furniture directly from the manufacturer/north carolina???

[cchavez]

We like this set form a local furniture store. I don't know the manufacture's name:

http://tinyurl.com/yg2dgs

We also like a couple of leather sofas (similar style) by Thomasville and Ethan Allen. Is it possible to order directly from the manufacturer? How do you do this??? TIA!

[WatchingThemGrow]

Link didn't work for me. We order through furniturelandsouth.com who gets a pretty big discount from the mfr.

[BeachBum]

I can't see your link either.
We have visited Hickory, NC and had great shopping experiences. I estimate I saved 30% over what I would have paid locally including the shipping to me.
IIRC most Thomasville stuff is similarly priced at all retail locations...mine advertised "NC pricing" etc.

We've ordered most often from Boyles Furniture (same URL), but when we did this several years ago you had to have visited the store before you could place a phone order. They rep so many manufacturers.
You could try calling and offering to fax the pics of the stuff you like (I did this once) and see if someone will price similar styles for you.
The problem with this, is that most places you pic your fabrics. So that isn't something that is easy to do over the phone or buy without seeing.

[codex57]

A lot of Pottery Barn stuff comes from North Carolina.

[AnnieW625]

I remember when my parents bought their dining room set in the mid 80s that it came straight from the manufacturer in North Carolina. I remember thinking oh my three weeks was a huge amount of time to wait for a piece of furniture and that NC was really far from CA. I believe my parents ordered from a now defunct chain or a local 1 location furniture store.

WTG, thanks for the Funiturelandsouth.com . We are looking for a corner desk for our computer so I'll have to check that site out.

[spanannie]

WTG, thanks for the Funiturelandsouth.com . We are looking for a corner desk for our computer so I'll have to check that site out.

Furniturelandsouth charges sales tax shipping to anywhere. There are lots of other companies in that area that don't. All of our furniture has been purchased from NC or SC. I've picked it out locally and ordered over the phone. I have been very pleased and saved a lot of $.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Furniturelandsouth charges sales tax shipping to anywhere. There are lots of other companies in that area that don't.
Even if they don't charge sales tax then it's one of those things that gets calculated at taxtime. They sometimes run free shipping offers like when you spend $2K or something. Of course, it wasn't my money we were spending, so it went through my fingers a little easier when we've bought stuff there.

[michellerw]

We can also drive to central Virginia to get "North Carolina prices" in the Washington area. The benefit of a lot of those places is that they send multiple trucks to the DC area every week.

At least one place (Green Front) now actually has a smaller showroom in the outer suburbs, but the price differences between even DC and Charlottesville or Lynchburg are pretty significant.

[JTsMom]

Can someone explain a little bit more about how this works? We need a ton of furniture, and I'd love to save some $ on it! Am I understanding you guys correctly that you can pick out a piece at a local store, then call up there? Do you have to know who makes it? That seems way too easy not to do.

[nupe]

We have bought from both, after visiting stores in High Point/Charlotte when we were in that area for other reasons. White glove delivery has been fabulous and all the pieces arrived in expected condition. So no hassles.

The first portion of payment is at time of order, the and rest is paid at time of delivery.
Boyles charges sales tax, and you can pay by cc. As I recall with Rose, at least the final payment was by some sort of check, not cc.

Here is a link to Boyles BEST BUYS catalog. I found these prices to be more competitve than most within NC retail since they have preorderd in bulk certain color/styles. I think you can request a hardcopy by mail that will have all prices listed:
http://www.boyles.com/furniturecatalog/ Since website lists some/not all prices and manufacturers due to certain agreements with manufacturers. I think the way I would shop ON A BUDGET if I couldn't go to NC is flip through catalog, see if i like something in it, then see if I can sit/see something similar local. Sure that limits your options on custom fabric etc, but then Boyles has sent me swatches by mail too!

Since we are on the mailing list for Boyles, I know that many manufacturers offer FS in Jan, with min purchase of $2000. Some more pricey manufacturers offer FS all the time.

Here is info on travel to area with Boyles:
http://www.boyles.com/travel-to-north-carolina/nc-furniture-showrooms.cfm

I bought this book and one more back in 2004 when we were shopping for furniture
http://www.amazon.com/Shopping-North-Carolina-Furniture-Outlets/dp/1400046475/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266416311&sr=8-2
It is informative about which manufacturers require that you set foot in the store within how many days before your order, etc. I suspect there are newer better books on the market by now.

And I ran into this website when I was trying to figure out if I should buy or lease my last car, and it hits some important points.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/furniture.htm

[nupe]

cchavez: did you find your furniture?

[ewpmsw]

I do not recommend Bassett furniture, which retails and may manufacture in VA/NC. We were disappointed with the quality of the kitchen table and chairs they sent us, as well as the poor customer service when we reported that the table top was warped with a stain that didn't match the rest of the table and chairs. All we asked was that they replace the table top. The great service we got in the store ended when I visited there after repeat calls to the manufacturers office were not returned. They sent me back and forth between store and manufacturer (which is where their customer service line is) and the problem was never resolved.