Before signing a furniture procurement partner, ask whether they are franchised to a manufacturer, how they are compensated, whether pricing is line-item or bundled into a markup, what happens to furniture you already own, and what documentation you get at the end. A franchise dealer has a quota, which means the specification follows the contract. An open line dealer does not, which is why RESEAT does not sell new major furniture at all.
Furniture procurement looks like a straightforward category. You need a floor of furniture, somebody sources it, you pay. In practice the structure of the industry decides most of what you get recommended, and almost nobody explains that structure to the person signing.
So here it is, without the diplomacy.
The four things that call themselves procurement
- The manufacturer dealer Authorized to sell one line, holds a quota against it, and earns most of their margin there. Excellent at that product. Structurally unable to tell you the competitor is a better fit.
- The independent dealer Carries several lines and can compare them honestly. Still selling new product, still working from list price and discount, and still incentivized toward larger orders.
- The procurement consultant Sells advice, not furniture, and charges a fee or a percentage. Genuinely neutral. Also does not handle the freight, the install, or the thing that goes wrong on install day.
- The circular dealer Sources primarily from second life inventory across manufacturers. Neutral by construction, because there is no quota to protect. Constrained by what exists rather than what a catalog contains.
None of these is dishonest. They are four different businesses with four different incentive structures, and the incentive structure is what determines the recommendation you get. Knowing which one you are talking to is most of the work.
Questions that actually reveal something
- Which manufacturers are you authorized for, and do you carry quotas? The straightforward version of the only question that matters. A dealer who answers it plainly is worth working with regardless of the answer. A dealer who deflects has told you the answer.
- How do you make money on this project? Margin on product, a fee, a percentage of spend, or a split. All are legitimate. Not knowing which one is not.
- What happens to our existing furniture? A procurement partner who has no answer for the outbound side is going to hand you a disposal invoice at the end of a project they were paid to plan.
- Who is on site on install day? Their crew, a subcontractor, or a name they will find later. The last one shows up in the schedule more often than anyone admits.
- What do we get for reporting? Diversion weights, CO2e avoided, and asset records, or a delivery confirmation. If your company reports on Scope 3 at all, this is a real line item and it is covered in Scope 3 furniture reporting.
- What does the second best option look like? A partner who cannot describe a credible alternative to their own recommendation has not evaluated one.
What used furniture actually competes with
A point that gets muddled constantly. Second life commercial furniture does not displace premium new manufacturers. It displaces budget-new: the office chair from a business supply catalog, the flat-pack desk, the conference table that arrives in a box.
That is the honest comparison. For the same money as budget-new you get commercial-grade product built to a twelve year duty cycle, from manufacturers whose parts are still available. Against premium-new, second life competes on lead time and price, and loses on choice, which is exactly the trade you would expect.
The scoring sheet
| Criterion | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Disclosure | Tells you their authorizations and their margin structure without being asked twice |
| Range | Can compare across manufacturers rather than within one |
| Outbound | Has a plan for the furniture you already own, not just the furniture you are buying |
| Install | Named crew, insured, and has worked in your building type |
| Documentation | Asset records and diversion data as a deliverable, not a favor |
| Lead time honesty | Quotes the date the last item lands, not the first |
How we are set up, since you would reasonably ask
We run an open line. No manufacturer quota, which means no reason to steer you toward one brand to protect a relationship. We source across Steelcase, MillerKnoll, Haworth, Teknion, and everything else that comes through a decommission, and we say when new is the right call.
The tradeoff is real and worth stating: we are constrained by what exists. Tell us early and that constraint mostly disappears, because we can watch for the lot. Tell us late and it is the whole conversation.
Comparing partners right now? Send the same brief to all of them and see who asks about your existing furniture. That question alone sorts the list. More on how we work on the about page.