Furniture Buying Myths

Part 1

This is the first of a series of articles written by a furniture industry insider that will provide guidance on how to obtain the best value possible on the purchase of home furnishings and will provide an insight into commonly held misconceptions on this important big-ticket purchase.

There are a number of myths and incorrect assumptions made by consumers concerning the purchasing of furniture. Frequently these situations result in consumers paying much more than they should for their purchase of home furnishings. At the very least, some of these incorrect and widely held beliefs result in a great deal of wasted time and a substantial amount of aggravation.

The purpose of this article is to provide some insight on how to avoid some common furniture purchasing “pitfalls”.

Myth 1

“If A Furniture Store Advertises 40-60% Off (or more) It Must Be A Really Good Deal”

This untruth is one of the most distasteful of the business activities of some furniture retailers. The fact of the matter is that most furniture stores operate at a gross profit of 40%- 50%. This means that at a 50% gross profit, the store pays $100 for an item and sells it for $200. This may sound like a great deal of profit but it's really not in the long run. If you figure in the cost of renting a decent building, advertising, sales commissions, delivery trucks, etc., there's not much left when it's all over.

The point is that if a furniture store really provided a 40-60% discount, there would absolutely be no profit left and the store could not stay in business. In order to advertise a 40-60% discount, the store marks the furniture up higher than normal in order to provide a “fake” discount. In most educated consumers' opinions, this is not a forthright way to do business.

There are two answers to solving this problem.

First, always make product and price comparisons that are specific in nature. In other words, compare the same item (and price) at various furniture stores and/ or Internet furniture sites or compare items that are as similar as possible as far as the features they provide. Ignore the percentage discount game. Look at the final price and service level. Determine if shipping or delivery are included in the price and if not, what will they add to the total cost of the purchase.

Please keep in mind that there are many honest furniture retailers that refuse to use these false retail prices in order to show large discounts. You may also want to consider the purchase of your furniture from an Internet furniture site where the overhead costs are usually much lower than a typical furniture store (i.e. rent, commissions, etc.). Purchasing furniture over the Internet is as safe as in a furniture store and oftentimes is much less hassle as overly aggressive and uneducated salespeople are avoided.

As is true with the purchase of any big-ticket item, careful shopping is the key. Careful shopping based on all the components of the item are critical. This includes not just the product itself but also the service levels that are included. The purchase of furniture should be a long term investment so the shopping done beforehand is very important.