These six factors will convince you why you must shop local for furniture instead:

1. Low Shipping Cost & Convenience

Imagine ordering an exquisite dining table from a far-off location. Now imagine the horrors if it comes broken or damaged. You’d have to go through it all over again. Contacting customer service, issuing a complaint, getting a refund and replacement is quite frustrating.

And the chances of that getting resolved seamlessly depend on if the brand has excellent customer service. If your furniture does arrive unharmed, you’d have to pay hefty delivery charges. Some brands also charge a handling fee that’s not included in the total cost of the item.

However, if you choose to shop from a local furniture store instead, you save yourself an ordeal.

By shopping local for furniture, you:

• • • Avoid paying sky-rocketing shipping costs, especially on heavy-duty items
    • Facilitate white-glove delivery for objects that need assembling. Local furniture stores are more likely to entertain this request. A worthwhile option to explore if the furniture is heavy, costly, or irreplaceable

2. Unique Home Furnishings

Before shopping local for furniture, you want to get your priorities straight.

• • • Do you wish to buy furniture to support your living situation temporarily?
    • Or do you see it as a long-term investment, something that can even be passed on to future generations?

In the second scenario, choosing a local furniture store is your best bet. In Colorado, stores such as Rare Finds Warehouse feature unique, rustic, vintage home furnishings. You’d be surprised to know what you could find at these local furniture stores.

Rare Finds Warehouse, for instance, also offers customized furnishings.

You’d have to:

• • • Name the materials
    • Convey your vision about design and functionality.

The local artisans will handle everything else. Some of their items are over a century old or more. That’s how unique the local furniture store offerings are.

3. Top-Notch Customer Service

 Let’s say you want a custom-designed bar table. You have the design and functionality in mind. But you need help choosing the material, such as cast iron, wood, and steel. You are also unsure about the table base and top or its adjustable height.

In such a scenario, you need professional advice from people who understand design, functionality, and individual style. Local furniture stores employ people who have the knowledge and experience to help you make the right decisions.

After all, buying furniture is no less than an investment. It will define your space and enrich your life for many years to come. Since it’s a local furniture store, you can always visit it in person and talk to the right people.

• • • Walk around the store and see if someone turns up to help you explore the inventory.
    • Ask questions that you may have. Since local furniture stores employ people with industry experience, chances are you’ll get satisfactory answers.
    • Don’t hesitate to inquire about the kind of support you’ll receive, from entering the store to making the purchase and getting the product delivered.

4. Saved Expenses in the Long-Term

Buying an architectural salvage or a century-old antique may cost more than a cookie-cutter piece. But a high-quality home furnishing will also last for many years – generations even. If you think long-term, you’re saving money.

What good is buying an uninspired, low-quality product only to get it replaced a couple of years later? Instead of spending twice, spend once and make your home stand out. Rare Finds Warehouse in Colorado, for instance, sells vintage furnishings. Some of these are one-of-a-kinds. Imagine if that furniture ends up in your home.

No one else will own that particular piece – ever!

5. Ease of Buying Accessories

Consider this:

• • • Someone who is looking to buy a sofa is perhaps also looking for a sofa table
    • Someone who wants to buy a bed frame might also want a nightstand
    • Some may need additional seating for the dining table
    • Others may need floor lamps, hanging lamps, or chandeliers to accentuate the beauty of their space

You’d need accessories that blend well with the main purchase most of the time. You can find all home furnishings and accessories at a local furniture store in one place. Employees at these stores can assist you with the add-ons.

6. Unmatched Quality

Local furniture stores may not surpass large retail stores in terms of quantity. But they do outshine them when it comes to quality. Nowhere else would you find home furnishings and décor carved by skilled artisans around the globe.

Items like these sell fast at Rare Finds Warehouse. If someone had to describe the quality found in local furniture stores in one word, it would be – treasure.

Key Takeaways

By shopping local for furniture, you:

• • • Save steep shipping costs
    • Increase the probability that your order arrives in one piece
    • Enjoy a personalized, speedy resolution of problems and queries
    • Can buy unique home furnishings
    • Save money by investing in high-quality furniture
    • Buy accessories to support the main purchase
    • Get high-quality furnishings and décor

The post Top 6 Reasons to Shop Local for Furniture first appeared on Rare Finds Warehouse.

This article will give you reasons why you should choose the latter.

What is a Department Store?

The large retail stores where different household /lifestyle items are sold are department stores. They are called ‘department’ stores because they sell items in various departments within the same building.

There are separate departments for handbags, kitchen appliances, kids’ wear, women’s apparel, etc.

Some famous department store brands can have their own line of products as well. Examples include the likes of Macy’s, Kohl’s, John Lewis, Zalando, and Otto.

Depending on the brands, they may or may not have a section for furniture. Department stores are popular for a reason. To summarize the reason for their popularity in one word, it’s – convenience. Why go somewhere else if you can get everything in one place?

Isn’t it? Not really.

When buying furniture, you are better off visiting a furniture store than a regular department store.

Here’s why:

Disadvantages of Buying Furniture from a Department Store

Department stores prevent you from hopping from one shop to another. But they do not offer unique, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces. Even though they sell an impressive range of products, they provide limited variety if you niche down to the furniture.

1. Lackluster Customer Service

Step foot into a department store in Denver, and you’ll find a large number of employees serving customers in different categories.

Due to a massive selection of product categories, it’s impossible to provide a personal touch in customer service. The retail industry, in general, has a high employee turnover at 60% in the United States.

There are various reasons behind it, including:

• • • Little to no promotion opportunities
    • General disconnect with the vision of the department store brand
    • Peripatetic nature of the job; most employees view it as a temp job
    • Poor onboarding and longer shifts
    • Low pay (the average salary of a retail sales associate is $13.85 per hour in the US) to cut the cost of operations

All these factors contribute to lackluster customer service and a lack of motivation. The staff does not have the expertise to help you pick the right furniture piece that will suit your style.

2. Insufficient Variety

While department stores sell several product categories, you have limited options if you pick one type, i.e., furniture. People who want a unique furniture collection won’t find it in a department store.

A one-stop solution is not what they desire. They prefer hand-picked home furnishings that have a history behind them. Such variety is impossible to find in a department store. They feature mass-produced home furnishings.

Benefits of Buying from a Furniture Store

Most people aren’t hunting for home furnishings and lifestyle/household items on a single shopping trip. It makes sense to schedule a dedicated furniture store visit to find a piece you will cherish for years to come.

The advantages of purchasing from a furniture store as opposed to a department store are:

1. Personalized Customer Service

Unlike a department store, furniture store employees care about your personal preferences. They give you undivided attention.

Since a furniture store offers a single category of products, employees here have the chance to gain expertise. So, knowledgeable staff can assist you better than a department store employee.

2. Unique Home Furnishings

If you buy furniture from a department store, you’ll find cookie-cutter, mass-produced pieces. But if you want distinctive furniture, visiting a store like Rare Finds Warehouse in Denver is the way to go!

You’ll find seating, furniture, and tables hand-picked from Asia, North America, and Africa.

At Rare Finds Warehouse, you can buy:

• • • vintage furniture
    • antique furniture
    • architectural salvage
    • one-of-a-kind items sources from Egypt, India, Thailand, and the United States.

There is no dearth of variety at Rare Finds Warehouse!

3. Customized Furniture Pieces

Imagine being a restaurant owner. For any restaurant (or bar), the ambiance is everything. The kind of furniture you select decides the vibe of the space. If you pick cookie-cutter furniture, your restaurant won’t set itself apart from competitors.

Thus, it would help if you had custom-built dinner tables, chairs, and other seating. Rare Finds Warehouse offers custom-built furniture. You can select the height of the tables, base, top, feature iron, wood, or steel as per your preference.

Moreover, trained professionals will help you make the right decision. Professionals at a department store can offer general guidance. But they cannot answer specific questions that need an in-depth understanding of design.

Key Takeaways

Here’s why you should pick a furniture store over a department store:

• • • Get reclaimed home furnishings
    • Buy unique pieces that aren’t mass-produced
    • Enjoy personalized customer service
    • Get custom-build furniture tailored to your preferences

The post What Do You Think of Purchasing Furniture from a Department Store Vs. a Furniture Store? first appeared on Rare Finds Warehouse.

1. Contact Friends and Family

Nothing can replace word-of-mouth, especially if those words come from your trusted close circle. Has someone in your family recently furnished their home? Chances are they already know the best local furniture store in your city. It makes sense then to contact them and learn more about their experience.

• • • What made them choose that specific furniture store?
    • How was their experience?
    • Would they revisit the same store if they wish to repurchase furniture?
    • How was their customer service?

You may still have doubts about their recommendation. But then you can always visit the furniture store yourself. Instead of scouring the city for local furniture stores, you now have a name on your list.

2. Read Online Reviews

Who doesn’t read online reviews these days? Skipping online reviews is not an option for today’s generation, even if buying home furnishings from a local store instead of an e-commerce website.

There are so many places to find online reviews of the local furniture store, such as:

• • • The store’s Google My Business Page
    • Business directories such as The Yellow Pages
    • Other third-party reviews sites like Yelp and Trustpilot
    • Reviews on social media, especially Instagram and Facebook, where people discover local businesses every day

Sometimes, it can be challenging to tell a genuine review apart from a fake review online. However, if the overall ratings and reviews seem positive, do visit the local furniture store, especially if they have professionally handled customer grievances, if any.

3. Set Aside a Budget

Buying furniture from a department store requires a budget that differs from buying from a local furniture store.

How?

It’s simple. Department stores feature mass-produced furnishings that are less expensive compared to one-of-a-kind pieces. So, if getting an antique table is your priority, then department stores are out of the question.

But do set aside a budget you’d need to purchase an antique, rustic piece from a local furniture store.

To determine a range of budget, you can:

• • • Visit the local store’s website
    • Browse categories like seating, tables, home furnishings, etc., and note down their prices.

This way, you won’t be disappointed when you pay an in-person visit to the store. Remember, there will be additional expenses, such as delivery charges and taxes.

4. Determine Your Preferences & Goals

Remember that episode from Friends when Phoebe wanted unique furniture for her apartment? And she got upset when Rachel essentially turned her living room into a catalog?

Even if you haven’t watched it, you get the idea here. Each individual has their style, taste, and personality. Their ambiance in their home, office, restaurant, etc., reflects that personality.

If this matters to you, choose a local furniture store that sells:

• • • Reclaimed home furnishings
    • Vintage and antique pieces
    • Custom-built furnishings that blend personality and functionality
    • Pieces that have rustic architectural elements
    • One-of-a-kind furniture designed by artisans from around the world

At Rare Finds Warehouse in Denver, Colorado, this is what you’ll find. Quality is another important factor here. Visit a local furniture store that sells home furnishings that will withstand the test of time.

5. Scan the Inventory

This is important for new homeowners. Chances are you’re looking to furnish the entire home. In that case, you want to choose a local furniture store that has all the categories. Take Rare Finds Warehouse in Colorado, for example.

They have everything from dining tables, lighting, wall decors to entertainment centers, sofas, and tabletop accessories. It would be tedious to explore every local store in person. You can, instead, scan their inventory online.

In fact, on the Rare Finds Warehouse website, you can:

• • • Take a virtual tour of their Denver store
    • Explore their architectural salvage, vintage furniture, and one-of-a-kind items

If you can find every piece of home furnishing that you’ll ever need, why drive around the city hunting for various items?

6. Look for Stellar Customer Service

You want to choose a local store where the staff is dedicated to helping you. This is the hallmark of a top furniture store. Employees, there aren’t pushy.

Instead, they assist you during the process by:

• • • Answering your queries
    • Walking you through the inventory without being pushy
    • Recommending home furnishings that suit your personality or existing home décor

They have the skills, experience, and knowledge to do so. Read reviews and request recommendations to determine whether you can hope to experience stellar customer service. To experience it yourself, knock on their door and see for yourself!

After all, you’ll need their customer service post-sale too.

Key Takeaways

Here’s how you can choose the best local store to buy the furniture:

• • • Get first-hand accounts of the store from your friends and family
    • Read online reviews on Google, social media, and third-party review sites
    • Figure out a budget
    • Take your personality and style into account
    • Assess the quality of home furnishings sold
    • Gauge the inventory online if they have a website
    • Determine if they have excellent customer service

The post 6 Tips to Choose the Best Local Furniture Store first appeared on Rare Finds Warehouse.