Product Description

In the $40 billion furniture industry, 35 percent of all home furniture manufactured in the world is produced in North Carolina. More important, leading furniture manufacturers, such as Broyhill, Thomasville, and Henridon, sell their top-quality furniture at deep discounts straight from their factories in North Carolina. Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets breaks down the door to this undiscovered world of North Carolina furniture and teaches you how to shop and save 50 to 80 percent on your next furniture purchase, whether you go to North Carolina or shop from home! In this amazing, first-of-its-kind sourcebook, Ellen Shapiro, who has
written about North Carolina furniture for years, gives you:
• All the prep work you should do before you go to North Carolina, such as making floor plans, taking measurements and photographs, and shopping locally to get ideas
• The best way to get to North Carolina—flying versus renting a truck or van
• Comprehensive listings, descriptions, and ratings of North Carolina’s hundreds of furniture factory outlets and stores, a complete guide to furniture brands, and key insider tips from veteran salespeople and store owners
• Detailed information on how to buy furniture from home, either by phone or on
the Internet
• Extensive travel tips on hotels, restaurants, and nearby attractions
• Stories of actual couples who went to North Carolina with budget ranges, illustrating how each saved hundreds of dollars

For anyone who is looking to save big money on furniture, Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets is the only resource for creating a game plan and taking advantage of super deals from furniture manufacturer showrooms, stores, and outlets in North Carolina.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #362303 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-22
• Released on: 2003-04-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Booklist
There are at least 50 good reasons why 60 percent of all U.S. furniture is manufactured within a 100-mile radius of Hickory and High Point, North Carolina. Yet, after acknowledging a few, New York researcher-writer Shapiro concentrates on guiding readers in shopping with great and greater savings--even up to 80 percent. First, the critical definitions: What's the difference between retail stores, manufacturer's outlets, and clearance stores? Is it worthwhile to travel to North Carolina--and pay for shipping as well? The best time to realize the best savings? The directories follow: one for High Point (plus Thomasville), and the second, for Hickory. Both feature detailed descriptions of malls and single stores, with every piece of buying information available, from annual sales months to payment specifics. She also acts as a down-home guide to accommodation, dining, and regional sights and customs (barbecue, by the way, is a noun. And plain iced tea, i.e., sans sugar, should be requested as "unsweet tea"). Guide to furniture brands and online resources, additional online resources, and glossary appended. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap
In the $40 billion furniture industry, 35 percent of all home furniture manufactured in the world is produced in North Carolina. More important, leading furniture manufacturers, such as Broyhill, Thomasville, and Henridon, sell their top-quality furniture at deep discounts straight from their factories in North Carolina. Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets breaks down the door to this undiscovered world of North Carolina furniture and teaches you how to shop and save 50 to 80 percent on your next furniture purchase, whether you go to North Carolina or shop from home! In this amazing, first-of-its-kind sourcebook, Ellen Shapiro, who has
written about North Carolina furniture for years, gives you:
? All the prep work you should do before you go to North Carolina, such as making floor plans, taking measurements and photographs, and shopping locally to get ideas
? The best way to get to North Carolina?flying versus renting a truck or van
? Comprehensive listings, descriptions, and ratings of North Carolina?s hundreds of furniture factory outlets and stores, a complete guide to furniture brands, and key insider tips from veteran salespeople and store owners
? Detailed information on how to buy furniture from home, either by phone or on
the Internet
? Extensive travel tips on hotels, restaurants, and nearby attractions
? Stories of actual couples who went to North Carolina with budget ranges, illustrating how each saved hundreds of dollars

For anyone who is looking to save big money on furniture, Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets is the only resource for creating a game plan and taking advantage of super deals from furniture manufacturer showrooms, stores, and outlets in North Carolina.

About the Author
ELLEN R. SHAPIRO has written about furniture shopping in North Carolina for Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine. She wrote the “Off the Beaten Path” travel column for Condé Nast’s Concierge.com. She currently hosts the Travel online discussion forums for the New York Times Digital Company. She lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

not very helpful
I just returned from a trip to NC for furniture having purchased this book as a guide. As it turned out, the book was not very helpful and I wasted a lot of time by relying on its recommendations. For starters, it's very outdated and the author's website for updates is no longer online. Many of the recommendations are based on the author's personal opinions without explanations that readers could use to judge for themselves. She lists her favorite stores and downplays others without providing a basis for her reasoning. Much of the information provided on the various dealers is straight out of the stores' marketing materials. There are a few useful tips scattered through the book but overall it wasn't very helpful.
As far as whether NC is worth the trip- it IS, but only if you are already looking to buy very high quality name brand furniture (pieces that typically are special ordered in your pick of fabrics and finishes). NC is not a great place to go if you're shopping primarily based on budget. You aren't going to find very low priced furniture, but if you were already prepared to pay $4000 for a leather Natuzzi couch from a local retailer, it's worth the trip to save 40% on it. If budget is your most important criteria, you're better off at IKEA or a local retailer that carries lesser known manufacturers catering to a lower price point. Just from personal experience, we did great at Furnitureland South- AMAZING selection and service in one stop. This author had little good to say about FLS but her hands-down favorite- Rose Furniture- was a total bomb- rotten service, cramped showroom and so-so selection.

The book is good, the savings are not
My wife and I decided to make a trip to NC for our 10th wedding anniversary. Figured since we were going to spend the money to go someplace anyway, we'd go figure out the NC furniture mysteries. This book was a great guide to helping us plan the trip. As for the contents, it is everything you need. But, make sure to update the store hours via the web or phone calls before you travel. Many of the stores had changed hours/days. In fact, one location that is prominantly mentioned as a cluster of many retailers, a good one stop shop, is almost out of business. Most retailers have left.

As for whether you save money shopping in NC, I really don't believe it. Before we left, we had found some furniture groups we liked here locally. We called several of the stores in this book for competitive quotes. The actual per piece price was about the same. Some were cheaper, some were more expensive, so the group price was about the same. Then you have to add on shipping. BTW, NC is collecting sales tax for most states now, so you won't save that, either. It would have cost more to buy in NC.

So we took the trip. Even writing off the entire cost of the trip, which is not insignificant, but since we were going to spend it to go someplace anyway, we didn't count it, we didn't see where you could save money if you have to have the furniture shipped. At best the savings were $50-$100 per peice. The liquidation outlets are something of a joke. We saw two women get into a fight over who could buy something that was damaged. We saw a bedroom suite "on clearance" that was within $100 as a group of what we saw it new for in a showroom earlier that morning. You might get lucky in a clearance center, but having seen what we did, I'd never go back. The Thomasville factory outlet was OK, but the selection was extraordinarily limited, and if you wanted a group, you were out of luck. But, it is the only way to get Thomasville cheaper than your local store.

Overall, the book is good, and it would be valuable to give you a few numbers to call to check your local retailer's prices. I am one of those people who research for a year before buying anything, and it is a good resource. However, unless you live in an increcibly inflated area such as New England/DC/NY area, you are going to end up spending the same or more by shopping NC. About the only advantage of going there in person is you can make one stop in Highpoint, by Furnitureland South, and in one day you can basically see every single piece of furniture currently made between the 6 stores clustered right there.

Savings are Overrated
I agree with a couple of previous reviewers that this book is a bit dated now and to check specifics before making the trip. I used this book before my first trip to shop High Point, and have made two subsequent trips. I agree that the savings are not that great, and if you have to ship, plus now pay tax, you will probably not save over your local retailer. I priced a Henredon bed and dresser at Boyle's, and my local store quoted the exact same price. In the end, Boyle's offered a 10% discount, free shipping (as they should on the amount I was spending) and no tax, so I saved a bit over my local store who would not offer a 10% reduction, but it was probably a wash after the trip expenses. You may save more if you live in an extremely price-inflated area. On the flip-side, you can indeed look, touch, and feel an incredibly wide variety of furniture in one day. Sitting on that couch that you are spending a couple of grand on cannot replace ordering it from your local retailer's catalog sight unseen. Second, if you live in a more rural area like I do - we have only one good furniture store - you get a much better idea of what is available to you. This book gives you some good basic information on the stores and the lines they carry. I agree with other reviewers that the service is not that great at most stores. I have never been able to get anyone to give me "design help" and the sales staff at most places will clearly size you up based on appearance, so if you want serious help, dress like you have some money to spend. Otherwise they are just order-takers. Be sure to visit manufacturer websites before you go to narrow down what you are looking for.