What would you do with a Marge Carson sofa you can no longer use?

16 years ago

We've got a 12 year old Marge Carson sofa that we unexpectedly found we can't use. When new it was $6,000.

All along we'd thought we'd bring it upstairs into a guest room when we completed our renovations downstairs. Recently it occurred to me to measure -- hmmm...pretty big sofa, will it fit through the bedroom door? Nope, not unless we can take off the legs. We checked it out with the mfr (since the legs had no give when we tried to twist), and M Carson told me that we needed to bring in a pro to remove the legs, that if we tried it ourselves we'd have an irreparable sofa! They referred me to a Furniture Medic who charges $125/hr. If we go that route, we'd have to coordinate timing with both Furniture Medic and two guys to move it (it's a heavy sucker!!!), so that the pro can then re-install the legs.

The upholstery in the sofa is, honestly, in like-new condition. The material (in two shades of off-white) is still good (and clean) but not as A-1 as the upholstery.

If you were me, would you go through the fuss and expense of trying to move the sofa upstairs, or would you try to sell it? I doubt I could get much money at all for it. I've been watching Craigslist for a few months now hoping to find a dining set I love, and I see the same things over and over again - just not selling, and not selling for much. I think I'd be lucky if I could get a few hundred for it.

We really can't use it downstairs. We no longer have a living room as we've created a very casual great room and have new furniture for it.

Any advice?

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Comments (3)

les917
16 years ago
Seems to me that such a quality piece would be worth the time and small investment to move and keep.

However, if you really don't want it, I would put it on e-bay first. I think you have a better chance of getting more money for it. Obviously you would want to restrict it to pick up, not shipping.

One other thought - do you have any higher-end consignment stores in your area? You might be able to sell it that way, and not have the headache of trying to do it yourself.

Can you post a pix so we can see it?
annzgw
16 years ago
I was in the same situation a few years ago when we moved. Huge, long sofa that no one seemed to want to buy......off white and paid about the same $$ you did. Salvation Army wouldn't take it because there were some color changes on the back of a few pillows (silk and sun don't work well!) and we ended up paying someone to haul it off. We were in a time pinch and leaving the state but in hindsight I probably should have had the haulers drop it off at Goodwill and at least gotten a deduction off of it. I've found that Goodwill isn't as picky as SA.

Other option is to see if a consignment store will take it but they usually want the fabric to be in really good condition. You won't get top dollar but you'll probably get more than if you sell it on Craiglist.

I'm a DIY'er and I'd try again to figure out how to get those legs off, but I strongly suggest you first determine whether you really need/want the sofa in the guest room (and it fits!) before going to the expense of moving it.
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piper101
16 years ago
Have you considered this: An upholsterer will REWORK your couch for you. For example,,my aunt is into "saving" good quality, old furniture and she was bound and determined to recover etc. this couch of another aunt. Anyway, she took it to her upholsterer and when it came back, they had changed the back the arms and lots of things. Seeing that it is a well made couch, that could be something to look into. I'm almost sure that the length could be changed as well as the feet and others mentioned above.

What would you do with a Marge Carson sofa you can no longer use?

Comments (3)

les917

annzgw

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