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Spent $400 on a virtual staging service and got burned

Everyone raves about virtual staging for vacant listings. I figured it would be a cheap way to make my rental units look better online. Paid $400 for a company to stage 8 photos of an empty condo. The furniture looked fake and the shadows were all wrong. Prospective tenants showed up and said the place didn't match the pics. Lost a week of showings. Anyone else had bad luck with a specific virtual staging tool?
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3 Comments
craig.parker
Yeah I'll be honest I used to think virtual staging was worth the money for making places look decent fast. But hearing stories like this definitely changed my mind, especially when tenants show up and the place feels totally different from the photos. Sounds like you got a company that just cranked out generic junk instead of actually matching the lighting and layout.
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margaretc42
Did they send you a mockup first before you paid?
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brian_hart
brian_hart15d agoMost Upvoted
Read about someone who got burned doing this exact thing. They paid upfront and the "custom" mockup they got was just a generic template with their name slapped on it. Total scam vibes. Always ask for a rough sketch or concept before sending any money. Even if it's just a napkin drawing or a basic digital scribble. That way you know they actually put thought into it and aren't just gonna take your cash and run.
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