I found Boyles to be quite pricey on certain items. The fact that they now charge tax to deliveries in NY, made my decision simple. I went with a local retailer (who was having a great sale) and couldn't be happier.

I was in the market for Flexsteel furniture which Furnitureland South in NC sells. We have bought furniture from them before so I was keeping them as an option.

I found a Flexsteel furniture dealer in my hometown and went there one morning. There was one gentleman working and he was with some customers. I had my 5 1/2 year old DD and niece with me and as I was looking through the fabric samples I heard him tell the kids to stay off the furniture. Fine -- he then asked if he could help me. I told him I wanted pricing on a couch I saw online. He told me he can't help me and I'd have to come back after 12:00 noon and talk to so-and-so. Ok -- whatever, why would they put an employee in the store that can't price a couch? Since I was still babysitting that afternoon, I decided to call the store instead. I asked for the lady he told me to talk to -- the person who answered said she was busy. She took my name and number to give to the lady -- needless to say I never heard from her. Too bad -- they just lost a $3,000 order.

My DH and I went to different store about 20 miles away two days later (without the kids). The salesman spent 2 hours with us pricing furniture, going through fabric samples, etc... We had an great experience and spent $3,000 in the store that day.

On the way home, I told my DH, there was no way I could have taken up 2 hours of that man's time and then ordered furniture from NC instead. DH agreed.

I also have to add that the fabric I chose online that I thought was perfect --- HATED it when I actually saw the sample in the store. What a huge mistake I would have made ordering this without feeling and touching each fabric sample. And there is no way that a store in NC was going to send me the amount of samples that I would have needed to make my decision.

Lastly, last time we got furniture from NC (child's bedroom) we got a nice tax bill from the state of MI many, many months later.

IMO you should treat Boyles as another option. Don't just think they are the only choice, or automatically think they will have the best price for you. We shopped around for a lot of furniture in the last year, and in some cases, Boyles was the cheapest (in which case, we bought from them) and in other cases they were not. this was especially true for items that were not on sale at Boyles, but were on sale at another store when we were ready to buy. Also, Boyles does not carry all manufacturers. So if there's something you love and want, and they don't carry it, well, you're definitely going to have to get it somewhere else. I recall that the prices I got for the items ultimately purchased from Boyles totally knocked the others out of the running. When I told one store what I was quoted for a specific sofa (I didn't mention it was Boyles per se, just that it was another store) the guy actually did not believe me. He said they could never sell that particular item at that price.

I can say, with agreement to other posters on this forum, that the delivery guys from Boyles (and we've had several shipments from them) are top notch. Courteous, clean, on time, professional all around. Also, the order process is fast and easy. No hard sell, no haggling. Tell them what you want, they tell you the price, and then proceed with the order when you're ready.

On the other hand, I also agree that if you can support your local retailer - whether it is furniture or any other item, please do! However, I have a percentage barrier which is my limit. If the local retailer costs less, well, duh, I will go with him. And even if they are a little more, I may still go with them because I like to support local businesses and want to keep variety in my general area. I like the one-on-one attention a local retailer can provide, who is in my area code, where I know I can stop by (or speak to a manager) should there ever be a problem. That is worth something to me.

However, if the local price is significantly more than the competition, sorry, I'm going elsewehere. My local retailer has to pay bills, but guess what, I do too...
I already know I won't have any issues with Boyles-- in the order, in the delivery. If they can also save me a lot of money, then the check goes to them.

I just ordered some H&M chairs - I got pricing from Boyle's and went to see the leather swatches and hopefully sit in a chair at my (somewhat) local store. Boyle's did only marginally (very marginally) better in pricing than my local store, so the business went to them. I liked the salesman (he was actually the manager of the store) - he spent a lot of time with me, was friendly, personable and I felt good about buying from him. Only thing is, ouch! 12 weeks! Yikes - why so long? (I read here before, Duane, that you can get them faster - perhaps I should have asked them to see if they could expedite it).

All things being equal, I would prefer to buy local - but Boyle's was very helpful,nice, fairly priced and under different circumstances, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them.

I phoned Boyle's for a price quote for a sofa I saw on their website. It was supposedly on sale but was much more expensive than a similar sofa I had seen locally. When I told the salesperson that it was too pricey, she didn't flinch nor offer a better price. In addition, she had never heard of Knoll designs!!! What kind of furniture salesperson has never heard of this design firm? So much for Boyle's and its rather clueless salesperson.

I have been shopping for H&M chairs for some time and wanted to throw my 2cents in. I started shopping at my local hometown furniture store. First, they only have maybe two H&M peices to look at and sit on. Second, the salesperson, while very nice and personable, was very uneducated on the products. Lastly, they quoted me prices up to 2 1/2 times other dealers!

I called Boyles and was so impressed with the salesman, I drove 2 1/2 hrs to Hickory to check out the chairs. Well, they didn't have exactly all the chairs the salesman thought he did, but it wasn't a wasted trip. I looked at the products they had, ruled some out, priced what I wanted. If they had it "in stock" the price is competitive; for a chair that needed to be ordered, their price wasnt't the best.

I drove to Farmville VA to Greenfront and was very impressed with the selection. Kim is very knowledgeable with the products they have. In my research, they have the best prices for the items they have "in stock", competitive on items that need to be ordered.

I have also spoken with Duane Collie. By far the most knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I've priced the chairs that I want and if I need to order, his prices are good. If I like the color stocked by the other guy, I can save a few dollars. I don't think I can go wrong buying from Duane.

Bottom line, my local dealer seams like he's not interested in my business. I know what I want and will wait until I can afford it before I settle for something inferior. And, I'm willing to place my business with someone that prices their products competitively and demonstrates thorough knowledge and passion for the products they sell. Boyles was an good experience, but the pricing was not as competitive as Duane or Greenfront. I hope to get something bought or ordered in the next month or so!

In addition, she had never heard of Knoll designs!!! What kind of furniture salesperson has never heard of this design firm?

That would be most retail sales people. For residential furniture Knoll is very much a niche product. The vast majority of their products are for office, medical, and hospitality customers.