Whether you’re trying to furnish a small space or an entire floor in an office building, used office furniture is the answer to your budget concerns. There is absolutely no reason to pay top dollar again.

Used office furniture can typically be found for pennies on the dollar. A good ballpark figure to plan on is about 10 - 25% of the original price depending on the item, the condition, and how many there might be. Companies going out of business might have ten desks, all the same, and they would be happy to get rid of the burden - financially and logically - for less money than perhaps one desk you see in the Sunday paper.

If you’re looking to furnish your own home office, for instance, you might do well online with news groups or even asking your social media contacts (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) who has anything for sale, or who knows of someone who might be selling anything. A used desk in good condition can be found for under $50 usually. Frequently someone selling a desk might also have a chair or file cabinet. If they are redecorating their own office, everything might be up for grabs. See what they have and make an offer on the entire lot - you could do better than you think.

Don’t ignore all those flyers in your Sunday paper. Pay attention to the ones from your local big name office supply stores. Once in a while they need to get rid of all their floor samples for office furniture and they are ready to deal. It might have some scratches, or a chair might actually have a dirt spot, but if they can’t sell this stuff, their only option is to take it apart and put it out back and… Store it.

Because of the economy, many newspaper even have a special section in their For Sale column specifically for office furniture. The good thing about this is that most papers also have an online version and the same ad can most likely be found online with photos. You’ll know right away if it’s something you’re interested in.

Take a few hours and visit local consignment shops as well as thrift stores run by charities. You may not find exactly what you want, but if there’s a difference between $250 and $25, most people will make do with what they get for $25 - especially if no one ever go into their home office.

If something more elaborate is what you had in mind, and finding “cheap” really isn’t a concern, you might be able to find a local designer or manufacturer who wants to get rid of sample pieces. You can find some unbelievable bargains like this. Of course, you really need to believe that a $10, 000 desk going for $2800 is the deal of a lifetime!

Every Main St. Has some type of second hand store. Stop in and see what they have. Most likely, they’re willing to deal, too.