They are everywhere, but when you’re searching for a new home, it’s easy to overlook one or two. Not to mention, when you find something you like, you want to keep it close to your new home. The furniture stores that you frequent are the most important sources of knowledge and inspiration.
I like to think that the furniture stores I’m talking about in my post are the ones I’m talking about in our study with the biggest “authoritative” influence on search traffic. There is a reason why their websites have higher rankings in search. They have an authority that other sites can see.
To answer your question, I am also not a huge fan of furniture stores. If I had to pick one to be a fan of, it would probably be the furniture store in my new home town. I’m a fan of small local shops and so I love the fact that they actually work. They can be cheaper and more locally-focused than big chains.
The problem with large chain stores is that they have a lot more inventory. This makes them difficult to shop around for the best prices. With the exception of furniture stores, the best furniture stores are also the most expensive.
The thing is, though the list of prices for furniture stores are very long, the only time I ever see the prices of a good store is when I was living in a house with four windows and seven doors (not that I’d need an additional window, but I’d have it, and the people would be there that night.) If I wanted to know what they were selling, I’d always have to type in their names.
I would say that the reason this is true is because if you have a great furniture store, you might not want to have to see it everyday. That is, it’s expensive to see it everyday, but you know that you’re saving money since you don’t have to drive down the street every day and buy the exact same furniture as the guy who just moved into the next house.
I’ve learned to respect a good furniture store when I’ve worked in one. It’s a place where all the other people who work there are also buying the same furniture, and when you show up they all know the name of the furniture store owner. In fact, the only reason they won’t let you buy the exact same furniture is because they’re afraid you might be buying the same furniture.
The problem with trying to get a good furniture store is that we don’t know what to expect and what to get. My advice is that you start with two people who are completely independent. They can just talk about what they like the most and what they don’t like. After all, they know everything.
This is the kind of advice that might make a lot of people nervous, but it’s also the advice they’ll probably use when they’re buying their next new couch or bed or desk. So start with two independent people and just chat about your furniture. You might find it easier to negotiate when you’re both talking and not worrying about whether the other person is going to cheat or lie.
The only way to know when someone is cheating is to have a mental model of what they do. For example, you might have a good idea of what your favorite furniture store is all about, and then that might be the best way to explore the store for potential cheat. Or you might have a good idea of the person you were with earlier in life and then you find that you have a decent job. That’s a good start.
