Bedroom furniture can be purchased just about anywhere these days -- from high-end
retailers, manufacturers, interior designers, discount retailers, online furniture
stores, and even neighborhood warehouse discounters. Unfortunately, quality
and pricing varies tremendously, so one must be careful when shopping for bedroom
furnishings.
Before making a large bedroom set purchase, perform some simple consumer research.
Local retailers can be a source of information and allow you to “touch
and feel” what you’ll be buying. However, be prepared to contend
with pushy or uninformed salesman. In a recent survey conducted by furnishings
insiders, consumers rated furniture shopping as the second most frustrating
shopping experience -- second only to car shopping.
To avoid the harassment and lack of knowledge at local outlets, many furniture
shoppers are performing their own due diligence at home and at work by shopping
for discount bedroom furniture via the Web. Consumers, armed with an Internet
connection and an Internet browser, are using the Web for furniture buying research
and price shopping. Though the media is quick to recount horror stories of customers
who shopped online only to end up swindled, the truth is there are now many
online bedroom stores that are trustworthy, and many more that offer better
service, quality, and pricing than their local counterparts.
Why can good deals on furniture be found online? Two reasons: overhead and
volume. The typical furniture retailer spends a large portion of their operating
budget on retail floor space. Depending on the size and location of the showroom
and its aesthetics, this expense can be sizable. In many instances, the will
make up this expense by charging inflated retail prices. In some high-end showrooms,
margins for the retailer can be in excess of 1000% (yes, that’s right,
10 times the dealer’s cost). Needless to say, cataloguers and Internet
furniture stores avoid this expense – since their showroom is the catalog
or web site itself. Typically, they pass this savings on to their customers.
To complicate matters for the local furniture retailer, the amount of shoppers
any one store will receive is constrained geographically -- meaning, only customers
local to the showroom can shop at the location. Since retailers receive scaled
pricing from manufacturers based on their volume, the local store, unless it’s
tied to a large chain, is unlikely to receive the discounted volume pricing
from manufacturers. In the end, the consumers end up paying the mark-up on the
manufacturer’s already inflated pricing.
Not to say that every bedroom furniture store on the Web offers great deals,
quality, amazing customer service, and is trustworthy. As with many consumer
products, there are good deals to be had online, just be wary of whom you’re
buying from and the quality you’ll be receiving. When ordering online,
be sure that the bedroom store has its contact information listed including
a phone number. Also, research the retailer’s ability to service its customers.
Typically, an online retailer will provide references of happy customers. Be
sure to verify these, especially if they're provided by an independent 3rd party.
Lastly, if you’re concerned of the retailer’s trustworthiness be
sure contact them and speak with someone directly. Ask some questions, and if
you don’t like the answers, or concerned about representative's lack of
knowledge, don't be afraid to take your business elsewhere.
If you looking for bedroom furniture from Plush Interiors,
start here:
View Plush Interiors' selection of other furniture and furnishings
by clicking on any of the following links:
