Tuesday, June 17, 2008

End Table Tale

A man just rang my bell and informed me, in a thick southern accent, that he was from "Nawth Carolina" and was selling furniture out of a truck. "Would ya laak to take a look-see, Ma'am?" Being that I am short on funds (and perhaps short on good taste), I asked him if he had any end tables (ours had broken completely after being banged into one too many times by certain unnamed minors that live in my house.)
He showed me a simple, Mission-style wooden end table that was very similar to one that I had seen at Target for $60:
I asked how much and he said "The full retail price is $535, but I'm selling it at a discount for $295. " I said no thank you, and went back home.
I can't believe that furniture off a truck could cost so much! These North Carolina guys have been coming up to Brooklyn for years now. Someone must be buying from them. But not me. If I'm going to buy furniture off of the back of a truck, it better be a helluva lot cheaper than that.
Thank you for listening to my tale. You may now proceed to make fun of me, if you so choose.

9 comments:

Phyllis Sommer said...

um...furniture off a truck? this must be something that we don't get so much in the midwewst and would make me a little nervous. how about ikea?

Lion of Zion said...

i've never heard of these trucks. i guess i don't live in such a fancy part of brooklyn.

i wouldn't pay so much for an end table either, but the stuff at target (and ikea) is crap.

Chaya Bluma said...

I believe the rule is to wait for the end table to fall off the back of the truck, so to speak. Although you might have to put it together again yourself anyway in that case. :-)

Rafi G. said...

in Israel everyone loves IKEA. My wife bought a few things there, and it seems ok but nothing special.

Anonymous said...

In France, everyone loves Ikea too!

SuperRaizy said...

I'm completely aware that it's not classy to buy your furniture off of a truck. But when you're (how shall I put this?) "financially challenged" you're just looking for a bargain, wherever you can find it. And my family has a long and proud history of buying stuff off the back of a truck. When I was a kid, we spent every summer in the Catskills, and a different truck came around each day. We had a pickle truck, a used book mobile, women's and children's clothing, and (yes!) the furniture truck. Everyone in the bungalow colonies used to shop off those trucks.

Lion of Zion said...

an ikea just opened in brooklyn

Anonymous said...

if you're gonna buy something off the back of a truck it should be cheap - doesnt it say something somewhere about that (as my son would say, "shtayt in possuk") its an unofficial law.

ikea, while affordable in some items, gives cheap a new meaning. i have never been satisfied with their stuff. not durable with little people around.

and how on earth do kids always manage to break furniture?

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

My family bought furniture off a truck, don't know where they were from. But we got 2 good recliners that way, and it lasted a long time and they were good prices too and good condition. But then it eventually broke cause the kids would run to sit on the recliner and lean it back the wrong way so it collapsed after a while.