee on a broken chair. However, many companies now offer extended guarantees at new office furniture that can last from six months to a lifetime. By buying new office furniture, you are assured of high -quality furniture that you can easily repair or replace.
2. State of the furniture
Another disadvantage of buying second -hand office furniture is that you cannot see how previous owners used it. That decent -looking used chair could have been used by an older part -time receptionist, or an employee would have used him regularly to run through the corridor. When you use or buy refurbished office furniture, accept a certain risk that it is of low quality or breaks quickly.
It is often difficult to detect hidden defects, such as a compressed seat cushion on a chair or a broken adjustment level on a portable meeting table. Moreover, older furniture is less comfortable and reliable than its modern counterparts. You certainly don't want your chair in the middle of the office to break!
3. Higher total costs
Although you may consider buying used furniture because it is less expensive than new options, especially for small companies or startups, those early savings can cost you in the future. The costs of repairs, replacements and other services rise. Moreover, you are only responsible for carrying out any repairs, since second -hand furniture usually has no guarantee.
You can buy a new ergonomic chair of high quality that costs a little more, but will last for the next 10 years, or you can save some money in the beginning, but struggle with an uncomfortable, outdated chair that will probably break inside the next five years. In the time that a new office chair needs to reach the end of its lifetime, you could very well go through three used or refurbished seats.
4. Incompatible with other furniture and technology
Buying second -hand office furniture looks a bit like replacing roofing teans on your roof - it is difficult to find one that matches what you currently have. Another disadvantage of buying used or refurbished office furniture is that your office can eventually look like a strange mix of prints, patterns, materials and styles. You have fewer choices when buying second -hand furniture than when buying new ones, so it is more difficult to create a uniform office environment. An aesthetically attractive office increases the happiness and productivity of employees, so your furniture must work together.
Apart from cosmetic reasons not to buy used office furniture, used furniture will often not work with your current furniture and technology. Older furniture may not be optimized for today's interconnected and digital world, and your seats may not fit under the new meeting table.
5. Missing or broken parts
Often used office furniture is supplied with missing and broken parts, some of which are no longer manufactured. A broken drawer on your second -hand desk that was manufactured 20 years ago can ensure that you struggle to find the right parts to repair or replace the desk. It is much more cost -efficient to purchase a sustainable, reliable new agency instead of constantly replacing a second -hand desk.