subject: Tips On How To Buy Furniture: Choosing American Furniture [print this page] Knowing how to buy furniture properly can save you a fair bit of money. Choosing American furniture online is a start, though you should never buy furniture online - at least not until you have seen it and tested it. Many people have made grave errors by purchasing goods online without knowing what they are buying, and while you may be OK most of the time, you might be the one that is caught.
Here are some tips on how to buy furniture, whether you are doing so online or offline. The main thing to keep in mind is that you should never hand over cash unless you are 100% certain of what you are buying. You have some protection with a credit card, but none whatsoever with cash - and if cannot provide a receipt you cannot even prove you have purchase it!
Tip #1: See it in the Flesh
That beautiful recliner or sectional arrangement might look fabulous in the photographs you have been shown on the internet, but does it look the same in real life? Perhaps it does, but quite often it looks nothing like it. The photograph might have been touched up, or it may have been a photo of a generic product. To determine that, check the photos of the other recliners on the site to make sure they don't all look the same.
Don't be surprised if they do, because even some reputable furniture manufacturers will provide generic photographs to the media and dealers for their own purposes. If you dealer is using generic photographs on its website it doesn't really matter, because you won't buy the product without seeing it - will you? It might look nothing like its picture!
Tip #2: Is it Made in America?
Some of the furniture marketed by American furniture manufacturers is made in Asia - much of it in China. While some USA firms make a large part of their range at home, they buy in other parts from countries such as China because it is cheaper for them. Even top American furniture manufacturers are buying some of their range of products from China. Chinese quality is often very good, but if you want your furniture to be made in America you should not have such issues.
Check with the manufacturer if you aren't sure, because this is a more common practise that you may have thought it to be. American furniture should be made in American and not any place else! The problem is that that they are not often forthcoming with that information, and you must ask them outright - "Is this furniture made in America?" Most will be truthful.
Tip #3: Is it Hand Made?
There is a difference between hand-crafted and machine-made furniture. Many believe furniture to be more traditional and of higher quality if crafted by hand - others believe that machines are better because they get everything the same every time. You will usually find that hand-crafted joints are stronger, look better and will last longer that machined joints that tend to be manufactured using simple jointing techniques without the true strength of real carpentry joints. Hand-crafted is usually best, although it depends on the craftsman or woman.
Tip #4: Is it Solid Wood?
When you buy American furniture, it should be solid wood all the way through. Upholstered furniture should be constructed using hardwood frames, because the upholstery and the springs are usually tacked to the frame. If that is softwood, then then not only will the frame be weaker, but the tacks or (if you are unlucky) the staples are likely to ease their way out.
Hardwood frames are more solid that softwood or other substances, and the same is true of the bulk of the furniture. Tabletops and cabinets will all be stronger when crafted using hardwood rather than softwood or plastic.
Tip #5 Check Online - View Offline
Expanding on Tip #1, you can make use of the internet in deciding what you want for the future, but the secret to genuine success is to check out what is available online first. Decide what interests you, and then visit the showroom to view your choices. Sit on it, lie on it or whatever else is needed to make sure it suits you.
Most American furniture stores have a website, so choose one with showrooms close to you. As explained earlier, photographs cannot always be relied upon and in any case most websites are for display only - you cannot purchase your furniture from them. That is how to furniture. You simply select it online and then buy it from a showroom after checking it out visually and trying it out - and don't forget the question: "is it made in America?"
by: Peter Nisbet
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