Comments (scroll down to add your own):

1. Good thing they didn’t come to our house. My wife can’t resist a “deal”?

   Comment by FMF — Jul 7th 2005 @ 1:29 pm

2. I had the same thing in my neighborhood a few years ago. Check out the last question at the bottom of this page:
   http://www.thomasville.com/Abo.....Us/FAQ.asp

   Comment by hoops4ever — Jul 7th 2005 @ 2:55 pm

3. My friends bought stereo equipment off the back of a truck just like that. The equipment was legit but probably stolen. College life was great.

   Comment by jim — Jul 7th 2005 @ 4:07 pm

4. My best guess is that the furniture is stolen. The truck may be a rental or it might be a legitimate furniture truck that was stolen full.

   But no…you don’t want to pay them with a check.

   Comment by Matt — Jul 7th 2005 @ 7:44 pm

5. Is it more likely to be stolen or just cheap knockoffs? It sounds like the racket happens alot which would lead me to believe it’s just knockoff furniture.

   I wouldn’t buy anything off the back of a truck, they have terrible return policies.

   Comment by jim — Jul 8th 2005 @ 8:25 am

6. I had the same thing happen to me about a year ago, but with meat. The “salesmen” said he was from some meat packing company in the Raleigh, NC area and had a flyer about all the meat they had in there truck they were selling at HUGE discount. Now, all the meat looked great: burgers, chicken, steak, seafood … but I wasn’t buying. I asked if there was a number and if I could all them and place an order. The “salesman” replyed … “and I thought you wanted a deal. No, you can’t call in an order.”

   Is this just a NC thing?

   Comment by BlogDog — Jul 10th 2005 @ 5:15 pm

7. Seth Godin’s new book has an anecdote in it (that I only sort of remember, but the gist is there) about a student selling speakers out of the back of a U-Haul truck near a college campus.

   Apparently the merchandise was actually more expensive than that which could be found at a local manufacturer, but the whole truckload went quickly because people naturally assumed it was stolen and never considered that the price wouldn’t be discounted. It was never stated that the merchandise was stolen (of course) but this smart salesperson played on peoples’ expectations.

   Comment by Sarah — Jul 21st 2005 @ 2:17 pm

8. I’ve actually run into people selling speakers out of the back of a van in a grocery store parking lot. Coincidentally, I ran into this while living in a college town. At the time, I heard that even if the speakers appear to be a decent brand, the actual guts of them are total crap (counterfeit, I guess). Thus, even if it really is a discount compared to in-store prices, you’re not getting a deal.

   Comment by nickel — Jul 22nd 2005 @ 9:47 am

9. Thomasville Furniture Industries (TFI), a division of Furniture Brands International (which also owns Henredon, Drexel Heritage, Maitland Smith and other fine brands) is located in a city called Thomasville, North Carolina. It only distributes its products from authorized Thomasville Stores and Galleries (which are in actual buildings). TFI has a vested interest in the success of the local retailers that carry its brands and would not undermine that interest by driving around suburban neighborhoods.

   Thomasville Furniture Industries is second only to La-Z-Boy in brand name recognition for the furniture industry overall and probably has the highest brand name recognition associated with high-end market segments. Therefore, the name “Thomasville” carries a reputation for quality and evokes images of style and elegance.

   Unfortunately, the distributors that drive through suburban neighborhoods are capitalizing on the fact that the North American consumer knows Thomasville Furniture Industries by the brand name “Thomasville”. They are able to get away with this because Thomasville, North Carolina is also a place. They typically have Thomasville, NC stenciled on the outside of their trucks but will carry none of the products produced by Thomasville Furniture Industries inside their trucks. Instead, they tend to sell other brands from the higher part of the low-end market segment or the lower middle market segment.. Its easy to print up flyers that show 70% savings but when buying from the back of a truck, its difficult for a buyer to fact check or shop the same brands. You can get a better deal and more selection buying from a local store. You will also have an easier time with service or warranty issues should they arise.

   Comment by Harp — Jul 28th 2005 @ 10:44 am

10. Well, my wife fell for it, just bought a couch and loveseat from these guys saying it was Thomasville furniture… they parked their truck in a gas station and had a bunch of furniture on display. i told my wife the furniture was either stolen or a knockoff… she bought it anyhow. actually, it looks ok, and the price was good, but, it will probably fall apart in a few years, or give us fleas !!!

    i just showed her the FAQ on the real thomasville website, that she was scammed, and she still doesnt care …she still thinks it was a good bargain’.

    Comment by Thomas Villescammed — Nov 15th 2005 @ 6:56 am

11. They were just in Martinsville, VA with the same scam. I did get the tag numbers of the truck and trailer and a cell phone number so I could call them after I ask my Husband about it. They are as follows NC tag BA7499 on the truck and the trailer was 46790 the cell phone number is 336-870-1640. If you can scam the scamers please or put them where they belong, in jail.

    Comment by Melinda — Apr 19th 2006 @ 1:25 pm

12. Same thing in CT, never said is was Thomasville furniture but a company from Thomasville, NC. I called the local police dept and they verified it was legit they had given them a license to see here in town. So, we looked up the furniture online and found the exact same items and decided it was a great deal, bought it and we love it.

    Good Luck

    Comment by Joe — Jul 15th 2006 @ 6:22 pm

13. Just had a guy come by my home here in Gainesville, FL today with this scam. White truck said Thomasville. Guy said, “We’re down from Thomasville, NC with a truckload of great furniture we’re trying to move at discount prices. Want to check it out?”

    No way I was falling for it, but afterward I Googled to find out what was up with this and found your blog entry.

    Did these guys really drive all the way down from NC with a truck of furniture so they could patrol my subdivision door-to-door. Somehow I doubt they are really from NC.

    Comment by harambee78 — Nov 20th 2006 @ 7:38 pm

14. High point is the furniture capital of the world. hundreds of manufacturers of quality furniture are within a one humdred mile radius. this furniture is constantly sold from both manufacturers and showrooms by the truckloads and carried nationwide to be resold at remarkable savings. IT IS NOT STOLEN. these guys do not have the extreme overhead the stores do and can sellit this way. besides Thomasville Furniture Industries has closed almost all of their plants and gone overseas and has put hundreds of families out of work in Thomasville and the surrounding area I would not buy from them because of that.

    Comment by mam — Dec 9th 2006 @ 6:16 pm

15. I am feeling scammed. On 12/09/06, I bought 2 Hamilton House chairs and a window seat from this truck in Gainesville, FL. Now I am concerned that I have either purchased stolen property or that the furniture is not good quality like I was led to believe. When I tried to search for Hamilton House furniture, I could find nothing on Hamilton House chairs. Can anyone tell me anything about Hamilton House furniture made by Hampton Mfg in Thomasville, NC?

    I did contact the driver of the truck and let him know that I realized that I had been likely scammed. My trust in people is really shaken at the moment, so I may be paranoid, but I do find it interesting that comment #14 that begins with “High Point is the furniture capitol of the world” and goes on to say that that the furniture is not stolen… was posted shortly after my conversation with the driver. Perhaps this is coincidence, but I noticed that whoever posted that comment has the same initials as the driver.

    With that said, if anyone missed their opportunity and wants to purchase some Hunter Green Hamilton House chairs really cheap, let me know. I just want to get them out of my house so that I can get past the pain of being scammed.

    Comment by Rhonda — Dec 9th 2006 @ 10:40 pm

16. “these guys do not have the extreme overhead the stores do”

    It’s important to keep in mind that the ‘overhead’ being referred to here includes things like warranties and return policies.

    Comment by nickel — Dec 9th 2006 @ 10:43 pm

17. WATCH OUT THEY’RE IN ORLANDO,FL. KNOCKED ON OUR DOOR MY HUSBAND SAID “No” (Smart Man). I went to the internet hopefully to warn others.

    Comment by Polly — Jan 25th 2007 @ 5:45 pm

18. They stopped by our place this week in the Chicago Burbs. At least the guy had an accent! I’m sure glad I trusted my instinct and said no. Assuming your not paying sales tax, isn’t what they are doing considered illegal?

    Comment by Rob — Mar 9th 2007 @ 1:35 pm

19. They’re here in Tampa, FL. So watch out. Same speech and everything, It was a white truck with Thomasville and some kind of bulldog, on the trailer.

    Comment by Nick — Apr 13th 2007 @ 2:21 pm

20. Its easy to print up flyers that show 70% savings but when buying from the back of a truck, its difficult for a buyer to fact check or shop the same brand.

    Comment by shredder — Apr 19th 2007 @ 12:56 am

21. A tractor trailer with the logo and ad from Thomasville came to my neighborhood in Indian Trail NC the other day. I didn’t go in the truck. The truck looked legit and the guys running it also. I don’t know I don’t think they would run the risk of doing that if it weren’t. Anyone could call the police on them and they would be immediately caught. It’s hard to get away in a tractor trailer with a huge logo. I have to find out more on this.

    Comment by ily — May 1st 2007 @ 11:52 am

22. OK after I commented above I went to Thomasville’s website and this what they said based on the following question:

    Someone in my area claims they are selling Thomasville furniture off of a truck. Are they legitimate?
    No, we have heard of situations like this and would like to caution you about this furniture. While the truck may say that it is from Thomasville (the city in North Carolina), the furniture is not made by Thomasville Furniture Industries. Thomasville furniture is sold exclusively in retail stores – from Thomasville Home Furnishings stores to authorized galleries and dealers. To find the store nearest you, please visit our online Store Finder.

    Comment by ily — May 1st 2007 @ 11:59 am

23. I bought from them 4 or 5 years ago,no problem at all. I also have 3 teenagers so the furniture gets a workout .Call me naive or gullible but wheres the scam? Because they claim its Thomasville Furniture, that may be true, many furniture companies are in Thomasville NC. Personally, I could care less who made it as long as it is well constructed and is appealing. Does everyone really think they aren’t buying similar furniture at most furniture stores, just cuz’ you pay thousands more doesn’t guarantee anything. I have no axe to grind for or against these gypsies, its my decison whether to say if I’m interested or not.

    Comment by Phil Rosenow — May 2nd 2007 @ 9:33 am

24. Phil has it right — what’s the scam?

    They never actually SAY it’s from the correct, accurate name of the true Thomasville Furniture company, so they’re not lying. They’re selling furniture off the back of a truck, for goodness sake! Logic tells you it simply CANNOT be the highest-quality merchandise, but as Phil says, it it looks OK and holds up OK, what’s the big deal?

    If you buy furniture off the back of a truck, you made the decision, of your own free will, to go for a bargain. No scam there.

    Comment by Neely O'Hara — Jul 8th 2007 @ 11:49 pm

25. We’ve had these guys come through our neighborhood a couple of times over the last couple of years. A neighbor of mine happened to know a lot about the particular brand of grandfather clock that was on the truck, and mentioned that it was a great deal on that clock. The furniture, however, was obviously generic, and I’d have a hard time buying stuff that way.

    There are ways to get deals on furniture from NC by dealing directly with manufacturers, doing your research, etc. We bought our dinette set for about $1400 (including shipping) when a local store was selling the exact same brand/model for about $2100 (and that was their “lowest price of the year” sale price). If you don’t mind waiting a few weeks for delivery, it’s worth it.

    Comment by Scott — Jul 9th 2007 @ 9:53 am

26. Yes, these guys just stopped by my house in the Chicago Suburbs too. We just bought a brand new semi-custom home and they said that a girl was going to stage a model home and she cancelled at the last minute. they had couches, chairs and clocks. Here’s the thing though, all the couches and chairs were identical except for the fabric. It was nice looking stuff, but seeing how everything was pretty much identical I smelled a rat. The guy never said he was from Thomasville Furniture, just said they were from North Carolina and the truck said Thomasville NC on the side of it. The guys said they were desperate to sell the stuff at 50% off because they needed to get to O’Hare Aiport tomorrow to pick up fabric to ship down to North Carolina factory and that’s where they make their real money from freight. My fiancee wanted to buy a set of couches, but I paused got the guy’s cell and told them I’d call them tomorrow if we could figure out a way to afford it. We had the money, I just wanted time to research these guys and I found this thread. I even took pics with my cell phone camera and the tags to look them up. The clocks seemed nice and I wanted one, but you can get a knock off rolex from china that looks identical to the real thing too!

    Btw..the other guys didn’t talk, but the sales guy had a thick North Carolina accent and was very convincing. I could tell how he could easily fool some people.

    Comment by Fernando — Aug 19th 2007 @ 11:28 am

27. These guys just showed up at our door this morning. Big white semi with Discount Furniture, Thomasville, NC on the side. They had the back doors of the semi open and a side door open with a guy sitting in the open door.

    The drove slowly up and down the street while another guy went door to door looking for suckers… er, customers.

    He gave out a “business card” with Cottle Transport, Inc. Overstock Furniture Sales.
    Thomasville, NC.

    I did a Google search and found that there is a Cottle Transport, Inc in High Point, NC. But that’s all I could find.

    The thing that I can’t figure out is who in their right mind would buy furniture from a semi truck going door to door? That’s just nuts!

    This scam shouldn’t ever work. Not even once. If people will buy furniture from a semi truck driving down your street what idiotic scam won’t they fall for?

    Hey, I hear that next week a surgeon from the Mayo Clinic has some overstock surgery in the back of an old truck and will be through the neighborhood with transplants at some GREAT prices. Come on out to the truck and take a look.

    Comment by Paul — Sep 29th 2007 @ 12:10 pm

28. The same guys stopped by my house in Chicago burbs with the same story. I was planning by 2 new chairs. I saw what they had. I bought them. I know its a scam of some kind; but the check wasn’t altered and got what I paid for.
    like I said, a few neighbors were standing around and trying to figure out the scam BEFORE i bought the chairs. The recliners are leather but they have a tag that says Lane. I know they’re not Lane and I know I have no guarantee. But I have my chairs. And the salesman had the NC accent; the other guys didn’t talk.

    Comment by micki — Oct 2nd 2007 @ 2:27 pm

29. If you want good furniture at a bargain price and you live in the chicagoland area, go to Harlem Furniture Outlet Center in Lombard, Ill. I got a full living room set in the clearance center for $1000 and it came brand new! Some stuff is damaged and some of it ugly, but at least you know what your getting. Not something off the back of a truck. To be honest with you the only thing I was interested in was the grandfather clock.

    Comment by Fernando — Oct 9th 2007 @ 2:48 pm

30. Well I guess my husband was scammed this past week because he bought a grand father clock, formal dinning room set w/ china cabinet and a Victorian style living room sofa and wing back chair. But I also have my bank to hold responsable as well because when you have xxx amount of $$$ in your account and the bank wouldn’t clear the check why did they turn around and clear the check several days later with less $$$ in the account? Stupid them (bank)for accepting the check, stupid me for not following my guts and putting a stop payment on the check.

    Comment by ANGIE — Oct 10th 2007 @ 1:44 pm

31. Exact same thing happened to me in the Chicago suburbs. Same truck, same guy with the accent and everything. He told me they were down from Thomasville and had some overstock that they could get rid of at 75% discount. I told the guy no and started to shut the door, but he actually pushed the door back open and tried to come inside! OMG! I shot him and then he was able to get out the front door and in the truck. They took off and I haven’t seen them around the neighborhood.

    Hopefully they won’t be bothering anybody any longer.

    Comment by Rick — Oct 25th 2007 @ 11:22 pm

32. THE TAGS ON THE FURNITURE ARE THE ACTUAL MANUFACTURERS. IF IT SAYS LANE , THEN IT IS MADE BY LANE.ALL THE RETAIL AND WHOLESALE PRICES CAN BE LOOKED UP ON LINE.DONT BE SO SCAM-FOBIC THAT YOU WONT SAVE MONEY JUST BECAUSE THE FURNITURE IS ON A TRUCK. HOW DO YOU THINK IT GETS TO THE STORE (HAHAHA)- A TRUCK. THERE ARE ALOT OF EXPENSES INVOLVED IN SELLING FURNITURE DOOR TO DOOR. THE TRUCKS, FUEL, HELP, HOTEL, FOOD ETC ARE NOT FREE.I SELL LIKE THIS AND I HAVE TONS OF REPEAT CUSTOMERS AND YES YOU GET A WARRANTY- ATLEAST THRU COTTLE TRANSPORT YOU DO.

    Comment by JOHN — Nov 5th 2007 @ 7:06 pm

33. Well then, why do you guys ACT as if your from Thomasville Furniture? Why don’t just say your selling furniture off the back of a truck rather than acting as if your something your not? You come up with some big elaborate stories about you need to dump the stuff now blah blah blah. Also, please provide links of Lane Furniture, chippendale and what not.

    Comment by Fernando — Nov 9th 2007 @ 12:00 pm

34. I don’t think I would buy furniture off the back of a truck because my wife is very warranty conscious. That said, I don’t see why it would be such a terrible idea. I mean, sure it probably isn’t the best stuff in the world, and you definitely should not have illusions about the brand names (though I would still tend to believe the tags on the furniture itself). That all said, if you feel like you got a good deal, don’t feel guilty. I mean, oh wah, I don’t have Thomas Furniture chairs, does that mean I’m a bad person? If I liked them, and they are holding up ok, then that is fine.

    Oh yeah, and um… we already have furniture so I don’t think we’d be in the market for truck-wares

    Comment by Brandon — Nov 9th 2007 @ 3:54 pm

35. My wife bought a nice cherry sofa table and a really nice high-back chair off the truck about six years ago for about $100 total and the quality was great. We got rid of the table (which was holding up just fine) a few months ago when we remodeled the room, but the chair is still as nice as the day we bought it. This isn’t a ‘SCAM’ as some would call it, although the guys do embellish the story a bit. I would buy from them again. If there was a number I could call to find out when they’re coming through again, or to make specific requests, that would be great. I’m in Mechanicsburg, PA btw.

    Comment by whitey — Nov 12th 2007 @ 11:51 am

36. What are some of you thinking? These guys are from the High Point area. They buy cheaply made goods and mark them up more than any store. They give the illusion of a brand name. They are not brand names. This is how these guys make a living. Selling poorly made goods at huge mark ups under the guise of a “deal”.

    If you know nothing about quality and furniture pricing these are great deals.

    Comment by CR — Nov 13th 2007 @ 10:40 am

37. hey this for all you people who think you got scammed i used to do this for a living had my own truck and i baught my funiture factory direct from nc i sold like this to but i told people the truth that i sale to the public at a dicount from what you would pay in a local store but i dealt only in quaily furniture some of these ppls do lye just look at the furniture and make your own common sense decisionthere are some honest pedlars around just be careful and you can sve alot of money this way

    Comment by t jones — Nov 20th 2007 @ 12:07 am

38. This sounds like a good money making deal. I would like to be involved in this.
    What is wrong with door to door sales?
    Some of you folks have no business answering the door. Stay under your bed, and let the adults take care of business, please.

    Comment by Jim — Nov 23rd 2007 @ 1:19 am

39. No business answering the door? Stay of my friggin’ property.

    Comment by nickel — Nov 23rd 2007 @ 8:12 am

40. In some parts of the country, we “adults” answer the door packing heat (and I don’t mean a blow-dryer). Just the way it is, given the way things have become. There’s more “side-of-beef-we-can’t-sell” type guys around here trying to sell out of a freezer on the back of a pickup, and they know by this point that they don’t venture this far out. Sure you wanna try that kind of business here Jim?

    Comment by T-R-A — Dec 1st 2007 @ 6:11 pm

41. These guys stopped by our office park in Mobile, AL going from door to door claiming to have Thomasville furniture. When I confronted one man about this article, and the fact that he is scamming people, he claimed that he never said the furniture was Thomasville and that he was selling other brand names from many distributors. He showed me some brochures that look professional claiming that some of the furniture was from Ashley and other fine retailers. When I looked closely, the brochure read “Ashly” furniture, not Ashley, and did not have the usual Ashley logo. These guys are deffinitely scamming people.

    Comment by Michelle — Jan 7th 2008 @ 5:06 pm

42. I’m happy with the stuff we bought. If you’re buying furniture based solely on the brand name and not the actual quality of the materials and construction, you’re the one getting scammed.

    Comment by whitey — Jan 7th 2008 @ 10:26 pm

43. In St. Petersburg, Florida today. Nice rig that said “Thomasville Furniture.” Actually stopped at our office. Pretty funny because we are a law office…….

    Comment by Crystal — Feb 13th 2008 @ 3:34 pm

44. This is pretty incredible! I was just cleaning my sofa that I bought off the back of a truck 15 years ago in Houston when I saw the Hamilton furniture tag and thought about the wonders of the internet and decided to see if there was any information. That got me to this website! To those who are feeling scammed….its been a good sofa and I STILL LIKE IT even if I was scammed! Ps Bought a wing chair to go with it!

    Comment by Sandra — Mar 1st 2008 @ 2:38 pm

45. These guys come around annually where I live in MD, claiming to have a canceled order. When I called the police I was amazed to hear the city had given them a permit to do this. Who needs a pollution belching semi in a narrow side street. After I told them to get lost they called my home phone, obviously using an address directory because they used the fake name we list to be able to hang up on telemarketers. Same voice, same accent. This time the police agreed to go tell them they cannot hassle people who refuse to fall for their racket.

    Comment by Judy — Mar 10th 2008 @ 6:43 pm

46. I did this for over 20 years. This busuness started in the late 60s and early 70’s took off big time in the late 70s and early 80s I don’t do it no more because it is a lie, and a scam. The furniture is bought from local mom & pop Upholstery shops in High Point & Thomasville, NC. A lot of the leather goods are coming out of China now
    The one dude said he sold it with out Lying. he’s a lyer. The tags are marked up about five times over what they are worth. He\’ll tell you that’s the suggested retail price, but he will deal you out at about a tird of that. Not so. They will knock out about $ 100.00 clear on a chair. About $ 400 to $ 500 on a living room suite, about $ 500 to $ 1000 on bedroom and dining room.
    I sold this stuff all over the U.S. North south east and west. Even had a state wide consumer alert put out on us in Arkansas in 1983. We had four tractors and trailers working all over the state.
    My story was that I carried the load to a new dealer. He didn’t have the money to pay for it c.o.d. so we had to load it back up. We had a load to pick up going back to N.C. and didn’t have room for it, so if you would buy we would sale it to you at dealers cost, no freight, and enclude the tax. If you bought enough I would even call the boss and get you maybe an even better deal. Sold truckload after truckload using that line.
    I’m out of that business now. Been out of for 14 years. To the hundreds of people I scamed I’m truly sorry.
    Need any more imfo let me know.

    Comment by frank — Mar 15th 2008 @ 2:39 am

47. I also live in MD and these guys stopped at my house last night. My husband pulled off and approximately 10 minutes later my door bell rang. I opened it and got a spiel about a neighbourhood delivered and the excess that he would like to get rid of. I went to look with my husband on the phone and he insisted I go back inside lock the door and tell them to come back in 20 minutes when he is back. (We just bought a new home and we do need a lot of furniture) They came back and we bought a formal living room set and a couple accent pieces all in good condition.(Oh btw it was a good price better that what we have been seeing). All in all it would be wrong of me to say anything bad about these 3 guys. Two of the 3 had wife and kids back home, they were very personable and helpful. By the time they left out home I gave them a something to drink and promised them dinner if we ever meet again.

    I truly believe these are knock off but they look very good, I will make a determination on quality in the years to come. I am not advocating going out to random guys and endangering yourselves… I am just saying my experience with these guys were pleasant full of conversation and not at all frightening. (I wouldn’t have done it without my big burly husband however)

    Comment by Marie — Mar 31st 2008 @ 3:49 pm

48. Is it me, or does it seem as if these truck driving scammers are posting fake posts to try to make their business sound legitimate? Get real jobs and leave the normal hard working people alone!

    Comment by Fernando — Apr 1st 2008 @ 11:17 am

49. A truck just pulled up in my neighborhood about an hour ago. Told them I wasn’t interested. Their spiel was the “order was canceled and we have a permit to sell the merchandise.” He said he was from North Carolina, and he did have some sort of southern accent.

    Never had heard about this kind of scam, but it was too good to be true, so I was wary. (Also, I didn’t need any furniture.)

    Comment by Not sold — Apr 13th 2008 @ 2:10 pm

50. I’m tell’n ya’ll you can ease your mind all you want to, but this furnture is not what they say it is. P.T. Barnum once said “there is a sucker born every day.”

    Comment by frank — Apr 13th 2008 @ 8:58 pm

51. I purchased a leather recliner from a truck from Thomasville NC. There was no misrepresentation of the products. Most of it was probably made in China. Guess what…most of your local furniture stores buy their furniture from Chinese ditributors/manufacturers. This business is no different than any other. In case you are not familiar with Geography; Thomasville is a town in NC and happens to be the name of a company also. NC furniture businesses are struggling with Chinese competition. The guys sell off the trucks can save you a little but consider it a convenience not a scam.

    Comment by Patrick — Apr 24th 2008 @ 10:14 pm

52. I just had a white truck stop by my house in Jefferson Georgia with three white guys claiming to sell Thomasville furniture. They had couches, loveseats, clocks, etc. The truck had Thomasville printed on the sides and they wore Thomasville shirts. The truck had a North Carolina tag. The tag number of the truck in AZ-52665. I’m not about to buy anything out of the back of a truck but out of curiosity I did take a look at their stuff. I would not recommend buying anything from these guys.

    Comment by Dean — May 21st 2008 @ 10:04 pm

53. These guys were here in Rochester Hills, MI. For last few months, I have been visiting furniture stores to get a good price, but I have not likes single sofa yet. The only choices I have are in Micro fiber and suede (Don’t want to go for leather). But the sofa I saw on the truck was good. I liked it though I haven’t bought yet. The quality was really good. I wish I had bought from them.

    Thanks
    SS

    Comment by Sanjay — May 24th 2008 @ 5:04 pm

54. I think you have to be careful and go on a case-by-case basis. We bought a really nice chair for our home office last year and couldn’t be happier with it. We paid cash. We got a receipt with a phone # and physical address on it. The same chair would have cost us $115 more plus a delivery fee had we bought it online through a brick and mortar store.
    Years ago, I had a friend in NY state who manufactured furniture for these types of businesses. They get the parts separately, like legs, etc. Then they do upholstery and decorate them all at once, which is why they have so many of the same style but different colors. They often use overstock upholstery and components from many different manufacturers. So, it may have some brand name foams or coverings or legs. It is actually pretty well made.
    Lots of folks sell stuff from trucks: Schwann’s food, seafood (alot here in MD), those ugly velvet paintings that were big in the 70’s, clothing (New York City), Amway (at least the guys who weren’t trying to to the pyramid part) and the Fuller Brush Man used to be a welcome sight. The problem with furniture is that it seems too “big ticket” to be sold from trucks. I say just be careful, check the quality and always get a receipt with contact info. and verify.

    Comment by key typer — Jun 6th 2008 @ 6:50 pm

55. Let the BUYER BEWARE applies when you make a purchase from a truck or in a store. Got to know a little about the quality you are buying.
    I bought a Sofa & Loveseat for $1,200 off a truck after Hurricane Andrew in Miami.
    Looked good and used them for 12 years!
    (all stores in Miami were damaged & closed)
    I visited Thomasville & High Point last year,
    simply 2 nice small Southern Towns with 1,000
    furniture stores. My Sister drove from Boston to Thomasville to buy furniture for her new
    Condo in Florida last year. A couple weeks after delivery she spotted a tag on the back of the bed that said “Made in China!”
    I hope she paid the “Made in China price?”
    I notice another comment here from Indian Trail Road. Is this on Lake Keowee, SC where I have a lot? (maybe 12 houses on Rd)
    End result = Be intelligent & do your homework.
    Return Policy? (sorry, no returns) LOL

    Comment by Ed — Jun 10th 2008 @ 1:10 am

56. First of all i know all about this, it is called peddelling furniture i know people who have made a living off peddelling furniture i live in high point north carolina. The furniture isnt thomasville duh!! But it is legit and good quality heck i know the quy where they all get it from all furniture now days is made in china your not getting a deal just because it says thomasville on it or ashley or lane, american drew what not it is almost all made in china now. The pitch they give you isnt legit but the furniture is, it is actually made in high point unlike thomasville which is made mainly overseas how do i know this i worked for thomasville furniture in thomasville. For everyone saying this is a scam you obviously dont no any better the furniture is higher quality and a better price then what you will buy in a store now just the delivery prices with gas going up makes it worth your while to at least take a look at . AND NO IM NOT A PEDDLER TRYING TO STICK UP FOR PEDDLING THAT IS WHAT IT IS CALLED DOOR TO DOOR COLD CALLING SELLING MERCHANDISE OFF A BACK OF A TRUCK. If you dont want to buy from these guys that is fine but dont knock
    a man for trying to make a living if you dont like just be polite and say not interested and go about your business. We live in the US a free society not a dictator ship where you have to down someone for trying to make a living if you had a family with mouths to feed wouldnt you do what you had to do to keep them fed. Sorry if i sound rood or upset, but dont talk about people unless you are standing in front of them then tell them that is what we call a coward.

    Thanks sincerely,
    Chuck

    Comment by chuck — Jun 23rd 2008 @ 12:24 pm

57. Chuck, they may be just trying to make a living, but in many areas this sort of solicitation is not allowed. Thus, they’re often breaking the law.

    Comment by nickel — Jun 23rd 2008 @ 2:44 pm

58. IF YOU WOULD NOT BE SO QUICK TO MAKE EVERY ONE OUT TO BE SO BAD AND SO QUICK TO KNOCK EVERYTHING, YOU MIGHT JUST GET A GOOD DEAL ON SOME FURNITURE. JUST LOOK AT THE TAGS OR BOXES AND PHOTOS AND YOU WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE BUYING. IT DOES NOT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO SEE A GOOD DEAL, BUT IT DOES TAKE A CLOSED MINDED PERSON TO WALK AWAY FROM A BARGAIN. IF YOU LIKE PAYING RETAIL THE STORES WILL BE GLAD TO CHARGE YOU 2 O 3 TIMES AS MUCH AS THE TRUCKS. WHO IS THE SHADY SALESMAN NOW? THINK ABOUT IT. DONT BE SO CLOSED MINDED AND SO QUICK TO PUT SOMEONE WORKING HARD TO EARN A LIVING. ITS HARD WORK AND ALOT OF LONG HOURS.

    Comment by JOHN — Jun 23rd 2008 @ 3:32 pm

59. 07/30/2008, just had a guy in a thomasville truck give us the same line about having a load that was for a furniture company that had gone out of business. searched this out and found this page on the web. interesting stuff. my only comment is to those who think this is either normal, legal or moral. it is non of the above. to sell to the public in this state requires you be registered with the state dept of revenue, hold a retail license, and pay your sales tax collected for items sold. all of these things are NOT happening in these cases. it is illegal plain and simple. for those of us who have legit businesses, how is it at all fair to have some one show up and compete against you without having to pay taxes on your sales. these folks should be in jail. if they want to sell furniture out of the back of their trucks, that’s ok with me. do it legally.

    Comment by Ted — Jul 30th 2008 @ 11:42 am

60. So this is a scam, huh? So, they asked you to buy furniture, you gave them money, and they gave you furniture. My mother bought a leather recliner from one of these outfits. It was a good deal and it’s still really nice after several years of use. Most people posting are really, really angry. Why? Seems pretty innocuous to me.

    Comment by Chris Gebert — Aug 21st 2008 @ 11:16 am

61. The arrival of the truck in our neighborhood made for an interesting afternoon. We don’t consider ourselves foolish or naive. The furniture was comparable to the quality we have found in stores and the price was right. I actually found the exact pattern and color I’ve been looking for in a loveseat, wing chair and settee at a lot less money. The tag says Furniture Brands International, of which several fine makers are a division. I agree with the previous poster that questions where’s the scam–they offered a product and a good price and we were satisfied with the quality and cost. And my husband is glad he doesn’t have to endure endless trips to the furniture store anymore or wait for delivery! Keep an open mind.

    Comment by Suzanna — Aug 25th 2008 @ 11:28 am

62. I was visiting a small town in Maryland on Tuesday morning and these guys showed up. I returned home that night to where I live (outside of Philly) and the same friggin idiots show up! These guys drove 150 miles north just to find me again! Unbelievable! I thought they were following me so, I did a search and found this blog. I’m still gonna do some more investigation. Seems too coincidental.

    Comment by Jay — Aug 27th 2008 @ 9:48 pm

63. I have bought my living room furniture from them 10 years ago. We loved it so much that we purchased 2 bedroom sets, dining room and family room furniture from them 5 years later. I am so pleased with the bargain and proud of myself for not paying triple times to junks from Marlo or many other furniture stores. I was wondering how I can find them again in Washington DC area. Anybody has any idea?

    Comment by si — Sep 5th 2008 @ 2:46 pm

64. Oh geez louise … calm down people.
    I just bought furniture from a truck for half the price in the store without the delivery fees. I used my credit card and no, it hasnt been used by them since. They arranged for me to purchase extra pieces not included on the truck, so yes they have a way of getting other pieces from same collection. They used the thomasville town name, but did not claim to be the company. The furniture is the exact set from the store (i did my research) and has the same logos inside the drawers.
    I would gladly do it again!

    Comment by ann — Sep 10th 2008 @ 2:12 pm

65. I am looking for these people to buy more furniture from them. Anybody has any contact information of them?

    Comment by Si — Sep 10th 2008 @ 2:47 pm

66. I’m not saying the furniture is good or bad. The manner in which it is being sold should raise some red flags. They were in our neighborhood as well. Nervously, the man tells a story of how a little old lady had bought all of this furniture, her credit was bad, so now they have to unload it at discount prices. I won’t be buying any hamburgers from a mobile McDonnald’s.

    Comment by Pat — Sep 17th 2008 @ 9:22 am

67. They were just at my house in walworth ny.Same setup as described.09/28/08

    Comment by l nelson — Sep 28th 2008 @ 7:06 pm

68. I live here in North Carolina as a matter of fact in High Point. I know alot of guys who peddle furniture. As a matter of a fact I pebble food. The furniture that you are buying is made here in North Carolina. There are a lot of small companies that make furniture for these guys to sell. It is top of the line and does not fall apart. A lot of the times what you are buying is the same thing you would buy from a furniture store. A person here can buy a truck load of furniture at a pretty good price and make some good money on it. The product is not stolen. If you come here you can get the same price they pay for it. These companys are all over the place that wholesale furniture. So all of you who think it is a scam it is not. Thomasville furniture has these small companys make furniture for them, most the time it is samples of what they want to put on a line to be made. Just remeber one thing the furniture you are buying off the truck is made by one man who takes his time making it. What you buy in the furniture store is made by a lot of people who just want to get thru the day and go home. Which on do you think is made better.

    Comment by Jim Ison — Oct 9th 2008 @ 12:33 pm

69. Whatever, Larry (from the Thomasville truck) is a really nice guy, and I’m not about to knock his hustle. I got me a lovely Lane leather sofa and love seat about a year and a half ago for my basement. I’m looking for dining room furniture now, and if I can’t find what I want in the stores, and they have something that is a great deal, I have their business card and will call them up to see what they can bring through the next time they are in N. Virginia and if it has a great price, I’ll consider buying it.

    Comment by RK — Nov 2nd 2008 @ 4:03 pm

70. Hi RK ,
    Please share their info with rest of us whom are looking for these guys to buy more furniture. I do not think they mind to distribute their contact info. It would be a free ad for them.

    Comment by Si — Nov 7th 2008 @ 2:37 pm

71. Hello Si,
    I’m further south than you, so I’m not sure if these guys will come your way. Perhaps they or one of their compatriots may be able to help you.
    We bought a formal dining set that suits our tastes and falls right in range with the online prices for similar furniture. The boxes clearly showed “Made in Vietnam”, but I don’t mind Asian hardwood when it is crafted this nicely. The curved backs of the chairs are joined beautifully.

    Comment by recent — Nov 16th 2008 @ 10:21 pm

72. Hey all you smart people out there…
    Who don’t want to buy furniture out of the back of a truck..
    That furniture in the back of the truck, is most likely made right here in the USA!
    The furniture you find in most furniture stores today, is made in ChinA!! Who do you want to support?

    The furniture in the furniture stores, gets there via the back of a big furniture truck! Interesting, big furniture truck takes furniture to back of store and unloads it….

    someone owns a big semi with furniture trailer and finds manufacturer, and decides to head out of state to sell it to individuals to save them money compared to stores who paid $big money for a storefront location. one time investment in truck and trailer $100-150,000…. store BIG MONEY.. maybe $10,000 a month rent or more or maybe $5 million dollar one time purchase depending on location!! The Store’s don’t sell you that furniture or anything else for that matter at cost…

    Wow I’m still impressed that the furniture got to the store the same way it got to the front of your home.

    I’ll say this too, IF door to door selling is illegal in your state or city, you have lost a freedom! You may not want to do that type of job, but it was still a freedom that we have all lost.

    This blog really shows that there are alot of people out there that do not care if they lose a freedom. What a shame, I have lost relatives in past wars that are DEAD to save your freedom.

    Also, I imagine most people don’t listen to these peddlers sales pitch, to note they say they are from Thomasville, NC….

    So folks, Let me say this, the biggest scam artists out there are your nice pretty store fronts, who do you people think pays for that $10 million dollar storefront????
    I mean look at any mall location, any big store, and check their information, how much did they pay for that land???? The big box stores are making millions, did you see their company info, stating net profits??? NET, means that is what they made after all costs were taking out, that was money out of your pocket’s my friend. And all that money went to pay some big executives to have a fat time on your hard earned paycheck that you spent with them!!!!!! Their exotic vacations, their fancy cars, their mansions on the hill!!!! Folks, wake up!!!

    Comment by Bill — Nov 19th 2008 @ 8:21 am

73. Bill: Actually, that’s not the case. Check out comment #71. THe boxes were clearly marked “Made in Vietnam.”

    Comment by nickel — Nov 19th 2008 @ 8:26 am

74. well… how about that… SOME boxes were marked “made in Vietnam” , can someone here please explain to me why?
    why are we now American’ts??? OHHHH I think I know… cause everyone here wants to be paid $80/hour to work, and no one wants to pay anyone that much to work, so we ship all our manufacturing off to other countries where the people will work for $0.10/ hour….And we sure don’t want to pay anything for something for our house, we want cheap!!! Go in about any store and look at the tags of clothing, made in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea. Our cars are made overseas, our clothing, our furniture… what next, our wives and children? Oh, wait a friend of mine has a Chinese wife, she treats him like a king and she is very pretty… I think women need to watch out, they will get replaced next…. And to all the people who have children that want to give them everything that they didn’t get when they grew up… well, guess what your children won’t have when they do grow up? JOBS, MONEY, SECURITY!!!! Make your kids earn their money, and make your stores earn your money….. I mean has anyone noticed all the political talk on TV about making this a socialist country to get out of the financial crisis???? I guess free society was sold out…. and no one cares…. oh wait, they care, they just talk about it, and don’t do anything about it… I would yell WAKE UP AMERICA, but I think everyone is to stoned or drunk to notice anything…

    Comment by Bill — Nov 30th 2008 @ 1:50 pm

75. I do the same thing but with a warehouse instead of a truck…Peddling furniture out of truck is too hard and you are away from your family…. peddling used to be more common… loading lifting and letting customers see every piece of furnitutre you have on the truck before they buy one or no pieces is hard work…. I tried this with one truck load selling to friends and family (too hard) I decided to go with a retail warehouse instead in Lake Norman NC(still in business after 5 years)…. the furniture I get is new furniture from High Point showrooms…. mostly sofas, sectionals, chairs and ottomans, sleepers etc, of all styles 100% leather, fabric or microfiber….we will also buy casegood showrooms (bedrooms and casual dining mostly) Unlike the hardworking peddlers we give the mfts. name, model #, leather color, and leather name as well as an optional warranty… anyone with a computer can check to find out the deals they are receiving are true deals at true wholesale prices. we pick up truckloads in High Point about 2x month. Most of our customers are from Lake Norman area (Mecklenburg County) same county as Charlotte NC. A trip from Charlotte to Davidson is worth the ride. What we offer our customers: great quality, great price and you get it today. (with most deals you only get 2 of the 3) We have kept our overhaed very low…. when you visit the warehouse customers can tell they are buying the furniture not the warehouse

    Comment by Kendall — Jan 17th 2009 @ 10:29 am

76. Hey, I bought furniture off the back of the truck. Call me crazy if you will. I bought it over 4 years ago. No police came knocking on my door. The furniture is of very good quality and still looks brand new. I compared the prices and they are very good.
    Also, found that the company name to make checks to is listed on the web in guess where High Point, NC.

    Comment by ontheweb — Jan 26th 2009 @ 12:35 am

77. I have been keeping house for over 33 years. I have never had to use a warranty on any piece of furniture. Having a warranty that you will probably never use is not worth it to pay higher prices in the brick and mortar stores.

    Most of those store mark up at least 300 to 400%, that is why they can have the so called blow out sales and still make a mint.

    Comment by ontheweb — Jan 26th 2009 @ 1:06 am

78. I live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee off 231 south in Chestnut Hill. These guys knocked on my door this morning, ( two young guys and one older man with white hair)..looked down the street and saw a HUGE, all white Semi with Thomasville Furniture on the Cab and Trailer. Their spill was that they were on their way to Lebanon,Tn. to deliver this huge load of furniture to an interior designer. They got word that the bank had pulled the designers line of credit and that they actually had no money, so therefore they were having to unload this stuff for under half its worth. They claimed her delivery was supposed to be COD. They never said why they couldn’t take it back with them and I didn’t ask. Several of my neighbors were already on the truck looking to see what they had.
    I found the guys very personable and when I got on the truck to look..everything was packaged nicely and they had some extremley nice wing back chairs ( some couches went with these), settees, 2 leather club chairs, several really nice recliners that rocked, reclined and swiveled in one. They had whole sets of really nice bedroom suites (dressers, end tables, ect,).I would have liked a dresser, but they couldn’t split up the set. I checked the tags,( which the couches had at least 3 on them) and they clearly stated Thomasville Furniture.They were in many different styles, patterns and colors. The prices on these couches according to the tags, ranged from $2600 to $3000. They offered them to me for $649 each. The 3 in one recliners were stated as being $699. The offer of those were $198 each. The wingback chairs orginally, I think were $700 and the offer was $298.
    Now..I am a skeptic or at least consider myself to be, but I have been out here looking at furniture the last couple of months and I may kick myself later, but you know what? I bought a couch, recliner, and a small table. All for $1000. What I got as far as looks, is way nicer and more affordable than any I had found that I liked so far. These guys moved my old sofa for me and set up my new one and even put the feet on for me. I got a receipt with a name and phone number that says Thomasville Furniture. The check had to be written out to a Champ Cooper and they included sales tax. They required 2 phone numbers. Also..just to add on…I initially only got the recliner and the table. I called my dad to tell him what I got and that they were still down the street. My dad said I should go back and get me a couch for that price. So I did. If these guys wanted to try and steal more money from me, they could have kept the first check I wrote them. They didn’t. They actually handed me back my first check to tear up, so I could just write the couch and all on one. They could have easily kept it and I probably would have forgot it. I may be dense at times, but I have had way worse happen dealing with furniture from a store. Heck..I was gonna buy a whole Ashley Furniture bedroom suite from them that they had marked down(still in the thousands I might ad) and when I asked about the delivey fee, they told me they couldn’t deliver merchandise that was on clearance!! Oh, but there was a guy there that the manager was friends with, that, if for price, he could bring it to me on a horse trailer! Can you believe that crap??!! I walked out and will never go back. That suite by the was like $4000. Their loss.
    So I plan on calling my bank Monday and put them on alert just to make sure that only the amount I wrote is to come out for them. In the meantime, I don’t feel bad. I have dealt with way worse. And the furniture is so comfortable and nice!! And I promise you I not from NC or a trucker making this up. At no time did I feel threatened in any way by these guys. Not to mention my neighbor was there too and heard what they said and could identify them if needed.

    Comment by Lynne — Mar 1st 2009 @ 12:34 am

79. This same thing happened to me today, 3/6/09. Door bell rang, looked outside and saw a furniture truck. I thought it may have been a delivery but at the wrong address. When I opened the door the guy delivered his pitch. Since he said they were from N.C. and I could see this on the truck, I asked why come all the way to ILLINOIS! Scam alert! He gave me a line about deeply discounted furniture etc. and left his card. I told him I may be able to look later so he left his card and stated to call the phone number. the card stated: Cottle Transport, Inc and name on card is John Cottle. In then meantime, I searched the web and found this thread. I am sceptical but also wondering if there is any level of legitimacy to this.

    Comment by Heather — Mar 6th 2009 @ 3:51 pm

80. These guys really get around. Big white semi with “Thomasville” that looked just like the store logo in my development this afternoon – thought a neighbor was getting a delivery. Guy with a thick southern accent rings my doorbell and gives me the song and dance about a canceled order and a truck full of furniture he has to get rid of cheap. Didn’t go out to look b/c we don’t need furniture and it sounded too shady to me. Plus, we bought furniture years ago at a close-out sale for a Sears Home brand store and got a bit burned. The sales person assured us that the mission style furniture we got was solid wood and it turned out to be laminate. By the time we figured that out – no store left to complain to. Hats off to those who think they got a deal, but I’ll buy from IKEA before I buy off a truck. BTW I live in eastern PA, near Allentown.

    Comment by Noreen — Apr 5th 2009 @ 12:24 am

81. I am extremely skeptical almost cynical by nature yet I decided to “fall” for this scam yesterday afternoon. I’d seen this a couple of times in the past, but had declined the invitation to view the contents of the truck until yesterday. The difference this time. We had been shopping for living and dining room furniture for about the past month and had a pretty good idea of what we wanted. As such, the wife and I took them up on their offer to view the truck’s contents. Sounds almost identical to what everybody else mentioned….wing back chairs a plenty, grandfather clocks, bedroom sets, sofa’s settee’s etc., and most importantly, two cherry dining room sets. One represented as a Pulaski and the other Fairmont Designs. My wife liked both sets, so I took the brochures inside to do some quick research while my wife and several neighbors chatted up the truckers. I knew full well that the sets were most likely knock-offs, but I wanted to get an idea of what the real deal would cost me via an Internet purchase. The driver advised me that the Pulaski had an MSRP of $11,000, but I could have it for $4,000. When the wife turned her attention to the Fairmont pedestal table, he advised pedestals “were more expensive”, which we knew to be true and that we could have that one for $4,300 inclusive of the pedestal table, two arm chairs, two sides chairs and china cabinet. My research showed that I could get the actual set from an Internet-based furniture store for a couple of hundred dollars less than what he was asking. I walked outside and thanked him for his time, but we weren’t interested as it simply did not seem like a bargain and too much risk involved. We went back inside for a few minutes and I told my wife to tell him we’d be interested for $2,700 He countered at $3,000 and I agreed knowing full well that even though all of the boxes and tags said Fairmont Designs that it was a knock-off. Thing is, I never had heard of Fairmont Designs before, so what do I care. Unless what appeared to be wood suddenly turns into dust overnight, I’m fine with it and feel I got a decent value. At the end, we grabbed a wing back chair for $289 as well. Now, was I scammed? I don’t think so. I think I made an intelligent value-based decision on what I had learned over the last month while furniture shopping. We’ve gone over the set visually a half dozen or so times and see no defects. The drawers all have velvet bottoms, although they are not on rollers and are a little stiff. I’m sure they made at least a $1,500 profit off of me, but compared to my recent Ethan Allen experience that was fine by me. The good folks from Ethan Allen came out and put together a phenomenal living room and dining room floor plan for us three weeks ago. The living room consisting of an area rug, a settee, a wingback chair, two other chairs, a coffee table, a pineapple table and two end tables totaled $13,000. The dining room consisting of an area rug, pedestal table, two arm chairs, six side chairs, china cabinet and sideboard was $18,500. EA wanted $1,899 for the wing back chair. The chair I got off the truck was very similar at a $1,600 savings. Know, I still need the sideboard for the dining room, they offered to bring it back next trip or I could get online for about $800 was still a significant savings over EA. Although the quality of the truck furniture appears very good, I won’t try to argue it is comparable to EA, but at 1/4 the price, the look is identical and unless it falls apart, which I don’t believe it will, then I’m happy…and that’s all that matters.

    Also, as an aside, my experience with a large, chain furniture store has been not so stellar over the years. They employed the same sleazy sales tactic on me on two separate occasions five years apart. I negotiated a price, signed the order and scheduled delivery for three days later. On Day 2, I got a call from a sales manager saying “we can’t do this deal at that price..It’s well below what I could actually buy it for myself. If you want us to deliver it tomorrow as scheduled, it’s going to cost you $xxx.xx more”. The first time this happened to me in 2000, I told the guy that was his problem not mine and that we had a contract and if he breached I would seek the appropriate remedies. The furniture arrived the next day and I never heard from him again. Five years later, I purchased a bedroom set and got the same phone call two days later. This time I canceled the order and will not go there again. I had a car dealership do this to my wife in 1997 as well. Sleazy. Anyway, my opinion, proceed with caution, but proceed nonetheless if you’re confident you know what a fair value is for what you are looking at.

    P.S. Would only pay CC on something like this in case of any type of dispute, and I’m from Southern New Jersey.

    Comment by Rich — Apr 8th 2009 @ 1:00 pm

82. Rich,
    do you have any contact number for these people? i have purchased all my furniture from them in past 13 years. But I have lost their number. Please email me; msassadi@yahoo.com. I like to get some new furniture from them.

    Comment by Simin — Apr 8th 2009 @ 1:24 pm

83. Wow, im going to get straight to the point here. All of these articles make me laugh (the furniture is stolen, they rented a truck). So what im going to do is tell you the truth about these peddlers. Most of the guys own there trucks, they go to furniture stores and buy the furn in bulk with there own money ( a full truck load cost about 25,000 to 30,000) most of the peddlers pay straight cash. They will most likely sale the hole truck in 10 days. And they usually mark the prodcut up a 100% but that is still cheaper than what you would pay for it in the stores. And yes they do this year round…A good peddler will make 150,000 300,000 a year . When they talk to you and you wonder if that is realy the way they talk yes it is ( a good southern boy)…Well i hope this helps you out on your next purchase….I no beacause i peddled for 5 years… have a nice day yall

    Comment by Andrew — May 17th 2009 @ 9:21 am

84. Hi,
    My husband does this for a living, we run 5 trucks. There dozens of furniture peddlers from the piedmont area of North Carolina. I will tell you that if someone says the furniture is Thomasville, that is not true. But that doesn’t mean that it is not good furniture. We sell Ashley, Vaughn, Homelegance, Howard Miller and many other good brands. We also sell furniture from companies no one has ever heard of that is shipped in from China (mostly leather). We have a circuit that we run every year, so it is important to us to sell a decent product that won’t make it so we can’t come back to an area next year. We are a real business, we deal with the factories, banks, credit card companies, the states and city governments we work in, the IRS, the DOT for our trucks. It is not in our best interest to scam people and get a bad reputation. But some small time peddlers, are just out to make some crack money and will tell any kind of story and sell any kind of junk. It is up to the customer to use caution, just like any other shopping experience. I would suggest using a credit card, that way if there is a problem you have an advocate. If a peddler doesn’t take credit cards, that is a red flag, don’t buy from them.

    Comment by Kathleen — Jun 3rd 2009 @ 10:41 am

85. this is for Kathleen from jun 3rd 2009, whose husband does this for a living. I have bought my living room furniture off the truck twice over twenty years. The furniture has held up exceptionally well even though we have two kids two dogs two cats and tons of friends and family that sit on it day in and day out. The only reason I let go of my first purchase was the dogs and then the kids stained the couch, it would have cost me as much to reupholster as get a new one. You should create a website so people will know where and when you will be in their area and what styles you will be showing. People would like to know instead of asking friends and family to let you know if they ever see the trucks. Seriously, Janet

    Comment by janet dolan — Jun 23rd 2009 @ 10:47 pm

86. This is for Kathleen from jun 3rd 2009, whose husband does this for a living. I have purchased all my furniture from one of these trucks and I love them all. it is time to replace my leaving room with new set. Nothing is wrong with them, I am only ready for change after these years. KAthleen, would you please email me your contact info? I have posted my request multiple time here but everyone has ignored me! SOMEONE PLEASE PROVIDE CONTACT INFO OF THESE PEOPLE. I AM DESPERATE….

    Comment by Simin — Jul 7th 2009 @ 2:25 pm

87. They were in Jacksonville Florida this week. I dont ever jump on a deal but did with this one. I bought a sofa and loveseat (leather) for 1350. I did think it was Thomasville furniture, because of the truck of course. The men gave the story of the cancelled interior designer order and I thought what a deal with it being leather and Thomasville. I asked one of the dudes if it had a Thomasville tag on the furniture and he said no and the tag taken off was the only one. I should have known then. Anyhow- I know this is not Thomasville furniture but it is very beautiful and I dont think I could have gotten both pieces at a better price retail as I’ve looked all summer. It is very thick, rich looking leather and I hope it holds up well.The men were very nice, delivered, set it up and gave me a receipt.After reading all this, I know I was fooled with the brand but feel it is good furniture for the price paid.If I knew more about this- I would have offered them much less! The truck was the biggest part of this trick.

    Comment by Lynn — Aug 8th 2009 @ 9:20 pm

88. My wife and I bought a furniture from these guys a couple of years back. We bought a couch and a love seat. The furniture wasn’t fancy but half the price of furniture stores and they still work fine. We took a risk but it was well worth it.

    Comment by Jeff — Aug 19th 2009 @ 1:00 pm

89. These guys are in my neighborhood as I type this (Ankeny, Iowa). Same story as above – some designer canceled their order and these guys are stuck with a truckload of furniture, etc.

    All the guys seemed nice enough, so I have no doubt they are selling decent stuff, and have a legit business for the most part. They did take credit cards, etc. My only red flag is the completely phony “backstory” to their sales game. I mean, why do they need to lie there. If they’d just say, “We buy truckloads of furniture and tour around selling it ourselves versus owning a store” or something similar, I’d respect them a lot more.

    My wife and I looked at the furniture. Not bad, but not in our budget. I’d probably have no qualms buying from them if I was in the market for something they had and had the $ to spend. Most big furniture stores run free financing promotions that make these purchases digestible for households like mine, so I’m not going to splurge and upset my cash-flow.

    Comment by Dick — Aug 22nd 2009 @ 6:30 pm

90. After reading all of these entries, I’m laughing at myself. I live in Ankeny, Iowa too and just bought two wingback chairs this lovely Sunday afternoon. Three very polite men with southern accents in a semi from Carolina Furniture. The credit card receipt had this address 304 Trindale Rd #5, Archdale, NC 27263 and phone 336-434-1141. The written receipt has the P.O. Box 2978, Thomasville, NC 27361. They showed us a permit to sell from the city of Ankeny and we paid sales tax. It seemed a bit strange and their story was that a designer in town cancelled the order, and their boss wanted them to sell the furniture instead of hauling it back to NC. I guess we are a bit too trusting.

    We purchased two wingback chairs and we like the pattern quite a lot. Just tell us the truth that you sell furniture at discounted prices–but then they probably wouldn’t sell as much furniture. Also, we should have negotiated with them on the price. I now regret not doing that. We like the chairs, they look great with our decor and we are now going to go sit in them and drink a lot of wine and laugh about what just happened.

    Comment by Jen — Aug 23rd 2009 @ 9:41 pm

91. If these guys are so legit, how come they freaked out when I took a picture of their license plate. I don’t like strangers coming up and casing my house with a moving van under the pretense of selling me some stolen merchandise.

    Comment by Not a sucker — Sep 3rd 2009 @ 10:11 pm

92. Well they’re still at it. They drove down our street, a quiet subdivision in Hillborough, NJ, with a truckload of “Thomasville furniture” that they had been delivering to a store in Trenton, but they said the store cancelled the order. And now they don’t want to drive all the way back to North Carolina with it the furniture, so they’re selling it door-to-door, “at cost.”

    By the way, Trenton is 45 minutes south of Hillsborough. Why drive 45 minutes north to sell the furniture?

    We took a look at it and it looked like nice stuff. But why would they sell it “at cost?” They showed us the flier and it was curious to me at the time that they had a flier of the exact furniture that they happened to be delivering to a store, with “retail” and “at cost” numbers on it. Also, they did have a permit to sell – now, why would delivery men on their way to a store in Trenton have a permit to sell furniture in my town of Hillsborough, NJ? And, when I showed interest in a dining room set, they said “we sold that one but if you like it, I will be up here again in 2 weeks, and you don’t have to pay ahead of time.” If they were unloading furniture at cost and there’s no profit in it for them, why would they drive back up to NJ, to my neighborhood, two weeks later, for no profit? Now I know southerners are nice people, but that’s pushing it.

    Anyway, I did write down their licence plate number. But I’m not sure they’re doing anything illegal, other than (1) implying that the furniture was made by Thomasville when it was not, (2) lying about why they were selling it, and (3) implying that it was being sold at a huge discount when, in fact, it was probably being sold for the same price, or more, than in stores.

    Not necessarily illegal, maybe just unethical?

    Comment by Anita — Sep 8th 2009 @ 2:06 pm

93. Well,

    We had them here in Papillion Nebraska just yesterday (Labor Day). We saw what they had and really needed a sofa and love seat. We were also interested in a table and chairs. The problem was that they couldn’t tell me which company in Omaha had gone bankrupt, causing them to be left with inventory they were practically giving away.
    They also couldn’t tell me anything about the company they work for (CDI). We let them put the sofa and love-seat into the house and started looking at tags and taking a closer look than what we could get in the back of the truck. We found the materials to be cheap and the quality to be poor.

    We started looking up the brand of the sofa on the internet (Legacy 7000) and couldn’t find it anywhere. When they brought in the table we finally got a picture and a product number and found that the “at cost” price they quoted us was actually 200 dollars MORE than the average price on the internet, which included free shipping.

    The truck driver was amazingly unaware of which company had gone bankrupt, had no information about the company he drove for, and said they only take checks or credit cards. They just happen to have their own machine in the truck. Tell me something. If they were only getting rid of furniture because of a last minute problem with their receiving company, why do they carry a credit-processing computer with them?

    Why couldn’t any of them answer my questions?

    The truck driver finally put me on the phone with someone named “Butch” English who referred me to the BBB website which gives them an “A” rating. That means nothing. There’s still no history, no record, nothing but a P.O. box for the “company” and a guy selling furniture that I could get cheaper on the internet.

    Once we finally got a good look at the furniture, called the truck driver out on the lies he was telling and had him up against a wall, he said “Well, I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. We want you to be happy. We can just load all this stuff back on the truck.” He was floored when I said “Yeah. Let’s do that.” I thought he was going to choke.

    They loaded up the table, chairs, china hutch, sofa and loveseat and drove away. They haven’t been seen since.

    I agree that if you like the quality of the furniture, you should buy it. It’s real furniture. However, you should do your research. They’re probably over-charging you for low-quality furniture!

    Comment by F. McGill — Sep 8th 2009 @ 5:42 pm

94. The thomasville truck showed up at my work yesterday in Mountain City, Tennessee. Three really fast talking guys with a load of new -still in clear plastic furniture. Coaches, loveseats, rocker recliner, clocks etc. I did purchase 2 coaches a loveseat and 2 rocker recliners. I did not have a check so i told them i would bring cash back today. Furniture was unloaded to dock at work and is still there, i have cash this morning to give them. All this for 1890.00. I have been looking for furniture for a long time. It look very good. however when i get to work I will call the local police to make sure this is legit. Will write back with more later

    Comment by loty Mcfadden — Oct 8th 2009 @ 7:32 am

95. My husband and I peddel furniture . It is legit 100% . Not only do we buy from local manuf around town we also build furniture . We have been building furniture for year high end no cheap stuff . We have done work for Donald Trump , Christina Agulara , And a famous basketball player . Our furniture was in the hotel lobby of the move 1408 .So where is the scam . If I can sell you nice quality furniture what is the problem . If I get all my materials to custom build furniture at good prices . then I sale it to the customer at good prices . I think it is great . I have fabric books . If someone likes a style I have but want a different fabric they can choose thier fabric and I will have it built for them thats called COM customers on fabric . Great deal if you ask me . People aways thinking something is up . I guess it is a GOOD DEAL . Go ahead and spend 2500 on a sofa , love not my money . You get better quality from us for way less money …

    Comment by T AND N — Oct 8th 2009 @ 11:23 pm

96. Thomasville, NC furniture truck just pulled up in central nj to sell all kinds of furniture. They said they brought it to a store to sell but they had too much and the store couldn’t take it so instead of hauling it back to NC they are selling it for dealer prices to get rid of it. I asked for the warranty and they said it will come in the mail within three days. I asked if the furniture was stamped anywhere saying that it is genuine thomasville and there was no direct “yes” answer. I also asked what the model number was so that i could call my fiance who was at work to look at it online. They said that its the 900 series but its not yet available online to view. I asked why its not online and they said its because its a new series and its not yet out. Hmmmmm Very suspect.

    I happened to grab a glimpse of the license plate… NC: 70761 was part of it.

    Comment by Jersey — Oct 9th 2009 @ 2:37 pm

97. They are now in OHIO! They just stopped one of our employees putting up our flag just outside the front door. We are just outside of Toledo, OH. The truck said it was from NC. Our employee of course said they were not interested. But these guys are everywhere, be on the look out!

    Comment by SJ — Nov 12th 2009 @ 9:49 am

98. Oh you guys are tough. You caught a guy who is selling furniture from the back of a truck . Why don’t you catch the person that is selling drugs to your kids. Why don’t you find the person that is responsible for having guns around our homes.

    If they are selling you furniture that you are obviously in need of if you buy it for less then half of the price , why are you complaining .

    Do you know if this trucker is a father that has to do what it takes to feed his children?

    focus one what is really important, and stop bytching when you get a good deal .

    If I ever sell furniture I will sell it to you for double the price . because some of you only enjoy it when you get screwed .

    Comment by Ferris — Nov 14th 2009 @ 11:22 pm

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