Consumer: 1; Ikea: 0
The pundits are telling us the economy is getting better. Interestingly, "getting better" is now defined as "getting worse at a slower rate than before." But either way, it's still very true that consumers, not the companies that sell to them, are in the driver's seat.
Most of your who read this are probably aware that we're in the process of getting our house in Pasadena ready to sell, a process that today involved staying home from work for a few hours while the carpet installers worked in the back bedroom. Incidentally, if there's one thing I've learned owning a home it's this: paint the walls and replace the carpets before you move in. It's hard to do around all your stuff, but it's relatively inexpensive, and oh my God does it make a huge difference! Even the cheap, generic "landlord special" carpeting we installed makes that room so much more pleasant to be in. I now want to spend time there. And now that all the major problems with the house are fixed, I'm beginning to really regret that it's time to move out of it.
But, anyway, one ongoing part of the process of getting the house ready to sell is staging it with appropriate furniture. For the past couple of years we've had a friend's oversized couches in the living room -- which are great couches but too big for the space. When his girlfriend moved out I offered to return them to him, thinking we'd pick up new living room furniture of our own that will show better in the house. The room that's going to be the living room in Fresno hasn't been redone yet (reminding myself of factoid in previous paragraph) so we can really get anything that works for the house we're selling, and then adapt the decor of the room in Fresno to work with it.
The challenge is that the room in Pasadena is relatively small (13' x 14') and has a lot of surprisingly low windows. Since most furniture sold today seems to be sized for small giants, it's been a bit of a challenge finding something that we like, will fit, and we can afford.
We thought we'd hit the jackpot when we saw a modular seating system with built-in storage at Target. The system is sold in three parts: A corner unit, an armless unit, and an ottoman. You mix and match to create the seating arrangement that's right for your space. With storage in it. How cool is that? We worked, we drafted, and finally came up with a selection that would work beautifully in Pasadena, and we figured when the house sells, we can take the parts to Fresno, pick up any additional units we need to configure it optimally for that space, and we're golden!
Unfortunately, we worked and drafted a little too long. When we went to buy the pieces on Sunday we discovered that every Target in Southern California is sold out of everything except the center sections. Whoever placed the production order didn't think about the ratio the various parts would be needed in, apparently. The color we like is only available in stores. The colors we don't like are available only online, and even then are backordered 3-5 weeks. Since we're hoping to start showing the house in 2-3 weeks, this won't do. I mean, I'm happy that Target has a product that's resonating with consumers so well, but we need to sort out a Plan B.
So, on Monday we went to Ikea. There we spot their Tylösand series, which is somewhat modular, but lacks the storage. A loveseat, chaise, and footstool are going to come out to about what he had planned to spend at Target. This isn't my favorite option, but it meets the basic criteria (fits in the Pasadena living room), so we decide to buy it. Ikea doesn't have any staff available, so we go home and order it from the website. My shipping information says it will take 5-7 days before it's ready to ship, and it will be delivered within 7-10 days following its ship date. Remember, this is Monday.
Yesterday, I came home to a phone message (actually three) that my order from Ikea is ready to be delivered, and I should call to schedule. I do so, and they tell me they can bring it out on Saturday. I inform them that I'm not going to be home on Saturday (as I'm going to be in Fresno attending the Meet in the Middle 4 Equality rally -- and you're all invited, too), but any other day will work. They tell me that the only day they have available is Saturday, and I'll need to call Ikea if that won't work for me. Ikea is already closed (call center is on the East Coast), but I resolve to do so this morning while waiting for the carpet installer.
Well, I call Ikea this morning, and after half an hour, I get through and learn that if you want to pick what day your delivery comes, they charge extra. Note that "any day except Saturday" counts as picking what day you want your delivery to come in their mind. I tell them I can do any day between now and three weeks from now, except Saturday, May 30. Nope, that's picking my date. It doesn't matter that it's not supposed to be possible for it to arrive as early as five days after I ordered it, I have to pay more if I'm not going to be home on Saturday. Remember, I'm not in love with this furniture in the first place. Obviously, I simply cancel the order.
Of course, the phone rang five minutes later to remind me to call to schedule my delivery from Ikea, but I'm assuming that since it's a computerized call, the note that the order has been cancelled just hasn't propagated the system.
So while the carpet installers are thumping and banging in the back room, I decide that getting something that works for both Pasadena and Fresno may be asking too much, so I decide to price out renting living room furniture for staging. $1500 minimum. Ouch! That's more than the budget we'd set aside to buy furniture.
But, then I remember that a lot of these rental places have outlets where they sell previously rented furniture. And sure enough, Cort Furniture has a clearance center over in Glendale. Since the carpet installers are done early, I decide to pop over there.
Sofa, chair, coffee table, and end table, with tax and delivery: $671. Just a smidge over half of what I was going to pay to Ikea. More furniture, less money. And it will probably look better in the Pasadena house than that silly Ikea stuff would have. What I bought wouldn't have been my first choice, but it will work nicely in the room and even if we decide to give it to Out of the Closet when we move, it's significantly cheaper than renting.
Assuming they deliver it without springing an extra charge on me on Tuesday, I'm going to count this as a win for the consumer.
New carpeting and new furniture, all before lunch. It's good to be in a position to be picky. And it sucks to be Ikea.
Most of your who read this are probably aware that we're in the process of getting our house in Pasadena ready to sell, a process that today involved staying home from work for a few hours while the carpet installers worked in the back bedroom. Incidentally, if there's one thing I've learned owning a home it's this: paint the walls and replace the carpets before you move in. It's hard to do around all your stuff, but it's relatively inexpensive, and oh my God does it make a huge difference! Even the cheap, generic "landlord special" carpeting we installed makes that room so much more pleasant to be in. I now want to spend time there. And now that all the major problems with the house are fixed, I'm beginning to really regret that it's time to move out of it.
But, anyway, one ongoing part of the process of getting the house ready to sell is staging it with appropriate furniture. For the past couple of years we've had a friend's oversized couches in the living room -- which are great couches but too big for the space. When his girlfriend moved out I offered to return them to him, thinking we'd pick up new living room furniture of our own that will show better in the house. The room that's going to be the living room in Fresno hasn't been redone yet (reminding myself of factoid in previous paragraph) so we can really get anything that works for the house we're selling, and then adapt the decor of the room in Fresno to work with it.
The challenge is that the room in Pasadena is relatively small (13' x 14') and has a lot of surprisingly low windows. Since most furniture sold today seems to be sized for small giants, it's been a bit of a challenge finding something that we like, will fit, and we can afford.
We thought we'd hit the jackpot when we saw a modular seating system with built-in storage at Target. The system is sold in three parts: A corner unit, an armless unit, and an ottoman. You mix and match to create the seating arrangement that's right for your space. With storage in it. How cool is that? We worked, we drafted, and finally came up with a selection that would work beautifully in Pasadena, and we figured when the house sells, we can take the parts to Fresno, pick up any additional units we need to configure it optimally for that space, and we're golden!
Unfortunately, we worked and drafted a little too long. When we went to buy the pieces on Sunday we discovered that every Target in Southern California is sold out of everything except the center sections. Whoever placed the production order didn't think about the ratio the various parts would be needed in, apparently. The color we like is only available in stores. The colors we don't like are available only online, and even then are backordered 3-5 weeks. Since we're hoping to start showing the house in 2-3 weeks, this won't do. I mean, I'm happy that Target has a product that's resonating with consumers so well, but we need to sort out a Plan B.
So, on Monday we went to Ikea. There we spot their Tylösand series, which is somewhat modular, but lacks the storage. A loveseat, chaise, and footstool are going to come out to about what he had planned to spend at Target. This isn't my favorite option, but it meets the basic criteria (fits in the Pasadena living room), so we decide to buy it. Ikea doesn't have any staff available, so we go home and order it from the website. My shipping information says it will take 5-7 days before it's ready to ship, and it will be delivered within 7-10 days following its ship date. Remember, this is Monday.
Yesterday, I came home to a phone message (actually three) that my order from Ikea is ready to be delivered, and I should call to schedule. I do so, and they tell me they can bring it out on Saturday. I inform them that I'm not going to be home on Saturday (as I'm going to be in Fresno attending the Meet in the Middle 4 Equality rally -- and you're all invited, too), but any other day will work. They tell me that the only day they have available is Saturday, and I'll need to call Ikea if that won't work for me. Ikea is already closed (call center is on the East Coast), but I resolve to do so this morning while waiting for the carpet installer.
Well, I call Ikea this morning, and after half an hour, I get through and learn that if you want to pick what day your delivery comes, they charge extra. Note that "any day except Saturday" counts as picking what day you want your delivery to come in their mind. I tell them I can do any day between now and three weeks from now, except Saturday, May 30. Nope, that's picking my date. It doesn't matter that it's not supposed to be possible for it to arrive as early as five days after I ordered it, I have to pay more if I'm not going to be home on Saturday. Remember, I'm not in love with this furniture in the first place. Obviously, I simply cancel the order.
Of course, the phone rang five minutes later to remind me to call to schedule my delivery from Ikea, but I'm assuming that since it's a computerized call, the note that the order has been cancelled just hasn't propagated the system.
So while the carpet installers are thumping and banging in the back room, I decide that getting something that works for both Pasadena and Fresno may be asking too much, so I decide to price out renting living room furniture for staging. $1500 minimum. Ouch! That's more than the budget we'd set aside to buy furniture.
But, then I remember that a lot of these rental places have outlets where they sell previously rented furniture. And sure enough, Cort Furniture has a clearance center over in Glendale. Since the carpet installers are done early, I decide to pop over there.
Sofa, chair, coffee table, and end table, with tax and delivery: $671. Just a smidge over half of what I was going to pay to Ikea. More furniture, less money. And it will probably look better in the Pasadena house than that silly Ikea stuff would have. What I bought wouldn't have been my first choice, but it will work nicely in the room and even if we decide to give it to Out of the Closet when we move, it's significantly cheaper than renting.
Assuming they deliver it without springing an extra charge on me on Tuesday, I'm going to count this as a win for the consumer.
New carpeting and new furniture, all before lunch. It's good to be in a position to be picky. And it sucks to be Ikea.