Oh how I detest furniture shopping. I mean, if it’s not enough that I have to take a shower and get dressed, then there’s the driving from one store to the next to find exactly what I’m looking for. And when you get to the store…
Yes, there’s a story behind this post.
I’ve recently been in the market for some new furniture. First it was a dining set for my kitchen nook, then it was for a more comfortable bed, and lastly, it was for a new couch since we moved our current pieces to our media room.
Sounds pretty simple, right?
One would think.
Let’s start with the dining set.
Early last year, I decided to get rid of my perfectly good dining room table for the simple fact that my dogs like to sit at my feet when we eat. The table I had had a round base, which made it impossible for Hennessy to fit under it without forcing me to sit two feet back from the table. Not a comfortable way to enjoy a meal, let me tell you.
So I sold that table on Facebook Marketplace, sold it within an hour, in fact, and went on the hunt for a new one. I found the perfect table that would fit in my kitchen nook so I hopped on Wayfair and I bought it. Great set, excellent price. Table and four chairs.
I got the table earlier than expected, so I was excited. The chairs were on backorder, but still coming, so I sucked it up and decided to wait it out. We used our barstools in the interim but as the delivery date neared, I decided to check on it. Guess what? The chairs were no longer on backorder. They simply weren’t coming. At all. So there I was with a table and no chairs. Needless to say, I had to send the table back (after we took it apart and boxed it back up, of course.) I still do not have a table because I can’t find one that I like.
Now on to the bed.
We’ve had our bed for a while and some would likely call it the Cadillac of beds. It was a fancy Tempur-Pedic that promised the best sleep ever. Well, I happen to be the one person in the world who cannot sleep on a fancy, Cadillac of beds. I ended up having to put a mattress topper on it and still it wasn’t comfortable. I remained true to that mattress for years until I finally decided to look for something that would work better.
Now keep in mind, I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I’ve got serious back problems, some that likely need surgery, but I’m not keen on the idea of that, so I do my best to stay comfortable however I can. And since sleep is important, I knew I needed something better than what I had.
Enter the Sleep Number store.
There is a new one near our house, so we decided to stop in there to check it out. Walked out an hour and a half later, having purchased the new Cadillac of beds. Of course, with the way things are, it took almost two months for us to get the bed and guess what? Our brand spanking new bed was delivered … BROKEN. The pumps would not air up the mattresses or release the air as it was supposed to. That meant that my Sleep Number of 30 was now anyone’s guess since the bed wasn’t working right. We called Sleep Number, asked them to fix. Of course, they were willing to bring out a new pump (provided we were willing to box up the old one and take it to a UPS store – I mean, WTF), but they couldn’t do it for another week. So we were left attempting to sleep on what was supposed to be an air mattress but didn’t actually hold air until they could pencil us in.
Umm … that doesn’t work for me.
For anyone who is considering a Sleep Number and their fabulous 100-nights risk-free trial … be sure to read the fine print. We are sending ours back and paying out the fucking ass for them to take it. And yes, it’s broken. We got screwed in that deal and I assure you, I will not be recommending Sleep Number to anyone.
I’m starting to think I’m not a Cadillac kinda girl.
Needless to say, I had to find a mattress that worked, so I went the traditional route. I’m happy to say, we are the proud owners of a new Purple mattress and it is fucking awesome! Seriously awesome.
Next for the couch.
Well, when I find one that I like that is in stock, I’ll let you know. Every single one I’ve liked so far (at 3 different furniture stores) is out of stock and months out for delivery so I’m pretty much shit out of luck for now.
In the meantime, I would prefer to sit on the floor than to shop another minute.
To sum it up, I will highly recommend Wayfair because they are truly fair when you have an issue. I also highly recommend Living Spaces if you’re in the market for a Purple mattress (or any furniture, for that matter, since we’ve shopped there many times) because they are friendly, helpful, AND we got our mattress delivered and set up the next day.
9 Responses
OMG, Nicole. And I thought i had the worst luck. Totally understand the comfort of a durable mattress. Loved ours at the store, now hubby hates it and is always complaining 🙄. There’s shy of AU $3,000 down the drain.
Now our newest purchase and the worst ever….. just shy of AU $12K a reverse cycle unit to keep us cool/warm. Don’t know whose home they are referring to as it’s definitely not ours. So, I most definitely feel your frustrations as mine are on boiling point. Ahhh, home improvements, why can’t they be easy and less time consuming. Does it come down to the salesperson and their commission?
This is the outcome I’m been dealing with lately.
Whew, so, overall, I feel you and most definitely hear you.
Stay safe and look after yourself and your awesome family
🤗 Maria
OMFG!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA
My daughter had a similar experience when she moved into her new home, she waited 12 weeks for her sofa and separate chair to be delivered to be told 8 weeks in that the chair had been discontinued!!?? When the sofa arrived it was perfect so she decided to keep and buy another chair (from the same supplier) that they told her is identical to her sofa but a different design from the original one she ordered. Great I hear you say, no! Not great, when it arrived 6 weeks later it was a lot darker than the sofa and didn’t intact match any part of the sofa, she then had to wait 2 weeks for someone to come out and check the chair was in good condition so she could return it, the firm then sent a guy out 3 weeks after that check, to collect the box.
My daughter has lost the desire to even talk about chairs and sofas and there’s still a large space in her living room were her chair should be.
So its not just US furniture dealers that are useless!!
I’m sure the right furniture will appear when your least expecting it to.
Oh, my. I so totally feel her pain. That sounds incredibly frustrating, not to mention disappointing. As for the right furniture appearing … could it literally just APPEAR so I don’t have to go anywhere? Maybe one morning I’ll wake up and poof! there it is. That would be amazing. 😉
I totally get you on the furniture shopping. Thanks for the heads up on Sleep Number because we thought about that before getting the mattress we have now, granted my body isn’t liking our 4 yr old mattress, so maybe we’ll check into purple. I think my son has one. That’s terrible that you had to pay to send the air mattress back. Totally bad business because it’s not cheap. We decided to get new dining table/chairs & sofa set this year. The sofa & love seat were coming from inside the US, so we got that in 2 weeks. My dining table could’ve come anywhere up to 6 months because it was coming from out of the country. Well we were lucky & it ended up coming a few weeks after ordering, so that was exciting. My sofa tables, however, still aren’t in & it’s been almost 3 months, I think. That sucks. I need to find a hutch or some storage piece in dining room but not thinking I’m going with anywhere that has to ship from outside the US. Hope you’re able to get a sofa soon.
Yes, Sleep Number did a number on me. LOL No pun intended. I ended up spending $1200 for 2 pillows. Yep. They charged me the initial delivery fee, the return fees, the restocking fees. So, I paid $1200 for two pillows that cost $72 each. Their “No Risk” means that THEY aren’t taking the risk because you will pay out the ass if you decide you don’t like it. Even if it’s broken. So if you do decide to check it out, be sure to take the fees into account. I will say, we are now on night 6 on the Purple mattress and I am still loving it. It actually gets better each night (which they say happens with a new mattress)
I had a coach picked out, but then Covid came around. The damn thing went up $600.00 more. I can wait until we get back to normal.
I’ve had a sleep number for years and it does nothing for me. Which purple mattress did you end up with? I’ve been eyeing them for the past 2 years but there were so many different kinds and I was afraid to spend that kind of money on something I couldn’t test first.
We went with thee 4 because it was the softest for me. All of them were comfortable (we tried them in the store, which, as you probably know doesn’t really tell you anything because they’re usually softer because of everyone else testing them out). But as the numbers go up, they get softer.