Furniture on Alibaba?

ra_mom

Sun, Jan 12 2020, 9:44 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Would you buy furniture there? They have gorgeous stuff like chandeliers, china cabinet, couches, etc. Do you think its free of lead and arsenic?

No real furniture like a couch or China closet.
Maybe maybe a chandelier or side table if it was under $100 and I was willing to throw out that $100 in case it wasn't good.
As for chemicals, as someone who has family that travels and imports from China, there is zero zero regulation so don't count on anything being safe for a toddler to lick or chew on.

amother

Sun, Jan 12 2020, 10:27 am

ra_mom wrote:

My friend bought her entire dining room set there for $13k and it is gorgeous. I'm just more concerned about safety...

Amarante

Sun, Jan 12 2020, 11:11 am

I would not do this because there are way too many pitfalls. Some items like chandeliers or plumbing fixtures may not be safe in terms of electrical hazards. The logistics of dealing with items that are not what you expected or of poor quality are unsurmountable - what are you going to do in terms of returning something?

I buy LOTS of stuff over the internet but with higher ticket items I only buy from reputable US based web sites and also from brands that I know are reviewed well. For tchotchkes or other incidental stuff, I am more likely to take a chance and even then occasionally something will be not as expected.

Ironically fairly recently I bought a smallish chest from a website based in Connecticut. I say ironically because it was Chinoiserie style and was imported from China by the store in Connecticut. The door fell off after I had opened it maybe five or six times. This I verify to be true because I wanted to buy some storage type of containers for internal organization so I measured the interior and ordered items from The Container Store and then waited until those were delivered. The door fell off while I was putting the boxes inside.

The store told me I should pack the chest up and return it at MY EXPENSE. Luckily I filed a claim with the credit card company and supplied them with a long letter from me explaining the circumstances - showing pictures - as well as a letter from a professional in the furniture business who wrote that it was the construction of the item which was at fault and that it wasn't my misuse. Ultimately the credit card company reversed the charges but the company is not happy and emailed me that they still want me to pack up the chest and return it. Honestly I don't know what will happen because the logistics of packing up a heavy piece of furniture and shipping it back to them are a bit overwhelming.

So yes I think that I got my money back although the company can still theoretically sue me for the cost of the chest but I would think twice about doing this especially with Chinese manufacturers who don't have as much quality control. Of course - again ironically - I got my copper kitchen sink from Havens Metal over the internet but I read the reviews very carefully and so knew what I was getting and I am currently waiting for delivery of two lucite tray tables - fingers crossed.

But I wouldn't even get a sofa or chair from the internet because I would want to be able to actually sit in it and see if it is comfortable.