re: WSJ - Significant increase in poor quality furniture in the US

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But greed and an uneducated, lazy public make a bad mix for capitalism. Only the upper elite benefit and everyone else suffers in a stupor of ignorance.

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The elites don't want other people to know their real habits/behaviors. They tell you a little but keep enough in the dark.


They're planning the de-growth world as we speak anyways, so they have no interest in helping consumers buy quality products they love because they feel it would ruin it for them. The average person is an insect to the elites, an infestation causing climate change.

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Fify. The components are made overseas, flat packed, and screwed together and upholstered in the US.

I grew up in a furniture town and NAFTA destroyed it. There's nothing there anymore. The plants that still exist operate at 10% of what they did in the 70's-80s.

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Ross Perot knew what he was talking about.

My friend had an expensive relatively new couch where the cross beam broke when the kids were wrestling on it.

They were going to throw it out. I pulled the upholstery off, pulled it out and replaced it and the support strapping (added a few extra strips). The rest of the frame was essentially particle board. It was crazy how poorly a 4k couch was made.

My Flexsteel is about 18 years old and still looks great and sits great despite 2 kids and 3 dogs.

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It seems like a lot of stuff we buy these days is just cheap, disposable junk.

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I can't think of too many long-time brands that haven't sold out the goodwill they built over the years with solid craftsmanship. Guess they all determined it made more business sense with planned obsolence than things lasting for decades.

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Fify. The components are made overseas, flat packed, and screwed together and upholstered in the US. I grew up in a furniture town and NAFTA destroyed it. There's nothing there anymore. The plants that still exist operate at 10% of what they did in the 70's-80s.

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This is not accurate. A lot of the furniture frames are made in the US and shipped overseas to upholster, then shipped back once done.

I shop at estate sales for furniture.

High end furniture sells at a fraction of original price because large pieces are hard to move (no furniture company delivering it, you make your own arrangement) and you pay 100% right then, not over time.

My husband was adamantly opposed to it. We shopped for a dining table and chairs at furniture stores, but could not find "real wood" except at the Amish furniture store. A dining table was $3000, and would take MONTHS to be delivered, so we passed.

A few months went by , with our dining area empty. We had an agreement that art needed both our approval, so I was at a sale and saw a painting I liked, and called him to come see it. He arrived, liked the painting and we purchased it…but he happened to see an arts and crafts style dining room table, chairs and hutch. The entire set was considerably less than JUST THE TABLE at the Amish store, and since it was not upholstered pieces, he got over his squeamishness really quickly. We hired a couple of young guys with a truck (we each also took some of the stuff home in our trucks, but we needed their muscle for the big hutch. I couldnt have handled my end getting it into the house, especially up several steps.

OTOH, we had already purchased a huge leather couch at Thomasville. I HATE that beached whale and would love to get rid of it, but throwing $4000 out the door gives me pause. It is in a barely used front room, so will never break down. I just live with it. Had it cost $500 at an estate sale, I would have donated or sold it already and moved on.

Shop at estate sales in high end neighborhoods, you know where in your own city. There are usually pieces in formal living rooms that are never even used. Large ,several piece, bookcase sets can be a steal, like the ones that take up a whole wall. Or you can buy a single, fancy bookcase for the price of a new IKEA set of plain white bookshelves.

The last day at estate sales is usually half price day, and bulky furniture is often still there, making it even more of a bargain. It is not only good for the savings, but I find myself more willing to jettison it after a few years if I decide I want something else, since I don’t have a lot invested in it.

There is something to be said for refreshing your space periodically, though I think us women are more inclined to want that. Men will live with the same furniture for 50 years!

By buying at a greatly reduced price in the first place, you also can afford to donate it later., or to recoup most/all of the money on FB Marketplace in the future unless you just destroy it with kids/dogs/ normal family life. In that case, it was even smarter to buy used!

Same concept as new car vs lightly used car. Let someone else take the initial hit. You can buy a barely used nice car for the same price as a brand new cheap car. You decide.

So anything else helpful or should we all just sit on the floor Japanese style. Where to find a good couch?

Looks like this flexsteel model mentioned upthread says they use real wood.

https://flexsteelstore.com/products/902231w31302


Dealer locator

Find a Nadeau store and buy from there. One of the last places selling handmade pieces made from real wood at a good price.