Problems with Thomasville Furniture

15 years ago

My wife and I recently purchased a Felicity Sunlit Cherry Bedroom Suite from Thomasville Furniture. Our Thomasville saleswoman had led us to believe that our Thomasville furniture would be made in North Carolina, but when it was delivered we discovered that it was all made in China. Thomasville had built its reputation on delivering high quality American-made furniture from North Carolina -- but it appears that those days are now long gone.

The fit & finish of our Thomasville made-in-China furniture was poor. There's really no other way to describe it. Our bedroom suite has a total of 28 drawers. Many drawers weren't centered in their openings; some drawers were recessed in too far, and other drawers extended out too far. After 2 visits from Thomasville's repair people, we still have: 8 drawers not centered in their openings; 13 that extend out too far; and 7 that are recessed in too far. Thomasville's repair people told us that our remaining problems were non-repairable. So I guess we'll just have to learn to live with this poor quality.

When we purchased our furniture, we specifically asked our Thomasville saleswoman what kind of wood was used in its construction. She told us it was "entirely cherry". When we later asked Thomasville's repair people that same question, they looked at our furniture and readily identified over 5 different species of wood -- just one was cherry, and at least 2 were obscure, unidentifiable Chinese hardwoods. What we actually received was quite different from what we paid for. When we brought this to the attention of the management of our Thomasville dealer, they completely ignored our complaint.

At first glance, Thomasville's construction quality appeared to us to be quite good (i.e., dovetail drawers, etc.). But in places where it wouldn't be quite as obvious to a customer, some of the furniture's joints are held together with staples. That doesn't instill much confidence that the furniture will last for more than a few years. We would have expected to find that kind of cheap construction in bedroom suites that cost under $1,500 -- but not in a Thomasville bedroom suite that cost us over $5,000!

My wife's dresser arrived with a large 10" circular hole in the back of the cabinet. Rather than repairing this damage "before" the furniture was shipped, Thomasville's factory instead tried to conceal the damage by screwing a large Masonite panel over the hole. While Thomasville repaired the damaged back panel "after" we discovered it, the point is that Thomasville deliberately shipped severely damaged furniture to a customer with the hope that the damage would never be discovered. That's not what one would expect from a quality "world class" furniture brand.

Thomasville's furniture is shipped with a Chinese "plasticized" finish. In our experience, it attracts dust like a magnet and unlike a quality lacquered or varnished finish it's relatively soft and easily damaged. According to Thomasville's "printed furniture care instructions" my wife and I are not suppose to allow synthetics, rubber, or plastics to rest on the wood finish as they may damage the finish. That, of course, prohibits placing most lamps, clocks, radios, TVs, pens, etc. on top of your Thomasville furniture unless you first modify the bottoms of those products.

Everything at Thomasville seems to now be focused on charging its customers as much as possible, while at the same time cutting its costs as much possible. Even the screws that hold the knobs to the drawers have been cost-cut. Rather than extending the screws into the knobs by at least 3/8", they just barely touch the knob. The cost savings across an entire bedroom set has to be less than a dollar -- and yet amazingly Thomasville still went for it.

After contacting our local Thomasville dealer several times about many of these problems and receiving no satisfaction, my wife and I wrote to Ed Teplitz, president of Thomasville Furniture Industries -- and also to Ralph Scozzafava, CEO of Furniture Brands International. Furniture Brands International owns Thomasville, along with Broyhill, Lane, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, and Maitland-Smith. Neither of them ever responded to us. That pretty much sums-up our Thomasville customer satisfaction experience.

Featured Answer

dcollie

15 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Bill,

I'm not surprised, honestly. This is pretty much the norm for the Chinese-made furniture industry regardless of the brand label attached to the product.

The furniture business is a formula about time management in conjunction with labor and material costs. When a maker attempts to produce goods that target a certain price point market, they must reduce some aspects of the production operation to meet those goals.

A trained American craftsperson in the furniture business earns about $ 25.00 per hour on average, which bills out in shop time hours to around $ 60.00 per hour after benefits added such as Workers Comp, Health Insurance, 401K, Social Security and Medicare - plus Unemplyment taxes and the like that the employer must pay. In China, the workers earn .50 an hour and there are no benefits per say. So obviously, the reduction in the labor costs is massive. This is the primary reason for the move to China.

Materials. There is a huge increase in exporting American lumber to Pacific Rim countries to take advantage of the cheap labor. Exports of both solids and veneers are up 13 to 15 % per year, every year, with Vietnam becoming a very aggressive buyer of raw lumber as they challenge the Chinese for a part of the finished American furniture market share. All in all, the wood used in much of the imports is not too bad, but its not the Selects and better that are being shipped to the Pacific Rim. Finishes are like wood as well, there are expensive ones, and cheap ones (raw cost). Guess what goes on price point furniture?

Production. Speed = profits. A highly skilled woodworker can only work so fast, so in order to get pieces out the door you have to modify how they are put together if you want a volume increase. Virtually every large shop now has CNC computer-controlled cutters that require a software person to program more than a woodworker. They run unattended and only require someone to load blanks in one end and remove the output later on. Backboards on furniture have been replaced by Masonite, because its faster to cut out a piece of Masonite than to fit individual backboards, saves about an hour in time. Hinges are moving to simple screw in kitchen-style that sit on the face of the piece (15 minutes) rather than those that have to be cut in and fit (2 hours). Drawer bottoms are Luan Plywood rather than pine of poplar not so much for material costs but its so much faster to fit them that way. Wood pulls get screwed on rather than bore and wedge fit, and finishes are shot with high-speed pigmented dyes/cheap topcoats rather the hand-applied anilines. The list goes on and on and on.

Its not that these companies don't know how to make it correctly....they do. Rather the average American consumer has refused to support traditional USA-made furniture because they simply recoil at the prices.

I was in this business back in the early 90's when the move was afoot to take business to China and cut costs. I remember the excitement of the company executives and how their eyes would light up when they would declare "We'll be able to offer what you see now for half the price of what we currently sell it for". Most did a phased transition over five years or more, moving 10 to 15% a year of their production operation to China until they totally ceased US operations.

When you think about it, the costs savings must be massive. To take all your designs (and setups) and transfer them to China for production, ship the raw stock lumber (not cheap, lumber is heavy), make it, package it, then ship it in a container all back and put it back on a train when it gets offloaded in California...its just staggering the amount of effort required to get it made by cheap hourly help.

Truth be told, you would probably recoil at what your bedroom suite would cost if you had it USA-made the proper way by American craftsmen. When you say $ 5,000 for the suite I think "Well, that about covers the bed" on high quality items. I'm not sure what all was in your suite, but add two chests, a pair of nightstands and a mirror to the mix and $ 12K to $ 15K is where you would be on properly made pieces done in America.

At the end of the day, your get what you pay for. Learn what makes a quality piece of furniture (it takes a bit of time to get an education in it, lots of good info here on this forum if you dig it out), and then go into the stores and start pulling drawers out - see for yourself before you buy. Then you have to decide what features you are willing to give up to get within a price point you are comfortable with.

Thomasville (and so many other companies) have given the American consumer exactly what they have been asking for. Inexpensive furniture not built to last, but built to a price point. It looks good on day 1 to the average consumer but its not designed to last or wear well. I carry no Chinese/Vietnamese/Taiwanese/Indonesian furniture in my store nor will I ever. I've seen the quality of these pieces and don't want to deal with the customer dissatisfaction/complaints after the sale.

Buying quality furniture means you have to decide if you're willing to pay the price. For a lot of folks its outside their budget. However, on the plus side of it all, once you get past the prices and have the pieces, they perform and age well for generations.

-Duane Collie

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Comments (17)

chelsee001
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Last year I purchased a Thomasville bedroom set and so far have been very happy. The headboard was crack, it was noticed on delivery and the delivery men called then and ordered a new one. I'm not an expert on furniture but my husband was a carpenter and has built furniture in the past and I have not heard any complaints from him about the quality except for the price $8K. The $2K bedroom set I bought for my son several years ago is already starting to peel. Sorry to hear about your issues.
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naimgaim
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Duane, can you list some furniture brands that still make their products in the USA?

I recently bought a bedroom set from the Bernhardt's Wilshire Blvd collection and was not particularly happy with the quality of construction on our dresser. Everything was made in Thailand (or Malaysia, I can't recall). Good thing Noel furniture offers 40% off of retail price everyday on their Bernhardt line. Had I paid full retail, I would deeply regret my purchase.
dcollie
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Other then upholstery products I'm not mainstream into 'brand names' on wood furniture, sorry. So that's a bit outside my expertise, though I believe Henkel Harris and Kindell are still all USA-made. In my store I have furniture from small craftsman operations with names you've never heard of because many are one or two-man shops, specializing in American Period Reproductions. However, if you want to take a look at some finely made pieces, this is one of my master cabinentmakers who works out of a barn built in 1820 behind his house, and he build everything with him and one other person. I'm sure its not for everyone here, but you might find it fun to look at.

Duane Collie

Here is a link that might be useful: Master Cabinetmaker
texanjana
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I have been very frustrated but also very enlightened by this whole offshore furniture-making world we live in now. It's been quite a few years since I have purchased furniture, and I am so glad to have found this forum before making my purchases. I am shopping for a new breakfast table and chairs. The attitude of my local furniture salespeople seems to be that almost all furniture is made in Asia now, and that is just the way it is. As an informed consumer, I refuse to accept that and just let the American furniture industry die.

In the lines I have shopped, many of the Asian-made products are just as pricey as their American-made counterparts. Brands such as Henredon, Drexel and Ethan Allen are continuing to trade on name recognition from the past while now making an inferior product. They can keep their stuff, I'll most likely be purchasing a Nichols & Stone table. Still searching for comfortable chairs!

If you go to Black's Furniture's website, they have a category for American manufacturers who still make their furniture in the US. I am not endorsing Black's since I haven't purchased from them, but they do have a good website.

Duane Collie - Thanks so much for your always useful and informative information.

Jana

Here is a link that might be useful: Black's Furniture
coleen3201118
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Nichols & Stone is built in the USA. Our dining room set is by them and we love it. The chairs are incredibly comfortable!
texanjana
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Yes, it is and that is why I said I'll most likely be purchasing their table. I just wish they made chairs with upholstered backs similar to the Hickory White ones I love. I find them much more comfortable than the N&S wooden-backed chairs, I just cannot afford $1,100 per chair for the Hickory White times 6 chairs for a breakfast room!
susanlynn2012
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
After my furniture fiasco with Stanely Manufacturing in which I was shocked that my furniture arrived so damaged and mismatched in color, and after reading this post and many other posts where companies are now producing their products in China, I will never buy furniture made in China again.

Thank you for the warning. Sorry about learning the hard way like I did. I ended up buying solid Maple wood furniture from Durham that only costs a litte bit more since I added an Armoire. I was amazed that the prices were not that different and the Durham Furniture was quality made in Canada. Also I had a great experience with the Flemington Department Store in NJ. I want to not be known for just complaining and have learned to give praise where praise is due but warn others when there are problems to help others like they have helped me.
dg926
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Can you kindly share the name of the Flemington store where you purchased Durham furniture? Thank you in advance.
mogator88
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
There is a trend here in the US to play off and take advantage of peoples fears. Many people will buy brands like Thomasville simply because the name creates a false impression of quality and of a safe purchase.

Thomasville is a name. Nothing more. They contract with factories in China. You pay more because you think Thomasville means something, but it doesn't. A no name brand can be just as good or better, and for less money. This is called "milking the brand."

I'm truly sorry to hear the sad tales like this, its a black mark on our entire industry.
mpwdmom
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I believe Harden is still made in the USA, though I could be wrong. I haven't bought anything from them but am considering it.

Most of the wood pieces we've bought in the last few years are unfinished, in oak. And even though I know they're putting some plywood panels in the backs of some, overall they still are better to my way of thinking.

Susan
polkadots
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The other day I specifically asked a local retailer about Thomasville being made in China...he said that the case goods are all made overseas but the uplostered pieces are made in the US. Is that correct? Is the issue more with the case goods that are poorly made overseas or are people questioning the quality of the upholstered pieces as well? Thanks.
judithn
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I do not know for sure what Flemington Department Store the previous poster was referring to, but there IS a store on Route 202 in Flemington between Lambertville and Flemington Circle that I think is just called Flemington Department Store. I know because I have called them to ask about certain furniture pieces. I think if you hunt online for Flemington and furniture stores in the yellow pages, you will find them quite easily. Good luck!
socks
15 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
We bought an antique finish bedroom set 30 years ago. Several years after the purchase, the finish started to peel off. Thomasville paid to have it refinished for us. I wouldn't buy T-ville again.
gary-boyd_sbcglobal_net
12 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thomasville ads have home depot listed for patio furniture.
But I went to the Galveston, Texas store and they had (gag me) Martha Stewart patio furniture which I would not by or accept it if it was free. Thomasville needs to look at their advertisment sections or are they letting Marth take over.

Gary
info_sbconsignment_com
12 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I sell furniture on consignment in Santa Barbara California. I was so glad when Thomasville left town. So many people were bilked. I have all ages of Thomasville and the older stuff is so much better made when it was in the USA. I have such a HUGE market here for stuff made in the USA that now I put special American flags on any items know are made in the USA regardless of brand. My additional recommendation is not to go for a specific brand when purchasing furniture, consider a local carpinter or furniture maker, those folks are especially hard hit in this economy and offer incredible deals on SUPER well made furniture if they are experienced at what they do.

Say NO to new products made in China.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1522867}}
Dave Bryant
2 years ago
I realize that $5K is a lot of money but the price of the suite would have been 25K if it were made of good lumber and quality. You could have bought a nice set for $500 and had it all restored for less than you spent and you'd have real furniture.

Problems with Thomasville Furniture

dcollie

Comments (17)

chelsee001

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naimgaim

dcollie

texanjana

coleen3201118

texanjana

susanlynn2012

dg926

mogator88

mpwdmom

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judithn

socks

gary-boyd_sbcglobal_net

info_sbconsignment_com

Dave Bryant

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