Buying
Used Office Furniture and Used Cubicles
There are a few things one should know
before purchasing used furniture and used cubicles:
First off you should have an idea of how
many cubicles you want and approximately what size cubicle
will fit in the office space. Some used furniture dealers
will provide space planning and design at no charge if you
purchase the cubicles from them. Free space planning is
a great deal, it helps the furniture dealer know exactly
what cubicles and parts to ship and the purchaser does not
have to pay extra for design. Cubiclesales.com uses a CADD
(computer assisted drafting and design) program called Giza
which is specifically made for the furniture industry. Be
prepared to spend a lot of extra money on design services
if you purchase from a "New" furniture dealer.
If you have a plan showing the office dimensions, doors,
columns, etc. most used dealers will be happy to do a space
plan or advise you on your options. If I have the building
information I usually send a design with the furniture pricing
as part of my proposal.
Used cubicles came from some one elses
office and they picked out the fabric, laminate and paint
colors to match their office. They were also custom designed
for that particular client. Cubicle sizes vary greatly from
4x4 telemarketing stations with low partitons to 10x12 executive
stations with 80" tall partitions. Spend a little time
and think about what kind of cubicle is best suited for
your office needs. If you want to buy used cubicles you
will save a lot of money but your choices will be limited
to what's in stock. No used dealer can stock every color
and finish. In my experience once people are moved into
the cubicles and are working in them you can hardly notice
the laminate on the desk tops or the fabric on the tackboards,
they are usually covered with stuff. The most noticeable
aspect of a cubicle is going to be the exterior fabric color.
That should be your main concern. Some used furniture dealers
offer "Refurbishment"of
used cubicles. New fabric, paint, laminate and trim colors
are specified by the purchaser (with help from the dealer
of course) and then applied to the used furniture. This
process allows the purchaser to pick exactly what they want.
It does cost more than purchasing used, but probably half
as much as purchasing new furniture.
Used furniture websites are a great way
to see what's on the market. If you don't see anything on
their website that interests you call the sales person and
let him know what you are looking for. Used furniture inventories
arrive daily and sometimes it takes days to get them up
on the website. The used furniture dealer is also an excellent
source of information. Most of the people in the used market
have been in the furniture industry for a long time and
can offer great advice.
Cubicle installation. I can write a book
on installation but it woud be more boring than this webpage.
Hard to imagine I know. You will need to have the cubicles
set up. There are two ways to do it. Hire someone or do
it yourself or "the hardway and the easy way".
If your company is in California I can have our crew install
it or we have a large network of installation companies
all over the USA that work with us and I'd be happy to get
several quotes for you. Installation costs vary and there
are many factors that influence the cost: Number of cubicles,
size, complexity and location. The average cost for installation
of a 7x7 cubicle will run between $125 and $200 per cube.
I always include detailed installation plans and have walked
several clients through the installation of relatively large
jobs. The choice is yours, and I will help with instructions
and walk you through how to install or I will locate an
installation company for you.
Everyone has heard of companies going out
of business and thousands and thousands of workstations
flooding the market so they think they can pick up a cubicle
for next to nothing. Well the truth is it costs the used
furniture dealer a lot of money to break down, ship and
warehouse the cubicles. When a cubicle is purchased the
labor to pull all the parts and prepare them for ship out
is huge. Even with all the expenses involved you WILL save
thousands of dollars when you buy used or preowned cubicles.
The average list price for a new cubicle is $12,000
or more. There is usually a 50-80% discount from the list
price depending on the quantities that are ordered,
but you're still looking at $3000-$6000 for a new cubicle.
As Mike Burns says "The used furniture dealer puts
liquidity in the market." If there was not someone
to purchase or liquidate these items and then find companies
that need these products, most of the used furniture would
be thrown away and companies would be forced to buy new.
The used furniture dealer usually purchases large inventories
of hundreds of cubicles at a time. Most business fims don't
need that many and they can not handle the excess or find
additional parts if needed. Most used furniture dealers
carry a stock of commonly needed parts for the cubicles
they sell.
Here are some commonly used terms you may
hear when looking for used cubicles-
1. "8x8 loaded!" this
refers to a cubicle which measures 8 feet by 8 feet, which
use to be the most common size for a cubicle. These days
cubes are getting smaller as corporations try to stay in
business by shrinking the amount of needed office space
and in turn making the cubicles smaller. It is very common
to have 6 feet by 6 feet cubicles. "Loaded!"
means the cubicle has at least 2 overhead shelves or flipper
doors with lights, tackboards, 2 sets of drawers (pedestals)
a computer corner worksurface and 2 strait worksurfaces.
2. "Telemarketing station"
a very small workstation commonly used for telemarketers
where the occupants just need room for a computer and phone,
but can be used in real estate offices, mortgage offices,
outside sales positions or as "hoteling" stations
for visitors.
3. "Panels" this means
the cubicle partition or wall. I had a client who use to
call them fuzzy walls.
4. "Powered Panels" most
cubicles are prewired for electrical and have this option.
If you're only going to put in one or two cubicles powered
panels may not be necessary. Almost every cubicle system
has a "raceway" where data and telephone lines
can be concealed and ran through.
5. "Worksurface" this
is the desk top. Most workstation components hang from the
cubicle partitions there are a few exceptions though.
6. "Flipper Doors" most
cubicles have shelves that hang near the top of the panel.
The flipper door turns an open shelf into a covered overhead
unit that can be locked.
7. "Pedestal or Peds" this
refers to the drawers that hang underneath the worksurface.
It's really a desk drawer set. I'm not sure where the word
came from.
8. "Workstation, Systems Furniture,
Modular Furniture" they all mean cubicle.
9. "Task light, or Tasklight"
this refers to a fluorescent light mounted underneath
the open shelf or flipper door.
10. "Preowned Furniture" used
furniture
11. " Refurbished Furniture"
old furniture with new fabric, paint and laminate.
12. "Spaceplanning or Space Planning"
a design of your office showing how the cubicles will
be set up. It also shows the various sizes and components
of the cubicle system which is very useful for the installation.
