Furniture Shopping...

So, my one brother and I are moving to a place that needs some furniture. We're looking for some simple styled but nice looking furnture that is sturdy and affordable at the same time. We're looking at warehouse furniture sales, discontinued pieces, and craigslist, but are pretty much coming up with nothing

Anyone in the NEOhio area know of places that have decent furniture? We need a small dining table with 4 chairs, some couches, and potentially small bedroom sets. I guess it sounds like a lot, maybe it is, but we're just not having any luck....

Also, kinda wanna vent that furniture salespeople are ridiculously pushy, and kinda scheming too...not too trustworthy, no offense to anyone here with furniture sale ties...

We've got a place in Richmond that runs a weekly furniture auction. They usually have some nice used furniture that goes for a wide range of prices depending on who wants to bid on it.

Craigslist has nothing? How about local "Trader" type papers? I would go used if you're on a tight budget, since cheap new furniture tends to be crap.

Edit: In the event that good used furniture is hard to find, you could do worse than buy new at Ikea, as I'm sure some will suggest.

Since your in neohio, come on up to ikea in canton. You should find something there.

Joey

+1 on Ikea. Quality stuff is available. Nice contemporary design. You have to assemble, but the instructions are a hoot. All pictures, not a single writtn word, but it works very well. I have a number of Ikea pieces, quite satisfied.

My sister used to work in a furniture store. It was a "family" business, but no one in the family worked there doing the actual selling, she did most of the work there. And I got to say she was the opposite of pushy. I'm amazed the place ever made money enough to keep the doors open but I think in that little town folks went there BECAUSE it had been in business so long, had little local competition, and she made it a nice place to shop. My experiences "in the big city" are like yours, furniture people are one step above Al Bundy....and seem to know it.

Antique mall. Might get some pretty nice solid stuff for the price of pressboard. It might look a little worn, but it can be refinished.

Edit: Ikea's not bad too, just be careful, some is nice, some is not so nice. Also, with regards to the antique mall suggestion, I'd only recommend that for dining room pieces, and other non-upholstered furniture. I'm a little wierd about buying used furniture, maybe it comes from being in the bedbug capital of the midwest.

eastsidemav wrote: Also, with regards to the antique mall suggestion, I'd only recommend that for dining room pieces, and other non-upholstered furniture. I'm a little wierd about buying used furniture, maybe it comes from being in the bedbug capital of the midwest.

QFT! Avoid used sofa and beds like the plague unless you are familiar with the donor and maybe have spent some quality time in them with them.

There's a business near here (Central GA) that deals in furniture that has been pulled in hotel remodels. You can pick up desks, chairs, tables, etc in good shape for a song, and they're sturdy commercial pieces. They have mattresses, too, but no way in hell I'd go that route.

Check your area for a similar shop. They're often not well advertised but asking around might get you a lead on one. If you have contacts in the hospitality biz, they might know something.

Oh we would most definitely never buy a used mattress or upholstered furniture piece!! But it just seems that tables and bedroom sets are a rip off!! Way overpriced, in my opinion...

Craigslist has some potential, but a lot of the ads are for furniture closeout places...not the worst place to buy from but they are firm on prices. No flex room, not even for cash purchases. Other than that, we don't want someones fancy red oak four leaved dining room table with matching china cabinet offa c-list either...its hard to find what we're looking for from peoples "undesirables" or garage sale stuff. I guess beggars can't be choosers, right?

We have some time, so we'll keep on looking. Ikea, we're not opposed to but not too impressed with.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm sure the right items will come along!

We have a liquidation type deal here in Indy.... i bought a dining set for $150. It's nothing special, but it'll last a few years.

Let me see if i can find the name of it and you can see if you've got one there.

Ikea on the west side of Pittsburgh just a couple exits past the airport will be the perfect answer for the table and chairs. Easy, all expressway drive that will take 2 hrs from Cleveland. There once was a time that I fit a kitchen table and 4 chairs into a '96 Accord. Since it is self assemble, the packaging is small.
www.ikea.com
Search styles and prices online but drive to pick it up since shipping is heavy.

Do you have a Rent-A-Center or other furniture rental place nearby? Some of the stores have clearance centers where they sell a lot of the stuff that is no longer rented. Some of it has been abused, but a lot of it is in surprisingly good condition. About 15 years ago my brother and I moved into a place and got a couch and loveseat for $150. They both looked new and were good quality. I've still got both, though they've been relegated to the basement as they're a little out of style. This was before the bed bug explosion so we didn't even think about possible issues like that. If you're just looking for hard items, it's worth a shot.

Bob

Estate sales.

IKEA's great if you don't mind people pointing and laughing under their breath every time they enter your house. IKEA is unmistakable and is great for college dorms or newlyweds.

IKEA is good for many items such as kitchen utilities and knick knacks but furniture is not their forte.

I've had mixed results with IKEA. My bedroom set is pretty much completely IKEA Malm stuff. I think I've moved it 4 times now over the last 3 years. You just need to be a little careful when disassembling it since the fasteners are pretty cheap.

I'm also one of those people that uses polyurethane on the exposed ends of the particleboard to keep it together better. The wife loves going there though so I could careless what other people think as long as she's happy. Their stuff is also cheap enough that I can use ikeahacker for fun projects and cut up the furniture without any real guilt.

I think we're all supposed to drink. Right? Or does The0retical just owe me a drink?

EDIT: Fuggit, it's 4 o' clock, I'm having a drink either way.

In reply to poopshovel:

If you're ever in the Inland Empire area of California and I'm actually at home I'll buy you one ;)

Also, yes, I did fail terribly.

I would rather have good quality old stuff, than anything made today.

I think selling used mattresses is illegal. If not, it should be. Be very careful buying a used sofa, for the same reason.

Salvation Army or Goodwill store near by? You'd be surprised the quality of furniture you can find there for dirt cheap.

We have had good luck with World Market. There is one in Canton, and probably elsewhere throughout NEOhio. It is one of the few places you can get solid wood furniture affordably.

I was there last night for some coffee and they had a lot of stuff on sale, presumably because of the season change.

Ask family and friends if they have furniture to sell you. You'd be surprised what you might be given for free since a lot of people don't want to go through the hassle of selling stuff on CL or yard sales.

Post up on facebook what you're looking for a watch as the people you know offer stuff up.

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