Before and After - San Francisco Club Chair and Ottoman

I just returned from shipping this lovely club chair and ottoman and reflected on the finding, selling and refurbishing process.  I thought it might be illustrative to tell the tale of how this piece came into my inventory; the process of selling "as is" with custom upholstery;  the collaboration with my customer; and, shipping using Greyhound Package Express - all critical components of my work.

I purchased the chair from a listing on the local (Atlanta) craigslist after asking questions about manufacturing/construction, size and composition of seat cushions.  After traveling to Buckhead near downtown Atlanta, I purchased the pieces and found they had originally been bought in San Francisco (hence the name).  

I initially listed the pieces on eBay under a group of listings I call "You Choose Fabric".  I show the "before photos" with some suggested fabrics and provide a price that includes expert upholstery work.

I communicated with several potential buyers before the piece was sold to a Wisconsin client.   She looked over some fabric photos I sent and concluded that a piece she already had would be perfect.  She shipped the fabric and within two weeks, my great upholsterer, Mr. Lee, had finished the set and included one of my signature accent pillows.  I provided photos and we discussed shipping. 

For shipping, I generally use one of two options:

a)  TSC Moving for most door-to-door shipments link.  They are a blanket service that keeps the entire process from pickup to staging to delivery in-house.  I have used TSC for as much as 100 shipments without a single problem.  Turnaround can be 4-6 weeks and has been a little longer at times.  TSC does not cover all of the continental USA.  Costs are highest the furthest away - e.g., California tends to be pretty pricey!

b)  Greyhound Package Express link.  This is a station-to-station service and the quickest and most reasonable method of shipping.  Not all pieces fit their maximum size standard (one side must be less than 30" in length).   It does require that I package (very well) and that it be picked up by the client.  The range in prices does not vary significantly across the country although maximum insurance coverage does vary with distance.  I have been using Greyhound for seven years and am mostly very satisfied with the results.  

Since my customer does not live in the TSC Moving shipping range and the pieces are within Greyhound Package Express limits, this method was chosen.  I packaged using commercial grade bubble wrap and other methods learned over the years to cover the most vulnerable areas such as the legs.  My husband has crafted wooden stakes which help enormously.  

They are on their way - I hope she loves them!

Preparing to Ship