Is Your Local Furniture Store Delivery Really Free?

When your local brick and mortar furniture store offers free local delivery is it really free? Really think about this one. Nothing is free. Think about that one too. There is no "quid pro quo."

When you purchase a piece of furniture, it has to be delivered and set up in your home. The moment you purchase the furniture of your choice at a local brick and mortar furniture store, certain events start to take place. If that particular piece of furniture is not in stock, it has to be delivered from the manufacturer to the store's warehouse. If it's already in stock, it has to be picked up from the store's warehouse. The delivery staff, usually the store's own knowledgeable delivery staff, has to drive from the store's warehouse to the customer's home. Then the furniture is unloaded and placed inside the customer's home. If any assembly is required, the delivery staff graciously assembles all the pieces. This entire service in the furniture industry is well-known as White Glove Service.

Some of your local furniture stores may offer free delivery and set up (White Glove Service) locally. Is it really free though? The entire process that I described above costs money. The delivery staff doesn't work for free. The delivery truck itself is not free. The insurance for the truck is not free. The gas for the truck is not free. We are currently experiencing record high gasoline prices mainly due to high global gasoline demand in relation to supply. Other factors contributing to elevated gasoline prices are clashes in some of the main oil producing regions, not to mention the diminishing value of the U.S. dollar. In order to compensate for all of these costs, the furniture stores include all these costs in the price of every single piece of furniture that they sell. They make a profit from it. The furniture store like any other business exists in order to make a profit otherwise they would go out of business.

But, what if you want to pick up the furniture yourself and not have it delivered? Too bad. You are still paying for that delivery price that's tacked on the price of furniture. Is that really fair? In essence, you are paying much more for a particular piece of furniture. Isn't it better to charge a minimum delivery fee and give the customer an option to pick up the furniture? By doing so, the customer is not paying an inflated price.

So next time, if you're looking for a furniture store in New Jersey or anywhere else, go to the one that gives you this choice.