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Thread: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

  1. #31
    Trogdor Guest

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    Note, we wound up going with King Hickory instead. Similar quality albeit different style and the prices were more competitive.

    This was AFTER we looked at Hickory Chair, H&M, and even Theodore Alexander (my wife really likes a game table they make) in addition to Stickley.

    I am still toying with the idea of a Stickley Morris chair and coffee table for the room but we'll see.

    The only thing that really annoys both my wife and I are the fact that for at least sofas, we can't sit on much which makes it almost impossible for us to order anything.
    Last edited by Trogdor; 06-19-2016 at 01:59 PM.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    54

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    You didn't give your height and weight. I am 5 ft. 7, 182 pounds.
    My wife is 4 ft. 10, 135 pounds.

    I purchased the Morris/Bow Arm chair both as a statement piece and for my larger guests. It's really too large for me to sit comfortably on. The 4 recline positions, activated by a manual peg system, is a cute touch, but not too practical. My chair and ottoman in grade 3 special order leather was $ 3250, at a supposed 42% discount. Worth every penny as a statement piece. Wouldn't want it as my everyday chair/ recliner. Google: "Paul Stein Stickley" to see it. As you can see, my dog has claimed ownership. It is his chair.

    For our size, we ordered a midsize length sofa, with a seat depth perfect for our size. We were ready to give up, when we sat in it. We instantly knew it was perfect. My gripe is when the sales people see customers of smaller stature, or even larger stature, walk into the store, why don't they guide them to the right size furniture for their build. For years, we purchased uncomfortable (for us), deep depth sofas, not knowing there was anything else. We spent 3 hours in the store, trying many sofas, and the hovering sales lady never mentioned seat depth. We were fortunate that our store's showroom had a large collection of Stickley furniture.



    Quote Originally Posted by Trogdor View Post
    Note, we wound up going with King Hickory instead. Similar quality albeit different style and the prices were more competitive.

    This was AFTER we looked at Hickory Chair, H&M, and even Theodore Alexander (my wife really likes a game table they make) in addition to Stickley.

    I am still toying with the idea of a Stickley Morris chair and coffee table for the room but we'll see.

    The only thing that really annoys both my wife and I are the fact that for at least sofas, we can't sit on much which makes it almost impossible for us to order anything.

  3. #33
    Trogdor Guest

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    Quote Originally Posted by pstein15 View Post
    You didn't give your height and weight. I am 5 ft. 7, 182 pounds.
    My wife is 4 ft. 10, 135 pounds.

    I purchased the Morris/Bow Arm chair both as a statement piece and for my larger guests. It's really too large for me to sit comfortably on. The 4 recline positions, activated by a manual peg system, is a cute touch, but not too practical. My chair and ottoman in grade 3 special order leather was $ 3250, at a supposed 42% discount. Worth every penny as a statement piece. Wouldn't want it as my everyday chair/ recliner. Google: "Paul Stein Stickley" to see it. As you can see, my dog has claimed ownership. It is his chair.

    For our size, we ordered a midsize length sofa, with a seat depth perfect for our size. We were ready to give up, when we sat in it. We instantly knew it was perfect. My gripe is when the sales people see customers of smaller stature, or even larger stature, walk into the store, why don't they guide them to the right size furniture for their build. For years, we purchased uncomfortable (for us), deep depth sofas, not knowing there was anything else. We spent 3 hours in the store, trying many sofas, and the hovering sales lady never mentioned seat depth. We were fortunate that our store's showroom had a large collection of Stickley furniture.
    Seat depth is the biggest issue with my wife. She isn't that tiny either (5'5" 130 pounds).

    Most of the sofas we sat on were just very uncomfortable for her because her feet would not touch the ground even if she sat upright. It was very disheartening to see her get frustrated one sofa after the next.

    What's WORSE about a lot of these premium brands is you can't sit on anything. Most sales folks expect you to lay out 3-4k on a sofa without ever sitting on it. It is ludicrous. So in many respects, we went with a brand (King Hickory) because we could a) familiar with the brand b) US made/solid wood/8-way hand tied springs etc. etc. and more importantly c) could actually sit on it.

    I just don't understand how these companies can sell furniture this way.

  4. #34
    Jenny Guest

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    I understand your frustration Trogdor. I'm not a big fan of my local brick and mortar store that deals H&M, Stickley etc. It's a nice store in a nice neighborhood. They sell pieces at MSRP, 30% off is considered a sale. My experience there has always been like walking into a country club where I'm more likely to be confused for the help than a customer. At least two of the sales ladies have asked me before what I do for a living - it's kind of surreal.


    There are many people on this forum that are comfortable with the prices of high end pieces. There are also many that are just struggling to purchase that first nice piece. We all do what we can with the idea in mind that you can *always* go higher. I'm really glad that you found pieces that you were comfortable with.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    Women's legs are shorter than men's from the knees down, so it's always difficult to find a sofa that fits both a woman and man well. If the sofa is just for the lady, then for your typical 5' 5" woman something with a 18.5" to 19" seat height and a 19" seat depth would be pretty much ideal. However a man my size, 5' 11" would be cramped on it. I have made many a custom H&M sofa for ladies and that's typically where we custom spec it at.

    As for it being 'ludicrous' to purchase a sofa without trying it out, I find that opinion a little strong. I only carry a few brands of upholstery, yet within those few brands there are over 4,000 frames and I have a 5.000 s.f store. It's impossible to put every frame in a maker's line on display, you would need a store the size of a football stadium. Generally if you can try out a maker's brand in two or three frames in a store, the whole line will usually sit similar. They do have pretty good continuity across the line. Biggest differences are not how they sit, but the style from frame to frame. There's a perception they all sit different, but the reality is the differences in a maker's line as to comfort are usually subtle.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  6. #36
    Trogdor Guest

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    Women's legs are shorter than men's from the knees down, so it's always difficult to find a sofa that fits both a woman and man well. If the sofa is just for the lady, then for your typical 5' 5" woman something with a 18.5" to 19" seat height and a 19" seat depth would be pretty much ideal. However a man my size, 5' 11" would be cramped on it. I have made many a custom H&M sofa for ladies and that's typically where we custom spec it at.

    As for it being 'ludicrous' to purchase a sofa without trying it out, I find that opinion a little strong. I only carry a few brands of upholstery, yet within those few brands there are over 4,000 frames and I have a 5.000 s.f store. It's impossible to put every frame in a maker's line on display, you would need a store the size of a football stadium. Generally if you can try out a maker's brand in two or three frames in a store, the whole line will usually sit similar. They do have pretty good continuity across the line. Biggest differences are not how they sit, but the style from frame to frame. There's a perception they all sit different, but the reality is the differences in a maker's line as to comfort are usually subtle.
    Duane, though I completely understand the business factors involved AND I think everything you said above is quite reasonable, it is STILL LUDICROUS in my opinion to purchase a 3-4k sofa without ever sitting on it. I would even be so bold to say that I'll BET that many, many customers have post purchase regret even if they won't admit to it after actually sitting on the piece they ordered 8-10 weeks a go. It may look nice but is it really comfortable?

    I agree that sitting on a similar spec'ed piece from the same manufacturer will give you a good idea of what you're getting yourself into but it is still a dangerous game nonetheless.

    I have now sat on a sofa from every single high-end brand you can think of minus Baker (one sales women said they are "pricing themselves out of the US market") and they all feel different when you are actually slap your butt on them. What's worse is A LOT of the sales reps you meet have NO IDEA about some of the brands they sell since they only move a fraction of them. Duane, you are more of the exception than the rule.

    @Jenny: I have been asked what my wife and I do for a living several times during our shopping experience minus the place we actually bought furniture from! I'm surprised they don't want a credit check. (btw, I have been thinking of making up an answer to this question that is funny like, "My wife and I are professional clowns." or something like that).

    Btw, here is one more idiotic story about Stickley:

    So remember that sale I was talking about in a few posts back about a year or so ago. Well, because of a delay on THEIR side getting us fabrics, we went past the day of the sale. As a result, I asked them if they could just extend the sale ONE weekend past it since we were in the middle of the purchasing process for most of that month (again, we had to wait for them to send us fabric samples then some of the fabrics we choose were out of stock and we had to choose again, the store is about an hour or so away, normal stuff, nothing out of the ordinary). Anyway, the owner of the store said, "I can't do that" and we would have to pay the non-sales price and basically loose 3k in the process.

    They lost literally a 10k+ sale in 10 minutes. I couldn't believe it and to this day I don't know how that store stays in business.
    Last edited by Trogdor; 06-22-2016 at 10:18 AM.

  7. #37
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    What I have done for many customers is arrange for them to go to the factory when one is coming off the line to get a tour and test-sit a particular piece if they can't find it anywhere. Yes, that means travel to the factory, but its a way to do it. Usually my customer gets the VIP treatment when they go and they enjoy the experience - coming away with a great knowledge base of how things are made and all the steps. It's a pretty good experience.

    I buy my floor models six months out in advance and my store is usually pretty full, but on occasion if I get a customer that just has to try out a particular sofa or chair, I will order one for stock. Depending on their choice of cover, I may or may not order it in what they like. My assumption will be they will not buy it, so I have to get it in a cover I think is the most appealing. Then when it comes in, they can try it out and go from there. Sometimes too, I will let them order a piece with the condition they don't have to take it if they don't like it (again, depending on the cover selected) however they have to put a deposit on it as if they were ordering it, and if they don't like it when it arrives they get a store credit towards something else but not a refund of their deposit. That's about the best a dealer can do. Sometimes I have too much inventory (like right now) and can't do that, all depends on stock levels.

    Factory sales are pretty difficult to get extended. Most the time they will say 'no, sorry'. I have had clients wait too long on a sale period and attempt to order the next day when it has ended and I can no longer get that discount for them - and that's going to the CEO of the company for the request, not the customer service people. When its' over - it's usually over - but I will make a phone call and try on to get it in. Now here's a tip for you when that happens and you are up against the deadline. Go ahead and place the order and do a CUTTING FOR APPROVAL. What this does is lock in your order and they will send a piece of the cover prior to production for you to say yea or nay. Production does not start until you approve the cover so you have at least two weeks before that CFA will arrive. Then you can cancel or re-select the cover if you like. The store may or may not allow you to do a full cancel of your order - check their policies and ask them. In my store, if you cancel a CFA order you can have a refund less 5% of the deposit fee. So if the deposit was $ 1,000 the refund amount is $ 950 and you can walk away from it.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  8. #38
    Trogdor Guest

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    What I have done for many customers is arrange for them to go to the factory when one is coming off the line to get a tour and test-sit a particular piece if they can't find it anywhere. Yes, that means travel to the factory, but its a way to do it. Usually my customer gets the VIP treatment when they go and they enjoy the experience - coming away with a great knowledge base of how things are made and all the steps. It's a pretty good experience.

    I buy my floor models six months out in advance and my store is usually pretty full, but on occasion if I get a customer that just has to try out a particular sofa or chair, I will order one for stock. Depending on their choice of cover, I may or may not order it in what they like. My assumption will be they will not buy it, so I have to get it in a cover I think is the most appealing. Then when it comes in, they can try it out and go from there. Sometimes too, I will let them order a piece with the condition they don't have to take it if they don't like it (again, depending on the cover selected) however they have to put a deposit on it as if they were ordering it, and if they don't like it when it arrives they get a store credit towards something else but not a refund of their deposit. That's about the best a dealer can do. Sometimes I have too much inventory (like right now) and can't do that, all depends on stock levels.

    Factory sales are pretty difficult to get extended. Most the time they will say 'no, sorry'. I have had clients wait too long on a sale period and attempt to order the next day when it has ended and I can no longer get that discount for them - and that's going to the CEO of the company for the request, not the customer service people. When its' over - it's usually over - but I will make a phone call and try on to get it in. Now here's a tip for you when that happens and you are up against the deadline. Go ahead and place the order and do a CUTTING FOR APPROVAL. What this does is lock in your order and they will send a piece of the cover prior to production for you to say yea or nay. Production does not start until you approve the cover so you have at least two weeks before that CFA will arrive. Then you can cancel or re-select the cover if you like. The store may or may not allow you to do a full cancel of your order - check their policies and ask them. In my store, if you cancel a CFA order you can have a refund less 5% of the deposit fee. So if the deposit was $ 1,000 the refund amount is $ 950 and you can walk away from it.
    Duane that is a great tip. I'm surprised the store we were working with didn't suggest that. Their loss!

  9. #39
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    Quote Originally Posted by Trogdor View Post
    Duane that is a great tip. I'm surprised the store we were working with didn't suggest that. Their loss!
    LOL, gotta be able to think on your feet....
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  10. #40
    QualityQuest Guest

    Default Re: Stickley Furniture prices are confusing me, how to budget?

    I recently got quoted 10% off list price/MSRP for a Stickley 100 Series 85" upholstered sofa. The fabric is 100% polyester and is not a performance fabric. I'm not in the business of telling retailers what they should charge, but that sounds terribly overpriced. Am I right about that?

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