Cheap? I Think Not! (DFS)

Member Name: aljones

Product:	DFS
Date:	12/07/01 (1055 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good choice, Cheaper than suggested prices

Disadvantages: Not actually that cheap

We've all seen the adverts for DFS, that make out that they are the cheapest place to buy your next sofa. Well, thats certanly the impression I got.

Anyway, my fiancee and I are about to move in together, and have been looking at buying a sofa for a little while now. So, the day came yesterday that we decided we really had to decide, so we head over to Cribbs Causeway just outside Bristol. Most people know Cribbs Causewa for the huge shopping mall there, but the are also hosts a variety of larger shops, such as DFS, Asda/Wal-Mart, Courts, Currys, Comet, PC World, Argos, etc. So, we thought it would eb a great place as we could visit all the shops and wouldn't have to drive miles between them.

So in we went to DFS. First impressions were that it was a very nice store. It was well lit, and spread out nicely so you didn't have to squeeze your way between the furntiure all the time.

The staff seemed to be somewhat lacking in numbers. For us that wasn't a bad thing. We were just looking and didn't want to be pressurised by any salesmen/women. If you did need help, most of the staff seemed to be huddled around an office in the centre of the showroom, so I don't think getting help would have been a problem.

So the stock. Well, there was certainly a huge choice. Every possible style (thought nothing outrageous) was catered for, from the modern minimalist styles to 'Grandma's house' style. Everything was clean and well presented, and set out in little clusters of matching sets.

It was the price that put us off though. As I said, DFS have, to me anyway, always given the impression of having good quality sofas at cheap prices. Well, yes and no. The price that you pay is certanly not cheap. We did find a few sofas around the £399 mark, but not many. Most that we saw were well over the £550 mark, which is quite reasonable if you take a look at what the suggested price is.

The sofas they of
fer do seem to be remarkably good value. They are all much lower in price than the suggested price, I think probably anything from 25% less or more. Plus, they do offer some good finance packages. You have the option to defer payment for a year interest free, and can then pay it off entirely or payback the money over a period of time, at a reasonable rate. They also deliver anywhere within a 50 mile radius of the store, which seems more than most.

So in general if your budget isn't small DFS seems quite good. If however you're expecting cheap prices don't bother. you might get lucky and find something you like at a good price, but we didn't.

Summary: