Shopping for furniture today provides plenty of new terms you should be aware of when it comes to today's furniture stores and their buying power. We have provided you with these important terms as well as the brands that fit under each of our categories.
Direct
A manufacturer direct furniture dealer buys directly from the manufacturing plants, which in today's terms means containers from China and other importing countries. When a furniture dealer buys Direct they are investing their monies, warehouse space, staffing, and time to buy the products they offer consumers at the absolute lowest prices possible. A Direct dealer cuts out all the middle men and saves not just middle men expenses but fuel costs in having to move the furniture thousands of miles before it reaches a showroom floor or customers homes.
The downside to buying from a Direct furniture dealer is you often are forced to buy the merchandise the way the furniture dealer bought it. If a product is bought such as a Queen bed, Nightstand, Dresser, and Mirror then you would not have the option to buy an additional nightstand unless you paid the higher, but normal, price. In addition you may not have options as far as fabrics, leathers, or finishes if the direct dealer did not buy a mix of such options. In addition most direct furniture dealers will allow you to order missing items or sold out products at the direct price but you may have extended wait times on your order. Your order will be added to the next container order. So, if you ordered an extra nightstand and didn't want to pay the up charge remember the dealer will have to add another 100 pieces to your nightstand to fill the container.
Gallery
A gallery furniture dealer often receives a discount from the manufacturer for keeping a certain number of furniture items on their showroom floor. The amount of the discount is often very small but does give the furniture dealer the added security of being a top priority to the manufacturer. A gallery dealer usually has the most promotional materials, the most current and updated information on the furniture brand, and has the most samplings of products on the showroom floor for you to look at.
Showcase
A showcase furniture dealer is one that provides a showroom for you to view a sampling of the manufacturers products as well as fabric, leather, finish options and a complete catalog for you to browse. You can still touch the quality and workmanship of the product to feel more confident of the manufacturers work before you look through the catalog. Many furniture stores have buyers who select unique and asked for products during the furniture markets. When a store buys into the manufacturers program they are provided with the materials to operate a showroom sales process. There is no guarantee of how much that dealer will show on their floor nor for how long. However, the standard for a showcase dealer is to always show a nice representation of the full product line.
Catalog and Web Only dealers have very little investment and offer the poorest furniture shopping experiences. They have no stock and buy directly from the manufacturer after taking your order. They have never seen nor touched any of the product they are selling you. In addition they are at the complete mercy of numerous factors from the manufacturer and ordering process. If this procedure worked there wouldn't be any furniture stores, nor any furniture store that stocked furniture. Simply, the procedure does not work very well so the only enticement to offer the general furniture shopping public is cheaper prices.
If not for the three categories of the above dealers the Catalog and Web Only dealers would not survive. Consumers should always shop for products to educate themselves as well as whom they are shopping with. We urge the furniture shopping public to always use one of the three category dealers above and to stay clear of Catalog and Web Only furniture stores.
