Attractive merchandise, but have you seen their delivery charges?
Written: Mar 08 '11
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The product line-up at Design within Reach includes some really nice stuff. I have to compliment the store for paying attention to the trends and searching for desirable models (just check out their website). But "within reach" needs to be further defined: the prices are pretty high, and the delivery charges are just plain ridiculous.
For me, "within reach" also had a literal meaning: I used to live within two blocks from one of the DWR stores. So when in need of a convertible sofa for our guest room, I naturally went there. By that time, I had already researched the market and had found several attractive options, and it was mostly the proximity of Design within Reach that made me choose their Twilight sleeper sofa - a winner of a furniture competition at a Danish school of architecture.
The price was somewhat disappointing, however, because this simple piece of furniture (placed alongside the couch, the top cushion serves as half the sleeping area) cost over $1,600. And that was a couple of years ago - today, the same sofa costs $1,880 - I just checked. The staff of the store were moderately helpful: they did show me how the couch works, but got easily distracted while writing up the purchase - there were phone calls, questions from other customers, etc... But on the whole, it was an uneventful transaction.
And now to the fun part: living within walking distance from the store, I expected to be able to either pick up the item myself, or have it dilivered at a minimal price. No such luck: it turned out that the store only holds display samples, and all the items have to be shipped from their warehouse.
And here the store's delivery policy kicked in: would I like a simple or "white-glove" delivery, they asked. I was leaning towards simple ($150), because there is nothing complicated about taking a packaged piece of furniture upstairs with the help of a service elevator. "Oh, but "simple" implies delivery only to the front door of your building..." I had never heard of such trickery before and almost cancelled the whole deal at this point. But I did need a sleeper for a friend's upcoming visit, so we kept talking.
Subsequently, I was informed that for an additional fee, my little helpers from Design within Reach would agree to take the sofa upstairs - this time, to the front door of my apartment. But to have it assembled, I would have to part with yet another $100. Frankly, at this point, the whole deal looked like blatant blackmail to me, but I had no other option, but to agree to the apartment-door delivery ($240 total), hoping that my son would be able to help me with the assembly.
As it turns out, I should not have bothered: the guys who actually delivered the sofa a week later were happy to take $20 for the assembly and said that they would have gladly taken the piece upstairs at no additional fee. But there was certainly no way of knowing that ahead of time.
So where do things stand now? Today, I decided against ordering an arm chair from Design within Reach, because according to their website, standard delivery on a $1,500-$3,000 item amounts to 7% of the price and "offers delivery right to your front door (if the destination is an apartment or multi-unit building, the order will be delivered inside the entrance to the building)" - very helpful, right?
For an additional fee of $350 (!), they offer you white-glove delivery, which includes "a delivery appointment, inside delivery, assembly and placement in your room of choice and removal of all packing materials". I dunno - all that always seemed like part of a standard delivery to me. And mind you, they are not talking about taking away your old piece of furniture - they want that kind of money for removing the materials they brought your purchase in! Here, I have to add that "the delivery window for White Glove service is typically 2–3 weeks from the day your order is placed". I have no further comments.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? sleeper sofa
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About the Author
Location: New York
Reviews written: 83
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