Are you thinking of buying some new furniture with your tax refund or stimulus check?
Before you fall in love with a certain piece, ask those at your furniture store what items are in stock.
Consumer reporter John Matarese looks into the ongoing problem of furniture delays, so you don’t waste your money.
Do you need a new bedroom set, a couch or kitchen table?
If you have to order it, be prepared to wait - and in some cases to wait a long time!
"That’s the old couch, that's the one we want to get rid of," said Melissa Taylor, who showed us via Zoom her couch that was damaged by a water leak last July.
“We woke up one morning to a flood in our family room, and the water fell from the ceiling onto our couch," Taylor said.
So she and her husband rushed out to a local furniture store -- and ordered a new one.
But her six-week wait has now turned into a six-month wait.
"I don't have the couch yet," Taylor said. "It has been the biggest nightmare."
And when she finally reached someone at the store, she got some bad news.
"They haven't started production on my couch, so here I am just waiting," she said.
It's happening to furniture buyers nationwide, and not just at one store.
in August, Cindy Roekker told me she'd been waiting four months for a vanity from Ikea.
"I'm at my wit's end and I'm starting to panic because I need a bathroom vanity!" Roekker said.
The chief marketing officer of Modloft -- a contemporary furniture brand -- blames a combination of soaring demand during the pandemic and months long delays getting fabric from places like India, China and Vietnam.
"Sixty percent of our items are on back order currently," said Sean O'Brien of Modloft. "There are
all sorts of places along the line where things can get backed up and we have to be very good with communicating with the customer what is happening and when."
So what can you do if you need that furniture right away?
Consider an upscale used furniture store, where you can find used pieces you can take home today.
Other ideas, courtesy of the New York Times include:
- Be patient.
- Also ask what the store has in their local warehouse.
- Consider the floor model.
- Be flexible as to style and color.
Otherwise...
"I never imagined I would still be waiting on my couch in January!" Taylor said
Remember, if your piece of furniture has to be ordered, realize it could take a few months, so you don’t waste your money.
