scrubbedexpat055

Same here, some stuff went back 4 times....started to lose the will to live waiting Saturday after Saturday for yet another damaged item. Quality no where near Ikea. Its cheap, buts thats it. BTW mind the edges, some of them are razor sharp, particularly on the bottom end formica covered chipboard.....Nasty!

RainDog

When we moved from a furnished to unfurnished rental we bought most of our stuff from FF, and we're quite happy with it. We didn't get a package and we went for mid-priced items so I can't comment on the cheaper end of the catalogue.

Main gripes were that we waited about 8 weeks for the sofa (because we wanted it in a certain fabric and they had none in stock) and that nobody told us we'd need an electric drill to connect the slats to the bed frame.

Overall I'd say it's good value and about the same quality as Ikea. Lots of people get packages from FF when first setting up home; it can always be upgraded later.

Buying from FF as opposed to Ikea also comes with the bonus of not having to go to Ikea (the one in Rhodes is an absolute hellhole on weekends)!

IndieG

We're shipping everything over in Jan. We've had our furniture for twenty years, just need to get them reupholstered. The cost of reupholstering and labour will cost more than what we originally bought it for...lol

Steve2009

You'll be able to get cheap stuff that looks O.K. and lasts maybe 18 months or so. Or you could get top notch slightly dated stuff from a thrift store for buttons.

RedT

Thanks for the replies everyone! The consensus is -as suspected - that you get what you pay for. I reckon it'll just be easier and hopefully less hassle to get one package from one company, whack it all in and upgrade as we can afford it.

To answer questions, we're moving to Sydney (hopefully MacMahons Point area) in July next year. The furniture we have here is mostly Ikea or MFI type stuff so definitely not worth shipping. The only things we have that are really any good are the bed and our leather sofa which has two recliners built in...our friends are already fighting over it!

Thanks for the recs re Good Guys and Sams Warehouse, I'll definitely check them out. Like you Raindog I'd generally rather saw off a limb than go to Ikea. I love the stuff there but actually shopping there is hellish...

Tx

RainDog

If you do need to go to Ikea, it's open late on Thursday nights and is much quieter than on the weekends.

For electricals/white goods, factory seconds places are good if you don't mind a few scratches etc. There's one called 2nds World in Cremorne, which isn't far from McMahons Point, and there's also a Harvey Norman Outlet in Auburn.

Hope that helps.

RenShen

Seriously, look up your local Vinnies or Salvos. I absolutely love charity shopping and have got loads of bargains from them.

Wendy

Good guys are great, as are Harvey Normans for electrical stuff. You need to haggle and play them off against each other. I got lots of cash off my stuff - washer, tv, vac, fridge, DVD, set top box etc, by buying at one place. But i went in one of them and got their lowest price first, then took it to the other place who beat it by 10%

Harvey Normans also sell furniture at some of SA's bigger stores - not sure about NSW though?

We bought cheap stuff with the same kind of attitude as you, upgrade when needed. Haven't needed to yet...been here 4+ years.

Just so you know, Sams warehouse is like the pound shop...full of cheap bargains that you can't help buying!

Kooky.

We didn't start afresh in Sydney but we did in Singapore. I would recommend you arrive, buy the bare essentials, and then take your time choosing some nice pieces.

There are tons of furniture shops in Sydney to suit all tastes and pockets. We're currently buying a few new things for our apartment so can happily recommend some places.

Re. getting things up stairs - hmmmm. We had a sofa delivered last week, knew it was big but were assured that, if it wouldn't go in the lift (we suspected it wouldn't), stairs are pretty standard and it would be no problem.

The delivery men said otherwise and took the sofa away. The shop wouldn't give us a refund so we had to choose a smaller sofa, add a chair, and pay nearly a grand more (including a second delivery charge that really pisses me off). We also have to wait another 4-6 weeks and, due to my damaging my back helping The Geek move a very heavy sofabed into the guest room in anticipation of Sofa #1's arrival, we're now sitting on floor cushions in the lounge.

irishbloo

I agree with Seasider.Dont go rushing out buying everything at once.ou could end up making some wrong choices.Buy a few basics and then when you have saved up buy things that lok nice and will last.The thing with buying cheap is that after a while they look tatty and then you have to buy new again.There is no rush.You could also wait for some sales.