I think that we buy a couch just a few times during our lifetime, but there are major differences between their prices. So the question here is, why would I buy a couch that costs me $2000 when I have a similar one that costs me less than half? Are we paying for quality, does that price really doubles the quality of the couch? I really doubt that, I find crazy that some couches actually cost that much.
I don't feel like the price necessarily means quality. I think sometimes it is more the name brand that people are paying for. You know their couch was made from so and so, so now they feel special. I can understand it being pricey due to fabric like leather or suede. But I agree, we only buy a few in our lifetime, and the prices vary. I feel like you go through phases, the "free dumpster diving couch", the $150 couch from Walmart, the $500+ couch from an actual furniture store. There may be a few more buys in between, but I feel it kind of goes that way.
I think that we are paying for quality. I have found that the more expensive couches tend to have a better structure so they will hold up to many people sitting, sleeping and lounging on them. I bought a cheaper couch once, about $600 or so and the cushions started to sag after a year and it developed the dreaded "butt grooves" in the middle of some of them. My more expensive couch looks as good as the day I bought it and I attribute that to better craftsmanship.
That might be right in some cases forex, but in other cases it's not true. I've bought my couch in IKEA about 5 years ago for $800 more or less and it's a very good one, so no way I would ever buy a couch for double that price. One, I can't afford it, two, I am totally happy with my $800 one and it was a considerable investment to me.
I have long stopped buying new furniture. It might sound bad to you, but these days I find most of the things that I need for my apartment on the streets. It is something new to me, as in the country where I lived before it was unheard of to throw anything out unless it had served its purpose. Here, in this city where I live, I can't believe what people throw out. Every weekend there are container loads of furniture, including couches, antique wooden tables, bed stands, etc. A while ago I found a leather couch that was almost spotless apart from a few cat hairs. Why does everything need to be new? Why not check out second-hand or even charity stores? There are real treasures to be found there.
Where do you live Dora? I'd love to live in a place where I can get my furniture on the streets... This is the couch I got from IKEA about 5 years ago, with the exception that mine is blue, but it's pretty much as good as new and I am expecting it to last at least 5 more years, so it ends up to be something cheap because it lasts a really long time.
Visit a college town during semester changes. Lots of curb shopping to be done there. I know many people that have refurnished their homes by doing this with some very nice stuff. Parents buy kids nice things and when they move for the summer they don't want to deal with it so they set it on the curb for someone to pick up or it goes to the landfill on garbage day.
We call the end of semester move out days "Hippie Christmas" because there's just so much good stuff lying around on the streets because they have run their course and the students can't travel with/sell them. The quality of some of them in questionable but many times you can get great quality furniture and such for free if you know when and where to look.
So this is actually a good advice iagirl, nothing like knowing where to look, but let me tell you that this doesn't happen in every country. I am living in a college town and we don't have good furniture on the streets, maybe that happens in the US or Germany because those are rich countries, but most likely not in many more countries.
