“Delivery?” she frowned. “No! We’ll pick it up.”
She’d just bought a very large dresser, and from my point of view, she seemed over-confident about her ability to move it out of our showroom and into her home. For one, she and her husband weren’t exactly brawny. In fact, they looked more like gentle little hobbits than muscle-bound movers.
Her insistence was making me nervous. What if they dropped the dresser? What if it got stuck on the stairs? “That dresser is pretty heavy,” I cautioned. “You’re going to need some furniture padding and some straps to secure it in your vehicle.”
I saw them exchange anxious looks. Then, reluctantly, the woman said, “I suppose we should consider delivery.” There was a long pause, then she asked: “Do your trucks have your name on them?”
“Yes!” I said, beaming with pride, explaining that all our cars and trucks have our logo in the same royal blue as the awnings on our three stores. “You can’t miss them!” I added.
Then I suddenly realized the obvious. She didn’t want our trucks parked in her driveway announcing to the neighborhood – in vivid blue, no less – that she’d bought pre-owned furniture from Furniture Consignment Gallery. She was afraid of being the subject of neighborly gossip.
I was stunned for a moment.
Then, I thought, how mistaken she was. From my point of view, buying consignment signals quite a different message. Here’s what I think it means to have one of our trucks pull into your driveway:
• You’re smart! You know you’re buying brand-name furniture for a lot less than retail.
• You value quality. You don’t want the warped particle-board stuff that you have to assemble yourself. FCG’s pre-owned furniture is top quality from the world’s best furniture companies.
• You’re environmentally conscious and you reject consumerism. New furniture raises your carbon footprint. Pre-owned furniture is a form of preservation, which benefits the environment.
• You have style. You don’t settle for the standard bedroom suite or dining set. That’s like buying a suit off the rack. You’re creative, mixing mid-century pieces with contemporary or classic with industrial. Whatever the mix, it is your unique style statement.
• You are confident. Knowing that you found a good value and high quality at FCG, you’re happy to educate your neighborhood. When one of our trucks pulls into your driveway, you’re proud to say, “I found a real treasure at Furniture Consignment Gallery.”
