Hi Len, we have purchased a new home in Florence, AL and are wondering if you had any suggestions on good furniture stores in the area. Florences is about 120 miles from Memphis and Nashville and about 65 miles from Huntsville.
We just purchased your book (2) and are taking advantage of your offer. Thank you.
- Wayne
Wayne, Thank you for buying my book. I hope you will find it very useful.
In regards to your question about stores in the Florence area. Thereisn’t any store there that I think is superior. Memphis certainly has somedecent stores and you are not too far from Atlanta both of which are decentplaces to shop; but I think your best bet is to fly or drive to the Hickory,NC area and shop the big outlets/discounters. Granting that I said in mybook that the “deals” in NC aren’t what they use to be it still remains thatthe concentration of outlets and stores is so big in the NC area that youcan shop almost the whole of the furniture world in one weekend.
A major consideration is what kind of furniture you will ultimately buy. If you aregoing to concentrate on furniture from manufacturers like Drexel/Heritage,Henredon, Century, Thomasville, etc.(high middle to upper end producers)they I think you best bet is to go into Hickory and or, if possible, HighPoint, NC. If on the other hand you are more interested in buying a goodquantity of product on a very tight budget then I would hope locally andstart with Wal-Mart. Several factors are coming into play at the moment inthe South and they are: the hurricane damage, massive imports from China andthe Far East, plant closings in NC, all creating a huge urgency by themanufactures in the region to move furniture at better than average pricereductions. I think the timing is ripe to shop Hickory. I think you could dovery well. Let me know how everything goes.
Len Lewin
Hello Leonard,
Thank you for your response. We have been buying furniture since we moved into an unfurnished house in Florence around the 13th of January.
We found a good store called Story and Lee about 30 miles north of here in Leoma, TN. Their prices seem reasonable based on the information you provide. We bought a Thomasville bedroom set that has worked out well and paid about 45% of the ficticious MSRP and we are very happy with it. We have also ordered a LR set from them (Broyhill) and are awaiting delivery. In the meantime, we rented a sofa and love seat from a local rental place…that was quite the experience. They normally rent to buy to people that cannot get loans and our 800+ credit ratings was a rarity for them. However, it has worked well for us paying about $35/week while ours is being built.
We didn’t find anything we liked at Braggs in Huntsville but did buy a kitchen table set from Bassett Furniture in Huntsville. It was a floor sample that was in the backroom and we couldn’t see it too well. It was marked 50% off and was very comfortable. When it was delivered (cost $69 for a 65 mile trip), I noticed that the table sagged. Upon measuring, it was about a quarter inch. I called and got a lot of trouble from the salesperson, but finally (after 4 requests) to speak to her manager. He was accommodating and sent his service person to check it out. He agreed there was a problem and offered to order us a new one at $200 (delivered) above what we paid. (We paid $544 for a set listed in their store at $1,088, now it will cost us $744.) I haven’t been able to find the MSRP because we are 65 miles away and the Bassett web site does not give prices. I don’t think we did as well there but as least we will not have to live with a sagging table.
We’ve bought two mattresses and are very pleased with our $799 Sealy compared to two Stearns and Foster we previously bought for around $1,600 each. We discovered that stores won’t guarantee the mattress unless you buy their matching foundation which is usually more expensive then you need. They also deny they are governed buy an MAP.
Thank you for writing your books and sharing your insights with us. We still need to buy an office desk, I am a retired professor and still do some consulting work, end and coffee tables, wall hangings, etc. Maybe we will take your advice and drive over to Hickory next week.
- Wayne
Hi Wayne,
You two sound like a pair of very sharp shoppers. Glad to hear you are generally satisfied with what you have come up with. I think you will be fascinated and excited by what you can see in Hickory. If and when you make the trip drop me a line and tell me what you think about shopping the Hickory area. Incidentally, what is your field of study and where did you do your teaching?
Len
Len,
We will plan to go the North Carolina next week. I’ll let you know what we find. Hickory is about 500 miles from Florence. How do those places handle shipping costs? Any suggestions on what we should expect to pay?
I was a Professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota. I taught courses in statistics, testing, and evaluation. My research area was Science Education where I studied the characteristics of effective math and science teachers…among other thing.
Wayne
Hi Wayne,
Shipping is kind of cut and dried. Heavily regulated as to tariffs, etc. I would simply go with whoever the outlet uses. But: pay attention to any of the small print on the purchase contract. Read carefully as to what happens if an item is damaged. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, fully uncrate any item shipped to you and carefully inspect it. A box/crate can have a damaged item inside even if the box looks ok. Never consider any marks, dents, smashed corners, crumbled box side as minor. Make a note on delivery receipt that box was damaged. NEVER LISTEN TO A TRUCK DRIVER WHEN HE TELLS YOU HE DOESN’T HAVE TIME TO WAIT WHILE YOU UNCRATE. Tell him to cool it (unless he is very big and looks mean…then have your wife tell him to wait).
I expect you will find shipping costs to be the same no matter who you are dealing with. Be careful of blanket wrap shipments. They do it all the time but damage can occur. Read the fine print. Whenever possible pay with credit card.
Educational psychology! Are you working on a book? If I had not been so greedy I would have been a happy camper in the academic world. With you field of expertise, science and math teachers/programs, and the American educational system failing terribly in both areas I’ll bet you could come up with a nice selling expose.
Let me know how it goes in Hickory. Incidentally, my brother, is a major executive with a big furniture trucking line out of High Point, N.C. so if there is any shipping information that bothers you let me know and we can have him check it out for you.
Len
Len,
I have a question. We have found a coffee table and two end tables that we like. They are made by Ethan Allen. The prices are $599, $379, and $399 respectively.
I’ve looked on the web and can’t fine them anyplace but at Ethen Allen stores.
Is that where we need to buy them? and, What should we expect to pay, say if we go to their store in Huntsville, AL. Thanks, again, for your help. Incidently, I could not access your top rated internet store, GoodHome.com. That site sells only perfume, etc.
Wayne
Wayne,
Ethan Allen “controls” their distribution tighter than any other manufacturer in the US. They also play fewer games with their pricing and have fewer discount events. I would expect that their prices in Huntsville would be the same as their prices in Memphis; but after saying all that I would ask when the items would go on sale and appear as reluctant buyers. The owner/manager may be having a poor month and would want any kind of sale to make his figures. Keep in mind that I think Ethan Allen is the best run and most sensible priced furniture operation in the US. They do it right for the most part.
Did you pick up my book on “Shopping On The Internet”! Darn that was a fun book to put together but it represents exactly what a book on “Best Places to Stay in Hawaii” hitting the book stores in June of 1941. Most of the industry thought that the Internet would be the greatest boon to the industry and consumers since the creation of the screw. But the big brick and mortar furniture players refused to come along and the consumer was ultimately reluctant to buy without seeing, feeling, etc. the items. The whole venture failed and collapsed. GoodHome is gone as is all the rest. No major player is trying to sell recognized brand named product on the Internet today. The majors are using the Net as information pages only. The logistics of moving furniture from point A to point B was the biggest and costliest hurdle to overcome. Damage claims, returns, allowances all sunk the ship.
- Len
