Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer's Guide [Paperback]

Leonard Bruce Lewin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Of critical interest to anyone considering a major furniture purchase, this guide seeks to make consumers experts on buying residential furniture. Focusing on informed purchasing and shopping for value, not simply price, it covers topics such as differentiating between two seemingly identical pieces of furniture at vastly different prices and recognizing the features comprising a quality piece of furniture. Open stock items, the differences between bona fide sale prices and everyday pricing, and discounters in North Carolina are addressed. Comparisons between several name brands are also provided.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leonard Bruce Lewin worked in the residential furniture industry for 35 years as a sales representative for Drexel-Heritage and is considered an expert in the retail furniture industry. He lives in Folsom, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Linden Publishing; 2nd edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941936872
• ISBN-13: 978-0941936873
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,173,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb guide covering raw materials through retailers, October 25, 1999

By 

Patrick M Hauck ([e-mail]) (Doylestown, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer's Guide (Paperback)

Mr. Lewin's guide was the most complete source I could find covering everything from different types of raw materials used in making furniture to how to buy from retailers. He has amassed a wealth of knowledge in his 36 years in the business and shares the information in an enjoyable manner. He covers topics such as veneering and leather quality with such finesse that the average person comes away feeling like an expert. The book was indispensable in helping me deal with retailers by giving me the confidence and power to sift through superfluous information and get to the essential facts. Mr. Lewin was even so kind as to return my phone call to answer a question I had about a certain manufacturer.

I believe this book would be of great value to anyone interested in the construction and purchase of fine quality furniture.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, and a great help., November 8, 2005

By 

Laura (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer's Guide (Paperback)

I wish I could give this book more than five stars. I have made lots of furniture mistakes over the years, and now I can begin to see why. The next best thing to this book would be having Leonard Lewin by your side when you shop for furniture! He takes you through the basics (wood, wood veneer, wood finishing, shopping for wood, basic furniture construction and pieces, upholstery, leather, personal style, going to stores, dealing with sales personnel and designers, interpreting advertising). What's more, he lists brands and stores to think about and visit, by area, name and volume). This book will be extremely useful to me, and I plan to reread several of the chapters before buying any furniture. The tone of the book is easygoing and informative, never dull. Most of all, his philosophy that while being an expert helps, all of us can do enough homework to understand what we need to bring to the furniture buying experience. I highly recommend this book, and plan to go back to it in the future (maybe even keep it in the car, since I wouldn't be able to hide it in the store).

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better for high end furniture, only OK for mid to low range, August 20, 2003

By 

brains_and_budget (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer's Guide (Paperback)

As a person looking to make several major furniture purchases, I bought this book looking for a way to learn the difference between a $600 and a $1000 sofa, as well as other furniture items. The book was only a little helpful in this regard. The author is a retired retail furniture salesman, and the book comes across somewhat as his personal swan song. It has a tone of "the good old days of retail when service mattered and a brand name like X really meant someting." The author definitely favors big brand names, and especially those at the high end of the spectrum. He includes some information about shopping for furniture in North Carolina, some info. about furniture care, and a little information about furniture prices and getting a good deal. I learned a little about what to look for in purchasing furniture, and figured out that furniture stores play all kinds of games with pricing, but that is about it. Still, if you are like me and are starting with very low level of knowledge and can't stomach spending one or two thousand dollars without doing some product research, this book will at least provide some information.