Am I obliged to buy from them? WWYD

amother

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 8:55 am

We are buying a sectional couch and my DH doesn't have patience for this kind of thing so he told me to do research and we'll discuss it when we have the options.

I found a couch that is almost what we were looking for, for a great price because it's a clearance item. The dimensions are a bit too big for our space, can technically work but we'd have to move things around and it may overwhelm the space.

I continued my research and there was another place that basically told me tell me what you're looking for and I'll try to help you. Amazing customer service, lots of back and forth, but at end I can either do custom which is 2k more to fit my space exactly (which is over the budget I originally gave them) or get something they have in stock that is also not quite right for the space and won't have recliners.

We have saved up for this so we want to do it right but also it's a lot of money.

I discussed the options with DH last night:
- clearance couch that is a good price, has the recliners but the size isn't quite right for our space.
- custom (semi custom?) but costs 2k more or from the same place
- in stock price same pricing and sizing of the clearance one but won't have the recliners.

DH said maybe let's just go for the clearance one and finished.
I feel bad because the furniture store who offered the semi custom option spent a lot of time, back and forth, showing different options and answering questions, they really invested a lot of time in this for me. Ultimately they didn't have what I needed within my budget and it's quite possible my budget was too low, but bottom line it's a difference of $2k. Am I ethically obliged to go with one of the options from the furniture store?

What would you do?

Edited to clarify some numbers.
The furniture shops final number after lots of research and back and forth is $500 over my original budget.
The stock couch and clearance couch are $2k less but they are less than my original budget.

Of course some of what is coming into play is DHs desire to spend as little as possible. In my mind $500 over our original budget, to get exact what we need and to honor the time and efforts of the furniture store makes sense. We are not in agreement on this.

amother

Red

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 9:14 am

I would just go with the clearance couch. They had amazing customer service so thank them profusely and tell them you are waiting to come back for another purchase when you have more funds. And that you are so grateful and now you know where to recommend to your friends.
Ask if they have social media or some other way for you to leave a great review. Then follow through. Or write a letter for them to hang on their wall.

They really did their best but in the end if it's not in your budget you can't do it. If you pay cash upfront can they give you a discount and meet you halfway? If not then you simply can't do it. (I suggested this because when we bought our couch the place was so surprised that we were going to pay it all at once that they OFFERED us a discount for a single-payment transaction. They said it saves them headaches.)

Don't go elsewhere, of course, after they've put so much time into helping you, but definitely only buy what you can afford. Their job is to be helpful, yours is to manage your finances properly.

amother

Lemon

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 9:50 am

amother OP wrote:

I feel bad because the furniture store who offered the semi custom option spent a lot of time, back and forth, showing different options and answering questions, they really invested a lot of time in this for me. Ultimately they didn't have what I needed within my budget and it's quite possible my budget was too low, but bottom line it's a difference of $2k. Am I ethically obliged to go with one of the options from the furniture store?

What would you do?

Edited to clarify some numbers.
The furniture shops final number after lots of research and back and forth is $500 over my original budget.
The stock couch and clearance couch are $2k less but they are less than my original budget.

Of course some of what is coming into play is DHs desire to spend as little as possible. In my mind $500 over our original budget, to get exact what we need and to honor the time and efforts of the furniture store makes sense. We are not in agreement on this.

Honoring the time and effort of the furniture store isn’t really a thing imo. As long as you were upfront about your budget and didn’t approach them with the intent of using their expertise to buy elsewhere, you did nothing wrong. They give you that time in the hopes of making a sale. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s just part of the cost of doing business.

Which couch you should buy is a whole separate conversation but I don’t think ethics plays a part here.

Mayflower

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 10:49 am

I don't think you have any obligation to get the more expensive option just because they put a lot of time into it.
However, it sounds a bit like really you would prefer to spend more and go for the custom option, so you are looking for a valid reason to convince your husband? (Or maybe that's what I'm reading into it because this is totally something I would do LOL

) For such an expensive purchase that should be lasting you a looooong time I do think it makes sense to spend a bit more in order to get exactly what you want.

amother

Tiffanyblue

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 12:18 pm

Your original post made it sound like the custom couch is $2000 over your budget. If it's only $500 over your budget, I would get it. Not out of obligation, but so you're actually happy with you're purchase and don't spend the next decade plus kicking yourself and dreaming of the custom couch.

Having said that ...

You're not obligated. You didn't waste their time on purpose and didn't use them to get ideas and go elsewhere for a cheaper custom couch. You sincerely consulted with them and are free to choose to purchase or not. They made their sales pitch, it's part of the job.

It just comes down to going below budget with the sale couch and saving money or going $500 over and going custom.

amother

Peru

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 12:19 pm

OP my husband is a computer technician and part of what he does when someone who wants to buy a new computer is do all the research for them and let them know all their options -like what the place did for you, he doesn't persuade anyone to buy through him and is fine even after all the work if they go to a different place to buy and have the programs put on so he doesn't end up getting a penny from them.
It's part of the service, he can only get and offer what he is able to, if it doesn't work for the client that ok, they have had a good experience may recommend someone to him or come back in the future as they remember the service.
Don't feel pressured to buy from them, they know it's a 50/50 when doing the work

amother

Amber

Tue, Sep 10 2024, 1:24 pm

Not obligated to buy from the store cuz she helped you. But for only $500 over budget to get a couch that works for you space and family I think that makes the most sense. Unless the clearance couch is super cheap like $500 cheap. But it seems like you already had a budget of at least 3k or so, another $500 won’t make it or break it. Also think of the customer service if something breaks etc. clearance stuff are usually final sale no help after. Also something too big for the space is just too big and will suck all the air out of the room.