furniture shopping
 

hey random questions, not really travel oriented...looking to buy a leather couch, something a little more upscale and modern than what you would find at a seaman's or levitz. tried a few places in NYC but they're pricey - anyone have any good stores to check out in norther jersey? thx

You should be able to get some good answers at this website:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/furniture/

thanks a lot!

Route 4 in Paramus/Hackensack/River Edge has many furniture stores. It's right over the GWB, so you should definitely look there.

I know that there is a huge LAZ-Y-BOY store there and they just came out with a sleek/modern line of couches.

Speaking of Lazy-Y-Boy, I always thought of them as just having the recliner chairs.

We have a store here in Vacaville. I needed a new sofa and decided to look in there as there was a furniture store in the same complex that had wonderful coffee tables.

I ended up buy a cappuchino chenille sofa from Laz-Y-Boy and I love it! I did not know they had such a selection of furniture.

So that would be a good place to check out. Their quality seems very good also. Have fun shopping.

If you want a real deal on furniture , go to High Point, NC. The place is called furniture land south. It will save you 60% off anything in NJ. You spend a weekend in Greensboro. Its well worth it.

There is an entire thread on this from a couple of years ago.

Highpoint NC and that area.

Rose Furniture and Furnitureland are two of the biggest vendors.

You can do it long distance and they deliver straight to your door and set up. They actually did a special finish for me on a dining room set with custom fabric I choose. Leather choices are good to excellent.

On the furniture forums, FurnitureLand South gets very, very bad reviews. Boyles is supposed to be good and Rose furniture.

Bloomingdales often has great sales, especially this time of year. Have you checked? I'm sure you know they have stores in NJ but even if you have to go to the city to find what you want, they'll deliver and you'll only pay NJ tax.

I spent plenty of money at FLS. I am very satisfied with the product. They have alot of high end items, such as Ethan Allen , Lexington, ect.

if you can find out the manufacturer and model of something you like, you can then call places in nc and usually get about a 40% discount even with shipping. i've bought things through rose furniture before. a salesperson's code to search their online catalogs is on another computer but i can get it if you'd like. boyles is another place in high point that is good.

we've bought couches at a place in nj that had comparable prices to nc. berkshire furniture co in union, nj on rt 22. they claim to be "north carolina direct" and their prices were the same as rose furniture and green front in va. their floor samples were fairly cheesy, imo, but they can order anything you want of the manufacturers they carry. delivery was cheap too.

:) kari

I had found an entertainment center I loved in NC and called a furniture store in my state and they actually gave me a better price, with free shipping using their own trucks. So if you find something you love, call a couple of furniture stores in your area and give them a chance to meet or beat the NC price. It can't hurt, eh?!

The part that irritates me is the person who has already decided where she is going to buy her furniture, but will call or visit a local "mom and pop" furniture store. The shopper will ask them questions, look at their floor samples or catalogs, and even gather advice. Then turn around and call the out of state business and order. I wonder if those people feel at least a pang of sympathy and guilt when they pass by their local store one day and see the "gone out of business" sign?

Patrick, I have two friends who are both in the furniture business. Believe me when I say this, the number of people who do what you have described is minimal. And furniture has the third biggest mark-up for home product after electrical fixtures and rugs. It's BIG time money. Second-hand/ antique furniture is a different story, but I know new. Don't feel sorry for you local dealer.

Many of these furniture retailers have become millionaires in under a 5 year period, and that's a fact. One family group I know personally used to own a very small trucking company that moved the "stuff" and now went just to the furniture showrooms/ordering and sold the trucks altogether. Another, Smithe (with a E) has the one of the biggest advertising budgets in Chicago media. On tv they are recognizable celebrities. All the outfits near me, also do not give many of their sales/floor employees benefits, although
they have huge profit margins. A former business acquaintance and friend opened a place (very,very small) called Avanti near Chicago and he is in a brand new third store in Frankfurt, IL as of last year. They came to America, were very poor upon arrival not 10 years ago, and he is living in an estate and is an extremely happy individual. You don't want to know what the real markup is,and believe me lots of people in food/clothes etc. sales wish they could approach such percentages. In this field most people just want what they want and spend it, especially in this time of plenty. And it is since these sales are sky high. People don't want to be bothered by doing the interim work themselves.

You can shop online with all the graphics they have now quite easily, as well. Few people will do this, for trust etc. reasons, as well as the reason just stated above. And yet, I have been asked at least a hundred times in the last 15 years where I have gotten my furniture. Most of it came directly from the factory and had custom changes by my request, with anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3rd of the price that the standard local showroom would have given me. My dining room set came with two young men would set it up, polished it with specific oils, put on the free (very expensive if bought on my own, I priced) table pads. Then also proceeded to fix a spot on one of the chairs to my satisfaction, before they left, and also gave me a lesson in care/moisturizing etc. Great service- and I think that time was a Rose buy with a outsourced delivery router. That particular set was about $6000 and the set I could have bought locally, without the exact finish I wanted and without my custom fabric on the seats was going to be $11,200 without the pads. Worth it to me.

Leather choices have also greatly increased since my buys. One son got Italian and exactly what he wanted for about 2/3rds of the base cost here.

If you can spend 40,000 in Furniturelandsouth, in NC, why would you want to spend $80,000 in NJ? A person that takes on the challenge to go into business should know the risks. Today's economy dictates that. I agree , its a shame for the little guy but that's reality. I'd rather have saved $40,000 , than give it to a mom-n-pop store. Some of us have other responsibilities and the money saved can be used to our benefit. What right does anybody have to challenge a person this type of a financial issue. Patrick, you seem intelligent, but come on.

Hey, I don't think you read my post, northeast. Or at least I hope you didn't. I'm not talking about not buying from a guy who charges twice as much, I'm talking about a buyer who knows he's not buying in a place to go in and use their time and facilities and then order somewhere else. If you want to save the money, fine, but do your dealings with the place you're going to buy -- let them provide the service. Don't "steal" the service from the place you already know you're not going to buy from.

Would you go to a high end beauty salon and sit down and ask for advice on a new hairstyle and makeup, but not let them do it -- instead taking their ideas to Super cuts? Well, maybe YOU would?

Patrick, would you suggest going into a car dealer and not comparing. That's what it sounds like. If a car salesman offers you a price, and you can save $2,000.00 down the street, I assume your position is that since you went to get figures from the first dealer, that you were obligated to buy from them. If I went down the street and saved $2,000.00, who is it hurting. Its certainly not hurting me or the person I bought from. You mentionted stealing, the only person that's stealing is the merchant that over charges. It won't be at my expense. Its called a free market system, buy low, sell high. I hope you can understand that,

You are still not listening to me or understanding me. To follow my example the car thing would be having a place you know you are going to buy a car. There is no question that is where you are going. But despite that, you'd go to another car dealer WHERE YOU HAVE ALREADY DECIDED YOU DON'T EVEN CARE WHAT THE PRICE IS, YOU AREN'T BUYING THERE BECAUSE YOU ALREADY KNOW WHERE YOU WILL BUY IT. But then you go to this other dealer and ask them to explain how everything works. And you ask them to show you all the color choices and combinations of interiors. And then you have them write those things down for you -- walk out of their showroom and order where you knew all along you were going to buy. Are you honestly saying you would do that and not feel guilt? If so, heaven help you.

It is stealing their time and advice ONLY if you knew all the time that is what you were doing. In other words, it is stealing IF you never ever planned to buy anything there regardless of the price but where just using them to help you buy something from a competitor.

AGAIN I REPEAT, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT GOING TO TWO DIFFERENT PLACES, COMPARING THE PRICES AND BUYING FROM THE ONE WHERE YOU GET THE BETTER DEAL. I NEVER WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT, IF YOU READ MY ORIGINAL POST. Sorry about the SHOUTING, but you seem not be listening to what I'm saying and trying to make it into something totally different.

Your assumption that I was suggesting you would be obligated to buy regardless of the figures from the first dealer you went to is TOTAL HOGWASH. If you read, you will see I was only talking about going to one dealer for help and advice WHEN your mind was already set on another place where you'd buy. You seem to be talking about going to two places, comparing prices, and buying where every you got the better deal. There is nothing wrong with that. If you can't see the difference between the two, I really can't help you any more.

Now the other issue is this. If you want service AND a low price -- then find a place that gives you both. Don't find the place with the low price because they offer no service, but then go "steal" the service from the place which charges more to cover that service. Again, I'm not talking about comparing. I'm talking about "stealing" the service from a place because you can't get it at the place you've already committed to buy from. That's like buying your take out food at a counter, then going to a table and sitting down and having them wait on you, because you really want the service of sit down but the prices of take out.

And since it seems so hard for some to understand what I'm saying, here is an example of deciding whether you want price only or service.

There are two gas stations on my street. One is all self-serve and they charge $1.95 a gallon for gas. Across the street is a station that when you buy gas they also clean your windshield, check you tires and oil, and pump the gas for you. They charge $2.15 a gallon for gas.
Now what I'm talking about is KNOWING that I'm going to buy gas from the cheap place, but I drive into the other place and say, "before I get the gas would you check the tires and oil?" Then I let them do it and clean the windshield. Drive across the street and buy my gas. Sorry. I think that's dishonest. Now, if you go back to my original statement about knowing you are going to go to North Carolina store, but enter a local store and have them give you the service of helping with colors, fabrics, and models, and walk out not even giving them a chance to "bid" on your order -- or not caring because you already knew you were never going to buy there -- then I consider that the same thing as using the "free service" from the gas station where you knew you weren't buying the gas.

Is that any clearer? Or would you do that as well?

Patrick, I simply stated a point about saving money. Its only logical when buying a high end item, you compare and choose the best offer. I think your comparison about the gas station was amusing. Obviously, you must have the funds to be loyal to a local establishment, but alot of us don't. I thought you could respect a dialouge without going into a tizzy fit. Is it possible for you to accept an opinion other than your own, sounds like no.

I do accept other opinions. I have never once here disagreed with the idea of shopping around for the best price, but you seem to THINK I have! All I have said that you seem unable to understand is that if your mind is already made up that you aren't going to even consider buying from a certain place, then it is only fair not to go there and take their time. It is unfortunate that you apparently think there is nothing wrong with doing that.
Northeast, I think you need a course in basic reading if you think I have disagreed with a single thing you have said, other that to inform you that you are totally misquoting me. Are you seriously telling me you can't comprehend the simple idea of "IF YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF BUYING THERE" and are confusing that with the idea of competitive shopping? I finally figured it out. You have been pulling my leg all the time, right? You can't be so ignorant as to not understand the difference.

I'm not sure that most people go into a local furniture store already determined that they are not going to buy there. I think what sometimes happens is that they shop locally, get the information they need, feel the price is still too high, and then search online, or call NC to see if they can do better. To me, that's just good comparison shopping. And it can work out for the local guy too. I was in the market for some items a while back, and went to a local store, without any sense of where I'd ultimately end up buying (not sure how you can know that in advance, anyway). I thought the price was too high, but they said that was the best they could do. Did some homework and found lower prices in NC, but I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of going that route, for many of the reasons stated above, and also because they required final payment prior to delivery. So I went back to the local store and said quite honestly that I'd love to buy from them, but I had gotten a better price from NC, and could they meet that price? At first they said no, so I asked if they could come close, since I really preferred to purchase from them. So the owner went and played with his calculator and came back with a price that was just slightly above what I was quoted from NC, and he got the sale. So maybe this is a situation where I wasn't being fair to the people in NC? (BG).

And by the way, in response to the original poster (who seems to have been forgotten in all of this) I'll second the Route 4 recommendation and suggest you check out Living Rooms Plus. They have a very nice selection of high end and midrange leather sofas and their prices are fair. If you're willing to travel further west and south of that, you might try Better with Leather on Rt. 46 in Fairfield. And just a bit further west on 46 is House of Norway, which has some lower to mid range items. Also, my understanding is that if you live in NY and purchase from a NJ store that doesn't have a branch in NY, and they deliver it to NY, you will not have to pay sales tax. Whether NY will then go after you to collect the tax is a separate issue, but I don't believe you would be charged sales tax by the NJ seller. Good luck in your search.

Judy, you are 100% right. That is comparative shopping, and makes perfect sense. I especially like the idea of at least giving the local dealer a chance to match or lower the price so that you can make a fair judgement of whether it is worth it to you to buy from them. And by the way, you will probably have to look hard for a local place that will actually sell the furniture for double a discounted price anywhere. There are very few stores that sell their furniture at full suggested retail any more. Nearly every store will offer some sort of discount, and of course, the bigger the order, the larger that discount may be. So it makes sense to find out what that discount might be and at least giving them a chance to sell you the furniture. And it is only polite to get an indication of that before taking a lot of their time. If they say they only sell at full suggested retail, and you know a place where you can get a big discount, then for heaven's sake -- don't continue to take their time in doing your planning for you, knowing you're never going to buy anything from them. That's only common sense and common courtesy.

What I was talking about (and YES it does happen), is someone who already knows they are calling their order into a particular discounter, but doesn't want to make the trip to their store (perhaps in North Carolina) to seek their help, but goes to a local store and actually asks for help in showing them the catalogs or colors and may even ask for help in looking at plans and furniture placement and sizes, KNOWING all the while they have no intention of even getting a price there. This is EXACTLY like that "amusing" story of the two gas stations -- using free service from a place where you KNOW you won't actually make a purchase. That's all I was talking about, but it somehow seemed too difficult for some to comprehend.

I just returned from a North Carolina trip last week. I visited Furnitureland South and Boyle's. They are both beautiful places. I really feel you can find just as good of a deal at your local furniturte store having a sale. I would suggest going to NC if you are buying a LOT of furniture, perhaps for a new home. You are assigned a designer. They can help you with rugs, accessories, etc.

I bought 80% of my furniture from Rose Furniture. I love my furniture! You just don't see funiture like you do from NC here in NJ. We spent 3 days in High Point, worked with a decorator from the store(as someone else mentioned) and it was well worth it!

Another great tip on a furniture store EVERYONE should check out---

BRANDON'S FURNITURE.

The stuff reminds me of NC. I bought bar stools from them for $ 200 each...and Fortunoff has the exaxt same ones for $ 499! The store I go to is in Princeton..off of RT. 1. There is another store in Bridgewater somewhere. I know they have a website. The only thing is...you have to buy off the floor, but I didnt mind. I also bought 2 chairs for my sitting area in my bedroom, they are BEAUTIFUL for on $ 400.00 a chair, but they look like $ 1000.00 a chair...so plush!

They also sell pictures, mirrors, lighting fixtures, floral arrangements.

Definately worth the trip!!

One of the best benefits of shopping in SC is being able to see a large variety of furniture. I am a very picky consumer. When we bought our bedroom furniture, we knew what style of furniture we wanted and narrowed it down to twenty possible choices. We went down to SC and were able to see most of them firsthand in a combination of stores there. We only found two or three on the showroom floors at home.