Furniture Shopping 101

Shopping for furniture can be a daunting task. There are many issues to be concerned with. In this article a thirty year furniture “veteran” will provide information to help consumers to avoid making purchasing mistakes.

The furniture business is different from other “big ticket” purchases because of the manufacturers who build or market the product as well as the nature of the product itself. As compared to the purchase of other “big ticket” items such as electronics, appliances or automobiles, it is very difficult to compare the products and associated specifications. It’s unlike the TV business for example, where the shopper can look at Sony TV’s with similar specifications at a number of mass merchants such as Best Buy, Circuit City etc.

In general, furniture is manufactured by a number of different smaller companies. To further complicate the shopping process, furniture is often manufactured by off-shore companies and then sold to U.S. companies who distribute the product under their own brandname. In other words, the same or similar furniture pieces may be manufactured in a Chinese facility and then marketed by various U.S. furniture “manufacturers” who are not really manufacturers but are distributors.  This almost always is the case on wood furniture such as dining room or bedroom furniture which for the most part is manufactured in the Far East. China is the main supplier of this furniture with Viet Nam and Malaysia in secondary supply positions.

The point is that it is extraordinarily difficult for consumers to make a good comparison on dining room and bedroom furniture. The first item of comparison should generally be to select a style that is desirable. This should then be followed up by a comparison of construction methodology. With regard to bedroom furniture, dove-tail construction” of the drawers is an important construction issue. “English” dovetail with interlocking pieces is the most widely accepted construction. The consumer should also be aware of how the interior of the pieces are constructed. Certain levels of particle board or MDF are acceptable.

In purchasing furniture, it’s a good decision to shop both local furniture merchants as well as the e-commerce websites that market furniture. In many cases the website companies will be able to provide lower prices due to their low cost business structures. Many of these web companies have lower overhead situations because they do not have the expense of  costly retail locations as well as lower employee and advertising costs. Also, they are not required to charge sales tax if they are outside of the state that the consumer resides in. Look for a website that provides free shipping.

Upholstered furniture for the most part is still manufactured in the United States. The primary exception to this is leather furniture which is made not only in the U.S. but also in China as well as Italy. It is generally recognized that the best quality leather furniture is manufactured in Italy where the highest quality leather furnishings have been manufactured for a number of years. The Chinese copies do not come close to the quality levels of the Italian leather furnishings. This is easy for the consumer to handle. Simply ask where the leather furniture was manufactured. If the consumer plans on using the furniture for more than a couple of years, Italian leather furniture should be the choice.

Fabric upholstered furniture (other than leather) is generally still manufactured in the U.S. This is due primarily to shipping costs. Again, brand names are not important in this category. The key issues are style and construction. If long term durability (i.e. the consumer does not plan for an extended period of usage), construction is not as critical. In this case, the consumer should simply select a style that is appropriate and not focus on construction attributes.

In the case of motion furniture (with built in recliners), the best selection is a piece that has an all steel mechanism. In other words, the base, working parts and seat deck are constructed from steel. It is recommended that the base and seat deck not be constructed from wood which is unfortunately common in these types of  motion furniture.

The purchase of a mattress can also be a confusing proposition. The consumer should ignore the cover (ticking) that is on the mattress. This surface will be covered with a mattress pad and sheets. The key feature to purchasing a mattress is usually related to coil count (unless a foam mattress is being purchased). Generally speaking, purchasing one of the big brand name mattresses is not necessarily the best purchase. The cost of marketing and advertising is built into the cost of the product. There are many “non-brand” mattresses that are great values because the cost of advertising is not built into the selling price of the product.