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.