More junk from Wayfair

[JimMIA]

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.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sounds like a grab bag, yikes.
Thanks for sharing, we're getting a bigger place and need some things. Wayfair stuff usually look nice but I always wonder, I'll go to Christmas Tree & such. Who needs the annoyance?

 

[JimMIA]

Well, obviously this is just one family's very limited experience, and they've been good about refunds.

But so far, we've done "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on ME."

We're not going for "Three strikes and you're out!"

 

[kanerf]

It also does not help that the instructions were probably translated multiple times, losing a bit each time.

 

[piccolopat]

We've bought a number of things from Wayfair and everything was fine. Some assembly was a bit confusing but in the end everything worked out just fine. One unit had a broken support piece which Wayfair replaced. There is a lot of good quality stuff there but also a lot of junk. It's hard to tell the difference sometimes and I tend to read reviews both on and off their site before deciding to order something. So far I've ordered things without drawers (except a small oak foyer table that is very nice) or doors that had to be assembled because I think that's where problems would arise.

 

[3boymthr]

My coworker just bought a new 2700sf house, moved from a small studio apartment and needs to furnish the house. She ordered a bed, a couch, a side chair, side tables from Wayfair. The couch arrived with glue on it, the chair broke the first time her 6’7” husband sat in it. The bed is back ordered for six months and one of the tables arrived with a top that was cracked in half. They argued with her when she wanted to return the damaged items.

 

[nene0182]

The only thing I’ve ever bought from Wayfair is area rugs. I love their selection and the prices. Ordering furniture online makes me nervous.

 

[crazylady]

I've liked everything I've gotten from Wayfair and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality. Maybe I've been lucky? I have only purchased one piece of furniture.

 

[mefordis]

Do you think maybe the cabinet was damaged because a kid busted out of it in transit?

I'm sorry - I couldn't resist!

 

[neverlandsky]

We ordered from Wayfair. I don’t think it’s Wayfair. It’s just things aren’t built to last anymore. They lack quality. Our experience:

The sofa is cool. Comes apart in 4 pieces. Very easy to move. A huge plus. Yet 4 years later there’s multiple holes in it. The teens begged us to keep it because it’s comfortable and well we also let them eat on it. So keeping it until it falls apart or we’re empty nesters. It will fall apart before we become empty nesters.

Metal dining table. Came with a big scratch on it. Yet didn’t care. Wanted a table that could handle art, drinks, and just about anything. It has a weak spot in the middle where it pops up and down. Everyone complained about it at first, yet since everyone can do whatever on the table they stopped. It’s holding up. We will keep for awhile.

TV cabinet. First cabinet top was damaged. They sent us a new one. So we had 2. Cabinets didn’t quite line up. They were white and became discolored after 2 years. We’re super clean. No pets or smoke. So we took them apart and trashed them.

Youngest desk. Ordered last year. Desks were hard to come by given the whole online learning at home. It’s ok. Won’t last. Will get youngest through remaining years of school.

Would we order furniture from Wayfair again? Definitely not. It’s good for kids/teens and if you’re on a budget, yet for the long haul, not so great.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1412683498802823

 

[JimMIA]

Do you think maybe the cabinet was damaged because a kid busted out of it in transit?

Lol, no. It was obviously damage in shipment, which is most likely not Wayfair's fault.

(Unless they shipped it knowing it was damaged, but I do NOT think that was the case.)

 

[kymom99]

My brother and sister in law bought a bed frame from wayfair. They are both very large. I’m waiting to hear it collapsed.

 

[nicolita3]

I've ordered several things from wayfair and nothing has broken. Most items they have a link to the instructions so you can see how complicated things are to put together. I've bought a futon, tv stand, entry table, and a couple other things.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Eh not really a Wayfair problem. Just that type of furniture really. Laminate, particle board, mdf. All of that really common. Sometimes cheaply priced sometimes honestly not.

The little nails (and I hope you ended up figuring it out!) likely were to secure the backing of the small table assuming it had a solid back where you have a thin board that goes on the back and you nail along the border of it. If they weren't then I don't know what they would have belonged to but that was my immediate thought.

My mom got these from Office Depot https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/572831/Realspace-Magellan-72-5-Shelf-Contemporary/ and https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/678981/Realspace-Magellan-60-W-Corner-Desk/ and it was about 3 1/2 hours worth of assembly with my engineer husband do most of the work for both pieces (us helping with things)

We got this from Target https://www.target.com/p/mixed-mate...s/-/A-79368068?preselect=51111304#lnk=sametab and it was about an hour to put together two of them. And both nightstands had drawer issues. One catches on the bottom no matter what we do and the other is uneven.

None are of high quality. All had directions of what you had with mostly pictures very little words, and likely the same odds and ends of fasteners that looked odd and sheer number of them. My mom's thing did come with wood glue they wanted you to use for the pegs AND each step was individually packaged for the hardware. A ton of plastic waste, really awful for that but great for putting it together.

Oooh I almost forgot we also got a liquor cabinet though I don't have the link off hand. It's seems a bit better than the other things linked but had just the same stuff with the instructions and hardware.

Sure you can fault Wayfair for the damaged product but as for quality and lack of clear instructions unfortunately that is just more the norm in furniture making these days and isn't a Wayfair-beware IMO thing.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don’t think it’s Wayfair. It’s just things aren’t built to last anymore. They lack quality.

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.

 

[auntfrannie]

A few years back I ordered some really nice patio furniture from Wayfair. While it was a PITA to put together, it's good quality. My second purchase was an office chair that I don't think lasted a year. I just got rid of it and went back to my old chair. It's a crap shoot with Wayfair and some of the stuff isn't all that great when it comes to pricing.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That’s disappointing to hear. I have never ordered anything from them, but I know several people who work there. (It is local to me.) I have gotten many things at IKEA and they have all been good. DH can put anything together fairly easily (by just looking at the picture), fortunately. (I can not.)

I agree with others, a lot of things today are crap quality. I do a lot of my shopping at consignment, or even thrift shops, where I’d rather repurpose something that’s of better quality. A can of spray paint can work wonders with an older item.

 

[unrequited23]

We purchased an upholstered headboard from Wayfair and it worked out great. It's main purpose is to look nice and keep the pillow from wedging themselves between the bed and wall. I think Wayfair is ok for decorative but not heavy use items. My parents bought us a bookcase and it arrived scratched on one side. They called and Wayfair sent a new one and told them to keep the damaged one. So now I have two bookcases. We put the scratched one in DS 6 room (the original intended location) and the 'nice' one is in our living room.

 

[RedAngie]

I’ve long since given up buying any kind of furniture that needs assembly, even putting legs on a cabinet or upholstered chair. Much too complicated for me.