Looking for some furniture for our living room, particularly a sofa and some chairs. I made some pretty bad mistakes in the past, and don't want to repeat those mistakes.

Oh well.... the sofa hasn't been delivered yet. I wish I had the option to change my mind, but don't know if there's much I can do at this point.

As you pointed out, any store that doesn't offer refunds probably isn't worthy of your money.

Went back to the store, and explained to the store manager that I had some doubts about the sofa we had purchased. Man, it was beautiful, but despite the big discount, it was still way more than we could afford. With my DH's diagnosis, I knew that we wouldn't be able to afford any more purchases, and that lovely sofa would end up sitting in that big, empty room all by it's lonesome self. Not to mention the fun our dogs would have with all the delicate, expensive looking pillows...

No problem. I was able to choose something else (since it wasn't delivered yet). They do have a no refund policy, but, the sign is very clear (I missed it on our first visit, but am glad I went there, now). The manager, Joe, was extremely nice, by the way...

Well, I got three - count 'em - three sofas for the same amt of $$. Our apt. is in a victorian house with really big rooms. I'm so happy with the purchases - oh, I also bought a very victorian style lampshade (a bit tilted- kinda like me) for $17, and a floor lamp (was supposedly broken - but guess what - I figured out the problem, and ta-ta - it works!) for the same price.

Also, I got one of the sofas - a leather settee, actually - for a good discount because a few of the buttons are missing. I plan to replace them, eventually, but most people haven't even noticed.

All in all, not only am I very pleased with my purchases, the whole experience was extremely pleasant, esp. considering the stress I was (am) under.

I'm staying away from that store only because I don't trust myself - we have plenty of furniture now.

Thanks.

That said, I need to give my update.

It all started when my oldest dog peed on my favorite of my three sofas, the Lido sofa. THAT was bad enough, right? Got some dog pee spray, which sort of helped, but not totally - the down cushions have no zipper so I can't get the inside at all.

Got really mad at the dog, but my poor dog has some serious health problems, and I waited too long to take him out... So who's fault was it, really?

Then this same sofa got a wobbly leg. That one will be easy to fix, but I need to get a rachet to tighten it.

My second favorite sofa is my Duchess leather settee. Well, one of the legs just fell off last week. This settee is seldom used, except for my three dogs - true to my name, I actually do have three dogs - who like to perch on it to look outside. The dogs range in size from 12lbs to about 75lbs, so we are not talking about a ton of weight.

What makes this so difficult is that for some reason, this sofa was not designed to be repaired. At least with the Lido, once I removed some of the bottom fabric, all I have to do is reach in back and tighten the bolt. It's difficult to explain, but when the sofa was made, they put the screw thing on the bottom of the frame, then nailed and stapled more wood on top of that. Not hardwood, but some sort of pine particle stuff....yeah, we are not talking top notch furniture construction here.

Ah well.... IF I had noticed the "no warranty" sign before I handed over my money, maybe I wouldn't have bought it there. Nah - I was exhausted from furniture shopping, my sweetie was in seriously poor health, and they have SUCH good sales.

Alas, it's not much of a bargain if it falls apart, is it?

So here I am, in my living room with one almost-going-to-fall-apart, somewhat stinky, yet still gorgeous sofa, and one leather settee with three legs and a stack of newspaper (set securely in a paper bag to prevent slipping).

The last sofa, which I have in another room, is fine - so far. Oddly enough it was the cheapest of the three.

Good thing I have a sense (somewhat twisted) of humor...