INFURN - Furniture and Lamps - sorry tale

Hi

Slightly off topic, but Infurn is a web based company that sell the type of furniture and lamps etc that Beoworlders would probably be tempted to buy. I know I did and waited forever for an Artichoke lamp to arrive. I still have 2 orders outstanding from last August, and have now been told that the company has gone into liquidiation - BUT their website until recently was still available and has now completely dissappeared and no more information on how to recover any outstanding orders.

Anyway, wondered if there was any interest in compiling a list of suppliers that other members have used and found to be good quality and value for money - same is true I guess of all the ebay people reselling used B&O - each one a premier or leading trader following on the tracks of Lifestyle (who do have a good reputation and I havent had any problem with). The problem with some of them has been that they buy cheap and just resell - good example being an excellent condition BM6500 I bought, with a dead battery and terrible sound quality. Paid £300 for it and 5500 I got for £55 works perfectly in comparison - In future I will stick with Lifestyle AV

That's my morning rant!

Infurn like many other web based company specialised into design furniture has never respected any copyright and you have a lot of negativ comments on internet.

I never understood why so much people are willing to pay copies several thousand of euros without seeing them and without any serious history about the firm.

Some famous design company like Knoll are sueing them with success but they always appear on the web with another name. I heard that they are based mostly in spain.

Personnally I would prefer that they didn't jump into this escrow business but finally it is not a bad thing that so many people are loosing money in such liquidation. It is a lesson they won't forget and some publicity will be done about the risks to deal with this kind of businesses.

When I want a design furniture I wait until I find an original on ebay at a good price. If i can afford it, then It is not for me until I can.

I don't get it, if you cannot afford the genuine article then buy something else as you will always be defending your purchase.  And if you do not want to buy used from the likes of ebay or auction houses then search out new designers who produce some cool stuff at an affordable price which maybe be the next classic piece.

 

In the UK, I really like NEST.CO.UK they sell all of the designers - lighting and furniture and their service is excellent. I recently bought a few Spanish Santa and Cole orange lamps from them.

The BEST customer service that i've ever experience has to be from Apple. I needed a replacement base for my MBK Pro - emailed them on a Sunday and a replacement was sent free of charge by 9am Tuesday at my house. The same when I order photos, photo books from Apple.

The worst service I ever experience was from MONSTER. I bought a pair of earphones, they fell to pieces at six months old and I had to pay to post them to Holland. They kept them for five weeks and after many Emails from myself, they sent the damaged earphones back and said that they'd split from Beats so they had put all returns on hold! 

I don't understand the comments on the original post.

We all know this: there is an offer available, really good offer, tempting...

And yes, sometimes it is fraud by the companies, bad luck. Sorry, you learned something.

But ajames with his post is not complaining in any way, he/she just wants to warn other fellows.

First two responses are quite aggressive "if you can't afford it...".

I am really feeling sorry for the style of this forum as it seems to degrade over time.

It was quite a friendly environment, but i can't understand these comments.

 @ajames: i didn't know infurn.com and apparently they went out of business early may...nevertheless, thank you for your warning and your suggestion to build a list of trustworthy dealers we should know.

Thanks Kiwi4all - yes, my comments were meant as a warning to others to be wary of the company, in case, like me, you were conned into buying something.

And of course, much better to see it in person, or get a recommendation from a friend.

A lot of reproduction furniture is first class and shouldn't be knocked - however each to their own

I get my furniture from Intirium. They do not have too good a service but the prices can't be beat. They got everything that is Italian. 

ajames:

A lot of reproduction furniture is first class and shouldn't be knocked 

 

The reproduction furniture you speak of consists of stolen work from the original designer. These reproduction companies make copies of original designs, and not a cent goes to the original designer..

I agree with those that say bad luck. To me you're effectively buying stolen goods

Oh well guess I've learnt my lesson!

If you can afford the expensive originals then good luck to you - quite frankly I wish I'd never posted this 

i do not consider it to be stolen if the designer has passed away and the patents long expired - the original manufacturing processes will have been updated etc. Some may even consider it to be tribute that designs like the eileen grey table are still in production and bought and appreciated some 80 odd tears later - Totally agree if it is a fake watch, that's completely different\

Anyway, not worry, but I do feel sorry for those that lost a lot of money and meant this post as a warning to others rather than a debate on the rights and wrongs of reproduction furniture - I guess you would by the same token think it served someone right if they bought a house next to a volcano that erupted

hey ajames it was a good posting as it brought up a number of valid topics, your important warning and peoples passion for good design and the want of these desirable iconic pieces. 

I bought a couple of Philippe Starck Master Chairs as I like the idea of copying great iconic designs and then blending them with a modern twist and manufacturing them in an economical material, so even a design great is plundering the back catalogue 

Keep posting ... 

Thanks Mark, yes it is an interesting debate, I bought a repro Louis XVth TV Cabinet the other day - it must have had another TV in at some point built in - but the BV8 fits it really well and looks quite stunning next to a repro Tulip table and chairs in a Georgian living room - wether or not it is right or wrong I don't know but I love the look for the moment. By the way, got the cabinet on ebay for £9.50

ajames:

Thanks Mark, yes it is an interesting debate, I bought a repro Louis XVth TV Cabinet the other day - it must have had another TV in at some point built in - but the BV8 fits it really well and looks quite stunning next to a repro Tulip table and chairs in a Georgian living room - wether or not it is right or wrong I don't know but I love the look for the moment. By the way, got the cabinet on ebay for £9.50

Be nice to see a picture of a different environment for B&O - could you upload one ? Or two !