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The Top 10 Furniture Shopping Mistakes
Before you buy a mobile phone, a dishwasher or a new computer you talk to friends, read reports, and of course comparison shop. But do you invest the same amount of time and preparation in furniture shopping? After all, a good sofa or dining table will cost more than those items and will usually last longer.
I asked designers, salespeople and industry experts to describe the most common mistakes furniture shoppers make. Here's a summary of their responses, along with tips on how to avoid becoming a victim.
Think about your long-term plans for the room: Do you like it the way it is, or do you want to change it? If it’s the latter, what kind of look or feeling do you want the space to have? Buy for the way you want the room to be, not necessarily the way it is; that way, you’re not tossing out your furniture in three years when you finally get around to decorating it the way you want it.
If the furniture store does not have the piece you want on its floor and they plan to custom-order it for you, ask if a wholesale showroom nearby carries the same item. If you’re planning to buy furniture online try to find the same item at a bricks-and-mortar retailer and test it in advance.
Many stores offer enticing financing plans that postpone payments for a year or more. Don’t take advantage of them unless you’re certain you’ll be able to pay off the balance in full by that date. The majority of customers don’t, and end up paying sky-high interest charges retroactive to the day they took the furniture home. Don’t be another victim—pay for it now or start putting money aside every month until the balance is due.
I asked designers, salespeople and industry experts to describe the most common mistakes furniture shoppers make. Here's a summary of their responses, along with tips on how to avoid becoming a victim.
Lack of Preparation
People often go furniture shopping without any sense of what they like, their long-term goals, or even something so basic as the dimensions of the room. Before you visit your first store, draw up a floor plan of the space you’re shopping for, including all measurements. Take some photographs of the room, and go through design magazines and tear out photos of homes or furniture pieces that appeal to you. Bring paint samples from the room, along with swatches of carpet and fabric from the other furnishings. If you don’t have a fabric swatch, remove the cover from a cushion and bring it with you. Pack these clippings in a file folder or portfolio and bring it with you when you shop.Think about your long-term plans for the room: Do you like it the way it is, or do you want to change it? If it’s the latter, what kind of look or feeling do you want the space to have? Buy for the way you want the room to be, not necessarily the way it is; that way, you’re not tossing out your furniture in three years when you finally get around to decorating it the way you want it.
Ignoring Scale
Stores can play tricks with your sense of proportion. A piece that looks perfect in a store that’s half the size of a football field and has 20-foot ceilings may appear humongous in an apartment with 8-foot ceilings. Carry a compact tape measure in your purse or car and measure everything before you buy. If you’re still in doubt, go home and map out the piece in newspaper on your floor, or make a mockup with cardboard boxes.Not Bringing Home a Fabric Sample
Fabric looks different under different lighting conditions. Before you buy a piece of upholstered furniture, ask for a fabric swatch and take it home. Then look at the material in the room where the piece will sit—preferably in the daytime and at night. Check how the colour looks with other pieces of furniture in the room, and with the wall colour.Not Testing the Furniture
Never buy seating without testing it out. (I can vouch for this from—ouch!—personal experience.) Sit on it. Lay on it. If it’s a sofa you plan to use for napping or reading, stretch out on it in the shop (taking your shoes off first, of course)—you might even bring a book and read for a while.If the furniture store does not have the piece you want on its floor and they plan to custom-order it for you, ask if a wholesale showroom nearby carries the same item. If you’re planning to buy furniture online try to find the same item at a bricks-and-mortar retailer and test it in advance.
Buying On Impulse
It can be hard to resist a piece of furniture that’s marked 50 percent off. But think things through before you pull out the credit card. If the item doesn’t work with your room’s scale, style or colours, you’ve just spent 50 percent more than you had to. “If it’s cheap but doesn’t work in your home, it’s not a good deal,” says Denise Middeton of K Agencies. Likewise, don’t start shopping for new furniture two days before your in-laws arrive. Buying furniture takes time, so don’t rush it; give yourself plenty of chance to look around and comparison shop. And if you absolutely can’t pass up that sale item, make sure it’s returnable. If not, see if the store will allow you to take it home and return it by the following morning if it’s not right.Shopping By Committee
The more opinions you seek, the harder it is to choose, says salesperson Alan Kay. Don’t take a squadron of friends and relatives with you when you shop; limit the input to your significant other or one friend with exquisite taste.Refusing Help
Unless you’ve studied interior design or apprenticed with an upholsterer, it’s a safe bet the salesperson will know more about their merchandise than you. Take advantage of that. “Most sales personnel desperately want to be helpful,” says Leonard Bruce Lewin, author of Shopping for Furniture: A consumer's guide, “Give them a chance and the odds of getting the right product at the right price is dramatically increased.”Shopping on the Weekend
If you’re going to need a lot of help and want the salesperson to give you his or her undivided attention, don’t go shopping on the weekend. That’s when furniture stores are busiest and the staff is most distracted. Pick a weekday and you might be able to monopolise the salesperson’s time for hours.Forgetting to Measure Doors & Lifts
Everyone who sells furniture has heard stories about people who bought a sofa and then couldn’t get it through the front door, up the stairs or into the lift. Don’t become another statistic! Measure the size of every opening leading up to the room where the piece will sit. (Don’t overlook windows as an alternate entry point.) If you live in an apartment or flat, measure the lift door and compartment, or the service elevator, if there is one.Paying Too Much
“In today’s world, any consumer should expect to be seeing at least a 35 percent discount off of the RRP,” says author Lewin, referring to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (not the store’s normal selling price). If the piece isn’t discounted already, wait for a sale: many retailers mark down everything in the store during three-day holiday weekends or monthly sales events. If you don’t want to wait to save money on your furniture you might ask your salesperson if he or she could knock 3-5 percent off the price, especially if you’re buying several items. (Profit margins are slim on furniture, so don’t get greedy.) If the salesperson says no, don’t be offended: Some manufacturers and stores do not permit their merchandise to be sold at a discount.Many stores offer enticing financing plans that postpone payments for a year or more. Don’t take advantage of them unless you’re certain you’ll be able to pay off the balance in full by that date. The majority of customers don’t, and end up paying sky-high interest charges retroactive to the day they took the furniture home. Don’t be another victim—pay for it now or start putting money aside every month until the balance is due.