The Fine Furniture & Furnishings Discount Shopping Guide: Why Pay Retail?

The Fine Furniture and Furnishings Discount Shopping Guide is the tool for consumers to find drastic discounts on almost everything for the home. The book's 392 pages answer every possible question -- what to buy, where to buy, who to talk to, and what to expect. Consumers have praised author and publisher, Kate Gladchun's effort to educate the public about the savings available from North Carolina merchants. Retailers haven't been as enthusiastic, fearing the impact this knowledge might have on their bottom line. Gladchun thinks too many people pay more than necessary for furniture. And the producers on the Oprah Winfrey Show thought the topic was perfect for their edition of "America's Smartest Shoppers" show. Gladchun appeared as a guest and discussed all aspects of shopping through North Carolina, from telephone sales to shopping by mail and even going to North Carolina and shopping in person! The book covers everything on these topics.

Seventy percent of the furniture in the U.S. is made within a 200-mile radius of Hickory and High Point, North Carolina. Being located so close to hundreds of manufacturers allows North Carolina merchants to sell at discount prices, substantially below regular retail prices.

Gladchun started off with a small interior design business of her own and in 1991, found the perfect Henredon sofa, with a $3,000 price tag at a local retailer. Using her interior designer 40 percent discount reduced the price to $1,700. Before buying, Gladchun contacted a few furniture resources in North Carolina. As a regular consumer, she could get the same sofa delivered to her home for $1,400.

Discovering such an incredible savings prompted Gladchun to share the secret. The Fine Furniture and Furnishings Discount Shopping Guide, now in its fourth edition, reveals the secrets of finding the best deals through the hundreds of furniture resources located in North Carolina and other states. The top two secrets are: (1) Be willing to do the research and the legwork and (2)Find a good salesperson(s). These two main secrets, along with many other tips and instructions, are covered in full in the first 68 pages of the book. Following the instructional section is the real meat of the book: Hundreds of discount resources with very specific information, such as address, phone numbers, email addresses, toll-free numbers, etc. Along with that, each listing lists the resource's shipping and return policies, if they take credit cards, how many designers and/or sales consultants they have on staff, what the resource's specialties might be -- like manufacturing their own upholstered goods or being a manufacture-owned outlet, and many other specifics. Another important element is a listing of the manufacturers that the resources carry. This if very valuable information if you're searching for a specific name-brand manufacturer. A thirty-page index at the back of the book lists thousands of manufacturers and where they're sold by thediscount resources.

Packed with more than 360 home furnishing resources, The Fine Furniture and Furnishings Discount Shopping Guide, takes readers step-by-step through the entire buying process, from pre-shopping and ordering to shipping.

"If you're willing to do some extra homework and footwork, you can buy what you need at deep discounts -- as much as 70 percent below retail prices," said Gladchun, author and publisher. "The American consumer will no longer sit back and pay the high prices that have gotten out of control in the home furnishings industry."

Gladchun believes that smart educated consumers get the best buys. Since uncovering one of shopping's best kept secrets, Gladchun has made it her mission to teach others how to start saving.

"Consumers are getting smarter," said Gladchun. "They are not willing to pay full-blown prices when they realize there is an alternative. Everybody's entitled to find a deal. Many people know about North Carolina, but they aren't aware of all the products that are easily available to them."

"There are many people who prefer shopping and researching before they make a major purchase like furniture," Gladchun points out. "They consider the pursuit of the deal part of the process. Their satisfaction comes from the savings, and knowing they have received real value for their money. Others don't care. They just pay the big price on tag and never ask questions."