One of the most important points about buying direct in NC is the tax issue. Find out if you have to pay local tax, or if it is exempt and then consider the shipping. I have some friends who have gone down there and purchased a load of stuff and they say the savings was significant. I am considering that same trip myself to furnish a second home. Let us know what you find out.

Thanks for the information. I checked with the High Point Thomasville regarding shipping charges and the cost to ship to LA is about $1 a pound which isn't too extreme considering many of the pieces I plan to purchase cost between $2500-$4000 each.

Does Lexington in Tennessee have a website I can look at?

Thanks,

Just a follow up regarding shipping costs,

I called the North Carolina Thomasville and they said any purchase over $2000 ships free. So shipping is not a factor.

I can't speak directly for Thomasville, but when we furnished our house, we went to High Point for a few days and got a real education in furniture quality and finish very quickly. In the long run we probably spent what we would have with out going there, but ended up with much higher quality furniture... at a fraction of what this furniture would have cost locally.

Each store you walk into givew you an itimized invoice of what you've looked at with manufacturer's numbers and their price,. and then tells you they will beat any other price you get... so basically you shop for a few days, and then decided which you really liked best, and which place/places are the ones you prefer to deal with... and then negotiate from there. They will combine your purchases in to one shipment regardless of how many places you bought at. We did pay a shipping fee but it was less than the sales tax we didn't end up paying since we didn't buy in state. I'd recommend the trip, at least once. Now we find what we wnat locally and then call down there to get the best pricing and have it shipped.

BTW... you can look at oriental rugs, broad loam rugs, lighting and all other home decorating items in the same trip...

I bought Thomasville furniture earlier this year from Rose Furniture in North Carolina. When I priced the pieces out that I wanted at a Thomasville gallery locally in NJ, the total price came to over $16,000 during one of their sales periods. There was also an additional delivery charge that would have been several hundred. I then contacted Rose Furniture (where I had purchased dining room furniture in the past) and got a quote including tax and shipping costs of $12,000. Shipping to California will be higher, but the sales people at Rose will give you a very accurate estimate of shipping at the time they quote the furniture price to you so you will be able to make a decision right away whether it makes sense to ship from North Carolina. I can tell you though, that piece for piece, the prices at Rose are much cheaper than the prices at the Thomasville gallery.

Someone might correct me if this has changed in the last couple of years, but I believe Thomasville has a minimum retail price (MRP) policy - in other words, anyone selling their furniture can't go below a certain price (might not apply to clearance/showroom floor items, though). When I was looking at their furniture a few years back, I managed to find a few places more local that would also offer MRP (and low/free shipping). In fact, I even saw some advertisements guaranteeing that they'd have the lowest prices anywhere on Thomasville (and of course, they would, just like all the others at MRP). The dealers in North Carolina (more than one, including Rose) would not go below MRP, but would offer free shipping. Combined with possibly no sales tax, the NC stores could still come out cheaper, but you might want to check with local places to see if they'll match the MRP - if so, you're not likely to save much by going to North Carolina, and you also get to support local businesses.

I also visited the Thomasville factory store (in Thomasville, not in High Point), and they had several pieces at _really_ good prices. But, it was hit and miss - just what they had in the store at the time. When I went, they didn't have any complete sets, and most (not all) of the pieces had defects of one sort or another, ranging from unnoticable to major damage. This store was interesting in an "if you're around there already" sense, but certainly not worth making a trip from California for.

What Beverly said about the quality since it is being made overseas. A burnt child dreads a fire and I was "burnt" on some furniture (High Point, Far East, maybe?)

I have ordered furniture from Rose twice. The first time everything went smoothly, but the most recent experience was not good. Although you might save some $ by purchasing in high point, you loose some customer service, and if the furniture comes damaged, they make you wait over a month white they repair it. In contrast, a local shop might repair the damage onsite, or just order you a new piece. Since you cannot pay by credit card with most of the high point companies, you loose some of your power, b/c if there is a complaint, you can't contest the charge with the credit co.

From my understanding, the MRP that Rose Furniture can offer is lower than what the Thomasville showrooms can offer...as a matter of fact, the salesperson at Rose requested that I not share details of the price per piece with anyone at the Thomasville showroom as that is part of the agreement between Rose and Thomasville. In any case, the MRP was lower to the tune of over $4000 for my order. Shipping and tax were quoted as seperate line items...this is not where my discount came from...piece for piece the sales prices quoted were lower. I also have one piece I am still waiting on that was damaged (appeared to be a manufacturing defect). The piece was returned and will be re-delivered this week. I'm not sure what people expect, but having purchased furniture from Thomasville and Ethan Allen in the past directly through their showrooms, the process and time involved in handling damaged pieces is very similar as the process Rose Furniture follows...the piece needs to be re-ordered and re-shipped from the manufacturing plant or it needs to be fixed. It all takes time regardless of who is doing it.

FYI. After the end of this year, you will no longer be able to purchase Thomasville anywhere, other than an actual Thomasville store.

Thomasville is going exclusive. This way they can keep their pricing higher. Currently, it's true, you can buy Thomasville furniture for considerably less in High Point, NC then in your local Thomasville store. I know this because I just ordered a bedroom.

Please let me know who any of you talked to in NC. I live in NJ and bought my Thomasville family room furniture from Woodarm Field( currently out of business) a couple of years ago and saved quite a bit of money. Now I would like to by a kitchen dining set and a couple more items. Rose furniture would not quote me on the phone. They said I had to actually register with them in person for Thomasville. If anyone has any other places please let me know.

Thanks,
Paddytc