Shopping for Furniture: A Consumers Guide

I knew nothing about the details of furniture construction before I read this book. I now feel confident in shopping for all types of furniture. I can now look for signs of quality construction and ask the right questions to let the salepeople know I'm not willing to buy just on looks. The details of how certain pieces are made is important for longevity. Highly recommended read!

Locate furniture which fits into budget and home and understand the basics of its construction and marketing using the second updated edition of Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer's Guide as your personal advisory. Leonard Bruce Lewin has sold furniture to stores and consumers for over 35 years: his background provides insider's advice on everything from distinguishing sales prices from daily prices to understanding newspaper ads and big-store sales approaches. Now in a fully updated second addition, Shopping For Furniture promises lasting library reference value, with its clear tips on judging value and prices.

I am one of the lucky ones in that I was introduced to furniture quality by my Home Economic teacher 35 years ago. Unfortunately, I have watched friends and relatives repeatedly replace furniture because they only bought on looks and could not tell the difference between a $700 leather sofa and a $3500 one. This book is great! It tells new consumers what to look for and what they are paying for. The illustrations are great and the terminology is easy to understand. Mr. Lewin does not suggest that you buy only top of the line furniture; he urges you to consider the purpose and the abuse/use a piece of furniture will take. Furniture shopping to me is like looking in a museum. Although I knew a lot, I still found things to highlight in his book. I plan on buying this book for Christmas, wedding and graduation gifts.

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.

I was well equipped to shop for furniture after reading Mr. Lewin's informative book. I took the book shopping with me and the sight of it alone made salespeople wary! (Kind of evened the playing field!) A delightfully written, very helpful text for old and new shoppers alike.