../../../..//2007/11/14/la-z-boy-inc-posted-a-loss/
La-Z-Boy Inc posted a loss this quarter and said it wouldn’t meet its fiscal 2008 outlook, citing a depressed housing market and the fact that nobody is buying their chairs. [Reuters]
furniture
The Furniture Industry Is A Secret Cabal
By 9.26.07
“Most people do not realize that home furniture has a 200% to 400% markup on it. Some has less, but that is where the majority falls. In fact my friend was a furniture industry insider and at the Highpoint show, a furniture company told him to mark up the price of a wall unit by 400%. One wall unit he came back home with for $1800 had a retail price of $6500. So when these big stores advertise in the local papers with 50% off MSRP sales, they could still be doubling their money. Not only that, many stores advertise their sale prices are 50% off MSRP, yet if you dig a little deeper, you might find that they never sold the pieces at MSRP to begin with, so they are really just dropping their price maybe 5 to 10%. Some stores don’t drop their price at all, because they were already at MAP. This means that store really is not having a sale!”
5 Furniture Shopping Tips
By 9.17.07
Despite the crummy real estate market and generally listing economy, now is a good time to go furniture shopping, apparently. That’s partly because consolidation and increased competition has squeezed out everyone except for discount-happy big box retailers in some cities, and partly because business is down overall this year so everyone is trying to attract more customers with markdowns.
Man Fights IKEA Customer Service Over Defective LILLBERG Couch, Loses
By 9.8.07
A week after we moved and put the new covers on, our IKEA LILLBERG sofa broke. Right in half. The main support beam gave out right at the dovetail joint, and even split a board in the process. We were devastated, but figured that we’d be able to wrangle something out of it. Standard customer service would replace the couch, right?
Reach IKEA Executive Customer Service
By 9.5.07
For some consumers, it seems IKEA wants them to also build their own customer service. But hex wrenches can’t effect a warranty repair. If calling the general customer service number doesn’t help you out, these methods may help you lob your issue into their laps.
By 8.23.07
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Basic Editions-brand Girls’ Clothing Sets (entrapment), Priddy “Trucks” Shaker Teether Books (choking), Sleepi Crib Foam Mattresses (entrapment), AC Adapters sold with Network Hard Disk Drives (burn), J.C. Penney Windsor Spindle-Back Side Chairs (fall), Los Angeles Salad Company Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots (bacterial infection)
IKEA Furniture Hacks
By 7.16.07
Here are some of favorite ways to convert cheap Swedish furniture into other kinds of cheap furniture, via the IKEA hacker blog.
Reader Tries In Vain For 16 Months To Get Stainsafe To Honor Couch's Warranty
By 7.10.07
Adam’s mother has been trying for 16 months to get Stainsafe to honor its warranty for her ripped couch. SIXTEEN MONTHS. She’s documented the series in a time-line of ineptitude. She definitely deserves the warranty repair, but then some part of us is like, ductape?
Where Does IKEA Get Its Funny Names?
By 7.10.07
GRA TV unit with casters. It turns out IKEA actually has funky a system based on names of stuff from its native lands, says ahundredmonkeys.com.
How To Make Cheap Laptop Desks
By 7.6.07
Laptop desks can cost a stupid amount of money, but luckily for you they can be constructed with IKEA stuff, sandpaper, and a saw.
8 IKEA Shopping Tips From A Former Employee
By 7.6.07
A former IKEA worker tells us how some tips for making your jaunt through furniture Legoland more enjoyable and efficient.
Poll: Has Rooms To Go Honored Their Warranty?
By 6.29.07
Cratin ordered a micro-fiber living room set from Rooms To Go after being taken by an all-encompassing warranty. Five months later, Cratin began to notice stains on the fabric. Rooms To Go attempted to remove the stains on three separate visits, and then offered to re-upholster the marred piece. Cratin also noticed that the velcro attaching his couch cushion to the couch was coming undone. Rooms To Go again dispatched three technicians who could not resolve the problem, and then offered to reimburse Cratin if he decided to purchase additional velcro from a hardware store. Cratin is furious and wants to raise bloody hell, but to us, it looks like the Rooms To Go is doing their best. We ask you, The Consumerists, to decide who is right, after the jump:
Bad Translation Software Called Couch "Nigger-Brown"
By 4.20.07
A couch labeled as “nigger-brown” got its offensive name from a bad translation program, according to the furniture’s supplier.
Make Beautiful Things Out Of Cheap Unfinished Furniture
By 4.10.07
Ikea is a good source for dirt-cheap ugly unfinished furniture—but who says it has to stay ugly? Ikea Hacker has a few hacks from Angelique, one of their readers. She adds creative finishes to basic IKEA children’s furniture and picture frames. Her techniques look easy enough for a novice to replicate, and sort of fun, too. We love the ferns. We love cheap furniture. —MEGHANN MARCO
Packaging Label Describes Sofa Color As "Nigger-brown"
By 4.7.07
Doris Moore’s seven year-old daughter did not understand a racial slur affixed to the packaging label of a newly delivered sofa. The sofa was purchased as part of a set that included a loveseat and chair. All three items bore the offensive label. The Toronto Star recounts the heart-wrenching discovery:
“She’s very curious and she started reading the labels,” Moore explained. “She said, `Mommy, what is nig … ger brown?’ I went over and just couldn’t believe my eyes.”
After explaining the slur’s meaning to her daughter, Doris tried to pry a well-deserved explanation from Vanaik Furniture and Mattress, the store that sold the seating set. Despite three messages, the store refused to return her calls.
Target Ships Couch With No Screws Or Legs, Wants You To Return It To The Store
By 3.16.07
This story is precisely why we’ve decided to avoid buying furniture from any store that doesn’t specialize in furniture. Christian and his wife bought a couch from Target and had it shipped to the house for $100. It turns out that “Target Ground” was really just UPS, and the 6 foot couch took no less than 3 boxes and 2 drop-offs for UPS to deliver in its entirety. Oh wait. They didn’t deliver it in its entirety because they forgot the screws and legs needed to put the couch together.
How To Make Your Own Coffee Table
By 3.13.07
UPDATE: Commenters note that the Instructable seems to be posted by the same company selling the pricey hardware. The user name is “simplifiedbuiliding” and the parts are sold by “Simplified Building Concepts.” Now we are suspicious. Maybe this Instructable should be called LACK (of integrity) Hack.
20 Online Furniture Buying Tips From An Industry Insider
By 2.27.07
A tipster from one of the top three online furniture retailers advice for shoppers spills his guts. His top advice for consumers looking to shop for furniture online: don’t.
