Have you seen these guys? They’ve got a tractor-trailer pulled over in a vacant lot or a parking lot, they open the doors and haul out furniture or rugs or grandfather clocks and array them on the side of the road.
Ever bought from any of them? Ever stopped to check out their wares? Ever wonder why they’re selling from a truck??
I can’t imagine patronizing such a business. What kind of service can you expect after the sale? What if you found your purchase to be defective? How many times have they dropped a sofa or a chair loading or unloading? How can you know that the items for sale aren’t “hot”?
I once bought a really pretty chair from one of them. It was good-quality merchandise and the price I paid was about half of what a furniture store would want.
Like anything in life, though, it depends on the company. Some of 'em are trying to offload scratch-and-dent items or stuff that is poorly made.
Well, “as-is” is a common condition of sale, even in an established furniture store, so I’m not sure whats unusual about that. If you buy from craigslist, thrift stores, or garage sales “as-is” is assumed, and many people furnish their entire home that way.
I have no idea how big the market is for stolen furniture, though. But if you are going to deal in stolen goods, isn’t it a lot easier to stick to electronics and jewelry than, say, sofas?
They come through here ever and anon, usually with brand new furniture that was made in North Carolina. I think they buy it cheap there at the factories and can sell it for a reasonable price and still make a profit.
Usually, the local police find them pretty soon and run them off for not having a business license.
**Lissa ** - I have to say I’m really surprised - I’d have been more inclined to expect scratch-n-dent than something nice. Good for you!
I’ve seen clearance items marked “as-is” but when I’ve bought new items and found defects once they were delivered, I’ve sent them back for exchanges.
**Martian ** - I hadn’t thought about the NC factory possibility - that makes more sense than a pack of furniture thieves. Still, I don’t know if I’d take the chance, unless it was a really, really good deal. But it’s a non-issue since I’m not in the market for furniture at the moment.
It was probably about six years ago that I bought it and it’s held up really well. I was driving along when I saw the truck and its wares scattered around in a parkinglot. I said, “Hey, I’ve been looking for a chair like that!” (It looks similar to this one in style and it came with a matching bench-ottoman footstool with scrolled arms.) I was a little suspicious at first because it seemed too good to be true, but the chair looked like a good one. I paid $200, cash, IIRC.
It still had its manufacturers tags on it and it was wrapped in plastic. The truck driver took the bubble wrap off all of the cherrywood legs for me without even being asked so that I could see they weren’t damaged. It’s really heavy and solid and the upholstery hasn’t even sagged.
