I would be worried bringing home unwanted company hiding in the couch .
I guess, but it came from a very posh house in a very expensive neighborhood. I know bedbugs don’t discriminate, but the couple who sold it to us were super nice and I believe they would have thrown away a couch infested with bugs before they would’ve cursed us with them for $75. I sold a sofa on CL, and it was also clean. I’ve gotten tons of fantastic deals on Craigslist, and never once had a problem. I think people who are paranoid about it are missing out.
Their return policy is one of the best. But don’t tell singular1.
There are some online-only furniture companies. Made.com is one, and I guess if you Googled for that then you’d get suggestions for other online furniture companies, possibly better results than just Googling “online furniture company.”
It’s not as much of an issue with leather or faux-leather couches, though.
My advice for buying a new couch is to go to a store with a book, find one you like the look of and sit on it. Then sit on it more and read your book. If, after a chapter or two, it’s still comfortable, buy it.
The worst thing I’ve ever done is to buy a couch on looks alone. Now I’m stuck with the back breaking, ass sinking thing 
Just two weeks ago we bought new sofas. For our use, we couldn’t imagine buying something without sitting on it first - and we buy quite a bit online, including side furniture (tables, benches). There is an area close-by with 4+ name-brand stores, and spent a long afternoon going back-and-forth narrowing down the choices.
Surprisingly (to me, at least), Macy’s Furniture had the look and feel we wanted in an American-made sofa with a 7-year (add-on) warranty cheaper than Rooms-to-Go.
There are also furniture consignment stores which have a better selection than thrift stores, and usually have better quality product. And they are more likely to check for visitors.
Bedbugs don’t respect class. I know of two cases, one at Berkeley and the other at a high class hotel. If I were buying used furniture I’d prefer to buy it from someone who knew what they were doing and wanted to preserve their reputation.
Furniture stores and online vendors tend to be a disreputable lot. Some will take your money and never deliver, and perhaps move away. I had this happen the last time we went shopping and went through a big legal hassle (though I did eventually get money back from my bank).
A friend who is way better at managing things than I am told me that when he buys furniture, he doesn’t pay the store outright, but puts the money in escrow for them. This fixes situations where buyer and seller are both untrustworthy as far as they know. Apparently the furniture business is aware enough of its own problems that they will go along with this, if they do really intend to deliver.
[ol]
[li]Go to IKEA[/li][li]Choose between Ektorp, Knoppaarp, Kivik, etc[/li][li]Go home with a new couch[/li][li]Some assembly required[/li][/ol]
. :mad:All I have to do is remember my old futon, and I’m right back in that hell.
Very good advice. And thanks, Raza, I will try Macys. They were on my list of places not to shop a few years ago because I was boycotting all things that put money in Trump’s pocket, but I’ve come to realize it was a pointless gesture, so I’m over it.
Not only is it a pointless gesture to boycott Macys because of Donald Trump, it’s unnecessary, as Macy’s ended the relationship over the summer.
What’s worse, honestly, is that it doesn’t go in the landfill, it just spends ten years being uncomfortable and looking like shit.
On the other hand, OMG, reuphostering is expensive. Its takes so much fabric, and so much skilled labor. You can by a pretty nice couch that will last ten years for what it costs to reuphoster.
I’ve never had it done. Any idea what it costs to reupholster a typical sofa?
There were two ‘wholesale to the public’ shops which existed as only word-of-mouth.
Very small ‘showroom’ but lots of catalogs (1980’s). You made your selection, paid the price, and they told you when the product arrived.
You were expected to arrange (and pay for) delivery. Of course, they had business cards from moving companies and could give you the phone number.
May have to google the company name I remember - see if anything shows up. But I prefer to remember them as a pleasant memory - now know better than to look up people and places I remember fondly.
If you buy a used pull-out sofa, remember approximately 27% of them have a dead body in them:eek: Always visually check; thanks Fabreeze.
http://www.mandatory.com/2012/06/18/why-you-should-always-check-under-your-hotel-bed/
I saw it in Snopes so it’s true.
If you need a new couch today, your options are pretty much furniture stores and Craigslist. Depending on what city you live in, you might have some unique stores that sell upscale stuff or used stuff.
Online ordering is a possibility, but it’s not like ordering a book off Amazon - assuming the retailer has the couch in stock, the couch would probably need to be shipped by LTL trucking and might take a few weeks to get to you. Some of the larger furniture companies have their own national delivery service.
I’m required to mention this because it’s a cool idea: Interior Define in Chicago offers semi-custom furniture you can order online, and the prices are pretty good for the quality IMO. The issue there is time, as the order can take up to 12 weeks.