RECENTLY @ SHOPPING TIPS we’ve been hearing about more and more furniture and home decor shoppers being burned on their purchases. We decided to write about this topic because we don’t want the same to happen to you and it’s therefore very important to understand when there’s really a sale versus when a business is selling just to take your money.
A few days ago it was reported that the Limestone County Sheriff’s Department had received over 100 complaints about a local store called Furniture Mart that has failed to deliver furniture that was purchased by customers. In some cases, customers are still waiting for furniture as far back as December 2010.
According to the article in the Athens News Courier, the owner had taken the money from customers and told them to pay money in advance for a discount. Unfortunately, the owner also owed money to his supplier who therefore refused to send his customers the merchandise that they purchased.
In other words, the furniture store owner knew very well that he couldn’t deliver furniture to his customers, but willingly accepted their money anyway. This is somewhat of a trick in the retail industry when businesses try to manage their cashflows. What the store owner was trying to do was take money from new orders to pay for his old orders.
Therefore, buyer beware. When shopping at stores try to sniff things out and understand why things are so cheap. If they make sense, great. If not, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Better Business Bureau to see if other like-minded shoppers are feeling the same.
Don’t forget to join Deal Decor’s facebook fan page where we’ll be promoting a number of contest giveaways ahead of our launch in the San Francisco Bay Area!
