[Aces4]

Originally Posted by merrymini

People do not buy quality furniture but stuff from rooms to go and ikea. Falls apart and they complain. All this junk from overseas has driven our own furniture building companies into bankruptcy because they were not supported. Yes, they were expensive to buy but I have my Stickley furniture for over thirty years. It is solid wood and can be refinished and recovered. The culture has changed and now we have to live with it.

Amen! We bought our Ethan Allen solid maple furniture, Circa 1776, well before they pulled production out of the USA.

We also have a walnut inset set of Baker tables, spoon foot with hand carved fan detail. One is a sofa table and then there are two side tables. These pieces are timeless, have survived over 40 years of living, are gracefully designed but are heavy, solid wood. We also had some Drexel pieces and we laugh at the pieces of furniture foisted on buyers now. It’s like buying clunky, painted cardboard out there.

Henredon was a great furniture source back then and I believe Eldred Wheeler Furniture is still making beautiful period pieces.

North Carolina was the furniture hub back in the day. Change isn’t always for the best.

[Calisport]

They all seem to order from the same place to me. Babettes took about a year to deliver my dining room table so I stopped looking there. Also they didn't seem to care about it at all and hard to get in touch with. I had to drive to Leesburg to talk.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by ibswny@verizon.net

Be aware when City furniture delivers there so called white glove service for about $700.
They unload the furniture but don't tell you if there is a problem with it. We did a quick look at it.
4 pieces were damaged. 5 weeks later they sent a repair guy who repaired 1 piece.
They ordered us 3 replacements which came
4 weeks later, 2 of which were damaged worse then the ones we had. So they offered us $107.00 credit on them, but all we received was $53.50.
They sell damaged junk, beware.

Can't even go into how much we lost with this "company", YES, you pay a premium and they REFUSE to take back things they BRING IN DAMAGED. I was actually threatened by their driver (I was home by myself when they came), and he got so angry I would NOT sign the paper that said I got ALL the furniture we ordered and it was all in good condition....that he SHOVED the corner of one chest THROUGH the dry wall on purpose ! It was a nightmare, they brought the wrong furniture for one room, refused to remove it... to try to shorten the story, we had to involve the police, seniors against crime, and also the state of Florida division of consumer protection. Hint... it too TWO FULL years but we finally were able to get the furniture we paid for, but it is a very long process, a person AT THE STATE told me this company has so many complaints they just don't have enough people to work the load, but don't give up. It is so unfair to others if we let them continue to get by with their business practices.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

Be warned. The salesman convinced me to buy the 3 year in home warranty. If no claims are filed after 3 years they will return the money. Sounded like great protection. Well I found out after that the money is not returned but you get a store credit. My fault for listening to the salesman and not reading the fine print. Now I have almost a thousand dollar credit to go buy something from them. Buyer beware.

Yes, that is exactly what they have done to so many people, they go to great lengths to give people the idea they WILL get a check for that amount. You can spend days reading the horror stories about this company that are on the internet, at the BBB, with the state consumer department, it will spin your head when you really dig into them and their history all over Florida.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by bagboy

We were told the Exact same thing. We went to the store after 3 years to request the money back. The girl told me a check would be mailed with a couple of days. It wasn't. We returned at another time and was told it "would" have been a store credit, not a refund. But, we only had 30 days to request it so we were too late. City Furniture lied to us from the start, all the way to the end. Not a reputable company from our experience.

If I told you the number of times they have put this one over on people, you would probably think I was exaggerating, but if you start to investigate with the state consumer affairs department and the BBB, and trust pilot on line, and other sources, you will be shocked at their "reputation". The number of times people call, go in, "check" on their refund is always prolonged until the 30 day period to request it is gone.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by LAFwUs

If this is true, and it appears to be, then at what point do customers ban together and do something about it?
Seriously, venting on a forum only does so much.

Some folks on here have poked fun of the petitions that get started over this or that, (the latest being the south end turnpike noise issue), but fact remains that the power/pressure which can be applied by 100K + upset Village residents is nothing to scoff at.

TV or some entity here has to renew their lease agreement and I am sure there are policies & regulations for all businesses having a store front here. Perhaps we start there!
Basically: "clean up your act, honor your contracts, promises and customer service commitments & deliver what you promised.... or we'll get you out"
just a thought.

There seems to be an endless stream of new residents who do not realize the complaints on this company... and it definitely is NOT just the stores in the Villages. Seniors against crime in the Sheriff's annex has no LEGAL powers, but don't skip them, they guided us in our filing with the state attorney general and the state consumer affairs. It was a LONG, two year process and then just when we thought we were stuck with furniture we did NOT order, and would never receive what we paid for upfront 100% (they required 100, not 50% on orders !), we finally got "most" of what we paid for with the help of the state consumer office. Never did get one $798. chest but we considered ourselves fortunate to get anything !

[Catalina36]

Originally Posted by ibswny@verizon.net

Be aware when City furniture delivers there so called white glove service for about $700.
They unload the furniture but don't tell you if there is a problem with it. We did a quick look at it.
4 pieces were damaged. 5 weeks later they sent a repair guy who repaired 1 piece.
They ordered us 3 replacements which came
4 weeks later, 2 of which were damaged worse then the ones we had. So they offered us $107.00 credit on them, but all we received was $53.50.
They sell damaged junk, beware.

When I became a owner / snow bird in the villages we needed furniture for our new home.
I went to City Furniture and ordered several pieces. Waited several months and some of the pieces were slightly damaged not too bad but this is brand new furniture there shouldnt be any damage at all. I called their service department and no response. I went to the store and filled out a service order. Never did I receive a phone call or service call. Luckily for me I was able to take care of the slight damage myself and live with it. The Rest of my furniture I needed I ordered at MACY'S. I am from Long Island and Macy's delivered to The Villages. Every piece of furniture I ordered from Macy's was delivered 100% wrapped up and protected and in perfect condition. If you catch Macy's on a Sale which I did it will be less expensive or the same as City Furniture pricing. The Macy's Furniture is HIGH Quality not the junk City Furniture sells.

[Catalina36]

Originally Posted by Pairadocs

Yes, that is exactly what they have done to so many people, they go to great lengths to give people the idea they WILL get a check for that amount. You can spend days reading the horror stories about this company that are on the internet, at the BBB, with the state consumer department, it will spin your head when you really dig into them and their history all over Florida.

Maybe you can sell the $1000 credit to a friend / neighbor for $500.

[Catalina36]

BUY FROM MACY"S IN THE STORE OR ON LINE. The furniture comes completely wrapped and protected and is High Quality Furniture. I purchased half of our furniture from Macys and the Quality, the Delivery Service, everthing was 100% perfect.

CITY FURNITURE SELLS JUNK, the furniture was taken off the truck uncovered, unprotected, and every piece was delivered with some kind of damage. Their customer service is horrible, actually ZERO customer service. Save yourself the mental stress and hard earned money and buy your furniture at MACY's.

[Fenster]

Delivery service is horrible. They tried to leave us damaged goods 4-5 times, for one item. Other items were hit and miss. Would never ever go there again.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Carla B

The developer's store in Sumter Landing was called Southern Lifestyles. It was fun to go there and wander the store looking at the way the displays were beautifully set up. It was so disappointing when the developer closed the store and then leased space in Sumter to City Furniture. Having window shopped City Furniture a number of times in South FL, I already knew what to expect. Haven't been there to this day.

We moved here we needed a lot of furniture. We picked out a bedroom set at a store in South FL that was reduced 50%. Southern Lifestyle advertised they would match any competitor's price in FL provided we gave them the SKU # so they could verify the price. We did and they agreed to match. But, their freight charge would be at the rate as if it were shipped from the South FL store to our house, rather than from the factory. It was over $500. So, I called Babette's, asked if they represented that manufacturer and would match the 50% off, which they would, and told them the quoted freight charge from Southern Lifestyles. Babette's answered that they would charge us $0.00 delivery. That response earned for them many more purchases from us. This occurred as the Great Recession was underway and they were anxious for business. As the economy recovered they have steadily raised their prices to where my husband doesn't even want to go there.

Another observation, when China got into making furniture, the quality went downhill. Among our purchases in 2008 were a couple of large Bernhardt LR/DR pieces. Bernhardt, while not known for being of the best quality, were supposed to be decent manufacturers. These pieces seem to have been finished with something like hairspray applied over factory dust.

Yes. That was the name of the developer’s furniture store. Thanks for the reminder.

In 2013, when we bought the turnkey from the original owner, I was told by a friend that when the southern most area of Lake Sumter Landing was being built, there was a “deal” to be had with the developer’s furniture store where the new buyers could choose a percentage of the cost of the house in furniture……

(It is possible that I have no idea what I am talking about because we were not the original owners of the house. But what I do know is the furniture was nice. It was coordinated from room to room, and it had come from the store in LSL.)

That part of TV was being built at the time when the housing bubble was popping in the rest of the country, so maybe the furniture thing was part of an incentive. I don’t actually know. I don’t think TV suffered greatly from the housing bubble’s ending, but as sales slowed in other places, it must have had some kind of slowing effect on TV. (But, again, I might have no idea what I am talking about.)

There has always been a huge markup on retail furniture, but, even so, I guess it was not profitable enough for TV to continue in the market.

I always thought it was too bad that Southern Lifestyles went away and was replaced by what is there now. I guess it must be more profitable to rent the space out instead of selling furniture.

Btw, I heard recently that the millennials are now wanting “brown” furniture, aka, cherry, mahogany, etc., and are looking for the good stuff, at second-hand stores or auctions or at Grandma’s house.

If you would like to see what is happening with second-hand stuff and you are sitting in a waiting room or an airport or anywhere with time to burn, you might want to take a look at ebth.com which is Everything But The House — an online auction site based in the ‘burbs of Cincinnati. Lots of different categories of things up for auction, sight unseen, but good descriptions and photos, some of it excellent, some of it quite hideous, all in the eye of the beholder.

Boomer

[Carla B]

Yes, Boomer, when we built during the recession, we were offered the choice of a discount on the house or that many dollars worth of furniture from Southern Lifestyles. We chose the discount on the house, and it has been our once-and-done house.

The millennials are a funny group. First, they didn't want to buy houses, they preferred the mobility of renting. They also shunned their family's furnishings, china, silver, crystal. Then, probably due to the Pandemic, they decided to plant roots and acquire houses of their own, which, most certainly, contributed to the hyper-inflationary cost of housing. Now you say they are looking for quality used furniture. I wonder if next they will seek out used china, silver, etc., which they formerly scorned.

[Worldseries27]

Originally Posted by ibswny@verizon.net

be aware when city furniture delivers there so called white glove service for about $700.
They unload the furniture but don't tell you if there is a problem with it. We did a quick look at it.
4 pieces were damaged. 5 weeks later they sent a repair guy who repaired 1 piece.
They ordered us 3 replacements which came
4 weeks later, 2 of which were damaged worse then the ones we had. So they offered us $107.00 credit on them, but all we received was $53.50.
They sell damaged junk, beware.

i learned this lesson the hard way. Always inspect the furniture in your driveway bring out an extension cord if necessary to power any of the chairs if they need electricity . It's best to reject them on the sidewalk . Do not allow them to get the furniture thru your front door. Saves you a lot of problems and at that point you can always cancel the whole order .

[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by Aces4

Amen! We bought our Ethan Allen solid maple furniture, Circa 1776, well before they pulled production out of the USA.

We also have a walnut inset set of Baker tables, spoon foot with hand carved fan detail. One is a sofa table and then there are two side tables. These pieces are timeless, have survived over 40 years of living, are gracefully designed but are heavy, solid wood. We also had some Drexel pieces and we laugh at the pieces of furniture foisted on buyers now. It’s like buying clunky, painted cardboard out there.

Henredon was a great furniture source back then and I believe Eldred Wheeler Furniture is still making beautiful period pieces.

North Carolina was the furniture hub back in the day. Change isn’t always for the best.

We bought the same, well made Ethan Allen 1776 series over 40 years ago and they are still in excellent condition. The dovetailed drawers last forever. We moved down here with all our best furniture and they look great in our Villages home. There was no way we were going to get rid of all the beautiful high quality pieces and antiques we had collected over our lifetime. Before moving into our home we had wood floors installed throughout our Gardenia model and we had plantation shutters installed on all the windows. The house has a Key West look to it. I guess a lot of people think you need to buy all the white and beige furniture to live here, but it is OK to express your individuality. The furniture we had years ago was far superior to the stuff produced today, but some better quality prices can still be found. We did buy some nice quality bar stools ten years ago at Southern Lifestyles and we also bought a few pieces at City Furniture for a spare bedroom and they are quite serviceable for our needs.

[Dotneko]

Originally Posted by Garywt

That is too bad. We bought all our furniture there, best price we could fine. Delivery and setup was free using a coupon we received when we bought our house. On delivery day there was some furniture damaged but they wouldn’t even take it off the truck. They scheduled another delivery a few days later. All was good for us. Sorry others have had issues.

This was exactly our experience as well. Two pieces were damaged and not even removed from the truck. We bought our entire house from them. No complaints.