More junk from Wayfair

[jackers]

I’ve ordered from Wayfair and haven’t had any major issues (one issue of shipping damage that they rectified immediately). One thing I do to try and avoid what you are describing is I will not buy anything that doesn’t have solid reviews that include comments about assembly. So far it’s worked, but could just be luck.

 

[snappy]

Our youngest daughter has done really well by buying and selling used wooden pieces on Facebook marketplace. That said, she bought her bed frame and couch new. She had to order the couch at a furniture store in the city where she lives last summer, and it took months for delivery.

 

[kdonnel]

Years ago I reached that point in my life where I stopped buying furniture that required customer assembly.

Furniture costs much more this way but tends to last much longer.

 

[kymom99]

I really don't remember where I saw it from (maybe from a Netflix docuseries/limited series thing) but they were going over how furniture making has changed over the years. Ohhh wait it was about the rise of IKEA I believe (at least I think). How consumers shifted to wanting cheaper furniture, how companies responded to that and started making cheaper furniture which can be seen as a negative but is also how many people can afford things that used to be more of a "fancy" kind of thinking. Anyways solid wood out, cheaper alternatives in. And the furniture is more designed in such a way that breaking it or wear and tear often just means disposing of it and getting a new one cost-wise and parts-wise.

A variety of products are that way, tvs, microwaves, fridges, etc. Our microwave went caput just before the 1 year warranty was up, had the service man out and it wasn't doing what it was doing so he couldn't really look at it. He told me that in all honesty by the time you get a technician out, add up parts and then labor the costs of what may be the problem (which he was thinking the magnetron) it would have cost more than getting a brand new microwave. He was not wrong. We ended up using a microwave from college days for like 6 years before finally replacing it last year (by the way trim kits are stupid expensive for most of the time a piece of plastic).

So part consumer-fault, part manufacturer.

Yes if people will buy it, can’t fault them for making things this way.

 

[ronandannette]

I’m in the market for a new living room set and have been browsing Wayfair. It’s tempting because of their large selection and I like things that are a little different and am hoping for a specific colour. After reading these threads though and looking at some of the customer photos in the reviews, the difference between how pieces look on-line and in real life are kind of shocking. I don’t have the greatest luck with on-line shopping in general so I think I’ll just take a hard pass.

FWIW, the Wayfair stuff that catches my eye isn’t particularly inexpensive and a lot of it has very long delivery dates too. I’ll choose something from a local chain and my criteria will be: a) made in Canada; b) comes fully assembled; and c) is in stock or at least a regular part of their inventory with a reasonable delivery date. I know this will really limit the selection but I’ll make it work.

 

[china mom]

My limited experience with Wayfair has been mostly positive. I ordered an "assembley required" entertainment stand that is exactly what I expected for the price... nice enough but not high end materials.

I ordered a loveseat that came in four snap together pieces that is in a very low use area. I would not expect it to stand up to daily use but it looks nice enough and suits my purpose for the price.

I bought two already assembled night stands which I love. They are high quality, solid wood and look great. They arrived undamaged.

Then I ordered the 72 inch long entertainment center - fully assembled and not cheap. It arrived very poorly packaged with a missing door knob, and racked so that one cabinet door wouldn't stay closed and the other one rubbed. I reported the problem online and was sent a new one with instructions to do what I wanted withthe old one, along with links to placed that would pick it up for free.

Well, while there is no way I would have been satisfied with the cabinet in that shape for the money I paid, free is a different story. I managed to repair it and replace the knobs and am very happy.

The replacement arrived and the packaging was night an day. It was in perfect condition.

I am very happy with their refund/replacement policy. I rely heavily on the reviews and the specifications (solid wood vs composite)

 

[billlaurie]

I have bought a bunch of furniture from Wayfair such as benches, small cabinets and tables. Most has been very nice but I rely heavily on reviews. I have two instances where there were issues with things broken or damaged and Wayfair sent new product. The customer service is fantastic.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have bought a bunch of furniture from Wayfair such as benches, small cabinets and tables. Most has been very nice but I rely heavily on reviews. I have two instances where there were issues with things broken or damaged and Wayfair sent new product. The customer service is fantastic.

I always look at the 1 or 2 stars first. I want to know if something sounds more like user error (which also helps me figure out if my skill level or my husband's skill level is feasible) or if it's truly defective products or just not worth any money whatsoever. A lot of "it took me..." is skill dependent and how many people helped. I know for my mom's furniture there was a review I believe that said something like 5 or 6 hours for one of those it took the person (IIRC). That person should have probably never bought that product.

 

[Christine]

Wayfair is very hit or miss. I totally avoid anything like tables or shelves because it's mostly that pre-fab crap and they are asking way too much money for it. Honesty, Ikea does "pre fab" really well and if I'm in the mood for something like that, that's where I get it from. Never had one issue with Ikea for a cheap shelf or cabinet.

But, I did need a very unique-sized chair for my living room. I wanted a chaise type thing that looked just like a chair, I wanted it in navy blue and I couldn't find one anywhere locally. I went on Wayfair, found it under their custom furniture. They named it one of their weird brand names. I ordered it, came about 8 weeks later, and too my surprise, the entire chair was made by a small North Carolina furniture company. It is an extremely high quality chaise/chair. I did pay about $650 for it which wasn't bad at all. I was shocked.

 

[NotUrsula]

With case goods, I've had better luck with Hayneedle (and yeah, Walmart now owns them.) Their Catskill Craftsmen brand in particular is very good -- solid hardwood. It is sold flat-pack and doesn't come in multiple finishes, but it's good quality. I don't mind painting it for the price (staining is a bit more of a PITA, because it comes with a clearcoat finish that has to be sanded off first.)

 

[fortwildernessishome]

We have purchased 4 things from Wayfair and all 4 items have been great. I read a TON of reviews before each purchase and I knew that Wayfair was not the place to go for high end furniture.

I would definitely buy from them again!

 

[kanerf]

The problem is all of this poorly made imported garbage. Americans want cheap and cheap is what they get. I live in PA. Amish country. You want a good table or chest of drawers, you get it from them. It won't be cheap, but your great grand children can hand it down to theirs.

 

[cleverclovers]

A few weeks ago, we got a floor-standing cabinet from Wayfair that DW wanted to put in our kitchen to hold some odds and ends. The cabinet arrived looking like it had been in a train wreck. The box was damaged, both doors were way crooked, and one of the four legs was broken completely off. The material in the cabinet was also super-cheap (although the cabinet's normal price was $600+) -- compressed sawdust with a cheap laminate. In their defense, they gave us a full refund and told us not to ship it back. It's not even fit for a garage sale item, so I took it to the dump last week.

As a replacement for a bare spot on the wall, DW ordered a small table with one drawer from Wayfair. It was an adventure, and not in a good way:

• I'm a person who has learned that it's a good idea to read assembly instructions before trying to put something together. Directions 1 - 4 were nothing but pictures of pieces and hardware items, with arrows showing how the fit together.
• Instruction #5, the final one, showed a picture of something short and straight, but you couldn't tell anything about it except that there were 20 of them used in this step. Upon opening the hardware packet, I realized they were little nails. There was no picture showing what to use them for -- just a picture of a nail with the number 20 next to it. Not even a hint about where they went.
• I was struck by the number of pieces of hardware in this kit. Not talking about pieces of fake wood (there were 15 of those) -- I mean nuts/bolts, screws, and all sorts of weird pieces which I have no clue about. So I got out my cellphone and added the numbers up. 128 assorted hardware items, including more than 20 each of four items. 128 hardware pieces -- and I'm not joking and did NOT make this up!
• I'm not a master carpenter by any means, but I'm modestly handy. I spent an hour trying to figure out and accomplish Instruction #1. It involved 8 screw-like thingees, 8 little wood pegs, and 8 of the weird pieces I don't even know how to describe. The objective of Instruction #1 was to join one of the 2 sets of legs of the table together with two pieces of fake wood. I worked more than an hour, and never got the first screw-like thingee installed properly.
• Needless to say, the table is going back and DW has been advised to never order anything from Wayfair again.

Maybe try IKEA?

 

[TCRAIG]

IMO - better to buy good solid furniture second hand than the press wood/laminate junk you order...Goodwill, Habitat Resale stores, local consignment stores - it’s worth looking around...

 

[ronandannette]

I always look at the 1 or 2 stars first. I want to know if something sounds more like user error (which also helps me figure out if my skill level or my husband's skill level is feasible) or if it's truly defective products or just not worth any money whatsoever. A lot of "it took me..." is skill dependent and how many people helped. I know for my mom's furniture there was a review I believe that said something like 5 or 6 hours for one of those it took the person (IIRC). That person should have probably never bought that product.

This is exactly what I do. As a warranty manager with about 1,000 years experience, I have a sense about how people phrase their complaints and what exactly they're complaining about. Many two-star reviews are based on perceived short-coming I couldn't care less about or it's obvious (to me) the buyer is inept or had unrealistic expectations. It doesn't necessarily mean the item won't be suitable for me. Same on the other end of the spectrum - unless a 5-star review specifically addresses questions I have, I don't put a ton of stock in them.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is exactly what I do. As a warranty manager with about 1,000 years experience, I have a sense about how people phrase their complaints and what exactly they're complaining about. Many two-star reviews are based on perceived short-coming I couldn't care less about or it's obvious (to me) the buyer is inept or had unrealistic expectations. It doesn't necessarily mean the item won't be suitable for me. Same on the other end of the spectrum - unless a 5-star review specifically addresses questions I have, I don't put a ton of stock in them.

Not furniture related but a few months ago I bought 4 unframed prints from Amazon to be used for a project. The description said "Printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper" (and the images from it clearly showed paper) and wouldn't you believe that the only 1 star was because "It is on paper!!!!"

 

[kanerf]

IMO - better to buy good solid furniture second hand than the press wood/laminate junk you order...Goodwill, Habitat Resale stores, local consignment stores - it’s worth looking around...

I very much agree. I bought a solid maple china cabinet at my local consignment store for less than $200. A new one and not necessarily all maple would be more than $1000.

 

[Kellykins1218]

My sister-in-law remodeled and bought all new furniture from Wayfair. All of it is really nice quality and very comfortable. The only problem they had was they shipped the wrong sectional (the chaise was on the wrong end) but they sent the new one and told them to keep the one they sent by mistake. I don't know if it was because a pandemic shipping issue or what but we all thought it was kind of crazy.