apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I bought a floor model vacuum cleaner once... but I guess that's all! ;-)
I have friends who own a similar carpet they payed around 30€ (intead of 300) last year, but it wasn't because it was a floor model, it was a price tag error... they discovered it the following month on returning to the store.

Anthropologie headboard. Retailed for $1400, got it for $700. Reupholstered for $100 plus 3 yards of fabric for $30.

Floor Models are my life!
Dark Wooden Dining Room Table Pier One - $100 (orig. $400 ) had a few scratches.
Houndstooth Patterned Slipper Chair $200 orig. $700 at Neb. Furniture Mart - I think it was part of a set and they had problems selling just one.
Nearly every lamp in my house is a floor model.
And, we've bought many TV's over the years as Floor models.

My best floor model scores were at Restoration Hardware about 6 years ago...I bought 3 different shaped (but same style) maple end tables for about $40 each!

I bought a 3-piece sleeper sectional from jennifer convertibles with a brand-new posturepedic queen mattress (still in the plastic) for $150!! The sofa fabric was FILTHY, but I was able to have it reupholstered with some beautiful Holly Hunt fabric I had left over from a project (read: FREE) so the whole thing ended up costing about $700. So I saved $1,100 on the sectional and at least $1,800 on the fabric for a total savings of about $3K. Floor model sales are AWESOME, particularly when you're open to using the savings to customize a piece from a chain store. (I also snapped up a few cheap gems at the West Elm sale!)

I've bought a few small appliance floor models ... a Sunbeam beehive blender from BestBuy for $20 and a cobalt blue "demonstration model" Kitchenaid mixer for $70 from a department store. The beehive I now use for my bar blender and the blue mixer I gave away when I bought a green one, but both appliances are still going strong at least a dozen years later!

I don't think I've ever bought floor model furniture but mainly only because I wouldn't have been able to cart it home on the spot. I'm jealous of the rug score, though! I want a round flokati!

Your flokai is gorgeous but your office chair wheels are going to rip up a bunch of the fibers...I would seriously reconsider it's placement.

I got the Angela Adams Islands rug (in blue) for about $300, which was 60% off the original price. There was nothing wrong with it; the store had just opted to discontinue selling her stuff. Worked out well for me!

Monica is right, let alone the fact that it must be hard to wheel around in that position. Great find.

I recently purchased a $90 rug from Crate and Barrel for $30 on a floor model sale.

I'm a Crate and Barrel floor model freak! I've gotten an upholstered chair and ottoman, most recently a leather chair and chandelier (all in perfectly good shape, too.) I live for these floor sample sales and look for them 2x a year when I'm in the market for completing furniture purchases for our 2yr. old place. For some reason, I never thought to look at CB2 or West Elm, probably because most of their items almost always look better in the catalog than they do in the stores...just like IKEA! But, I'll definitely have to keep them in mind for little things and accessories.

not a floor model persay but i got a $40 tortilla press for $4 at a grocery store because there weren't any others in the store and the upc didn't ring in so the clerk asked if $4 was a good price...i said "i'll take it!!" that's a savings of 90%!

oh any my sewing machine 10 years ago that was $150 from $400...that's not too bad either

I LOVE floor model sales! I have gotten several items this way, but my biggest victory would have to be my loveseat from macy's...originally $950, and I snagged it for $250. And it was just like NEW!! That was years ago, but to this day I still shop every jan and feb for the floor model reset sales...i purposely wait on furniture until this time.

Oh you guys just reminded me! I did get the Lenox ottoman from Room&Board last year for half price when they discontinued the the fabric on it. Lucky for me it was the same fabric I had on my Lenox sofa!

mmm, I once got a le klint pendant for $30!!!

I've gotten loads of floor models out of Ikea's as is department for frighteningly cheap - a Beddinge bed for the sum total of $17 being *probably* my best score but I've made loads of others similarly ($30 for the full sized billy bookshelves is another decent one).

At the Brunschwig & Fils Summer '07 warehouse sale I found a carved Chinoiserie rosewood pedestal table, originally retailed at $1700, but because a leg was a little wobbly and easily fixed with epoxy, I got it for a whopping $50. I think this will always trump any other piece I ever find.

I just got a Pottery Barn Connelly Sectional with a Espresso textured basketweave for $2400 as compared to $4000 because it sat on the floor for three months. It was in absolutely perfect condition. I have three floor model area rugs from Pottery Barn as well. I am most proud about my couch though. It is so comfy. I hope it cleans well, though, because I have a couple milk stains on it from my baby.

I just scored a few weeks ago a $100 milk-glass lamp from Anthropologie for $10. It comes with a shade, and I just got another one last week for $39 that was also regularly $100. They have great sales.

My best? Always Ikea. I bought 2 full sized Billy bookcases in medium brown for $20. Not each, $20 total! No holes, no dings, just a scratch on a few shelves. But even that doesn't stand up to my score on the Markor TV cabinet. Normally, $249 I got it for $17.50!! Granted, I had to glue the front legs back on, but even with the bottle of wood glue it was still 92% off. (And several moves later, they're both still going strong.)

OH and I can't forget the wedding Ikea provided! Gorgeous periwinkle linen fabric with matching sheer overlays...$0.25/yard. Covering every table only cost me $29! Champagne glasses were also $0.25 each and so were the gorgeous sapphire blue vases I used as centerpieces. No one ever guessed my wedding table decorations cost $3.75 per table.

Sofa shopping with a friend we missed a floor model goodwin sofa at west elm 30% off as we walked outside, bought a coffee, talked it over (is it the right sofa). We were 10 minutes at the most, and it was gone...

I scored a murano glass chandelier from Anthropologie a few years ago. Retailed for $2995 and was marked down to $460. Walked out of the store with it for $229.00.

i've been wondering how firm floor model prices are...i saw a neat leather chair at CB that was already discounted but then i noticed that it had a minor but quite real tear at the seams. it can be fixed, but i was too shy to ask if it was possible to negotiate.

If you want to negotiate, go for it. It's all about the approach. I try not to come off very aggressive at first. I always ask if I can talk to the manager right away. That way, if you are told no right away by just a sales associate, you aren't left wondering if the manager might have taken a different action if approached with an offer directly. I think it is also best to come up with the first offer. I don't start out by asking what their store policy is on damaged items, because it is almost always only 10 percent off the lowest price. The worst they can do is say no.

I've got a succesful formula for floor models that I use at both big stores as well as secondhand stores:

Go to their events.

Make friends with staff members - this is helpful, because they will often let you know about sales before they are publicized. (I pop into my fave stores at least once a week to chat about modern stuff/design/etc)

Buy stuff for FULL retail. This is the MOST important step- it shows that you think products are actually worth their retail pricing. Constantly criticizing the staff about their pricing is insulting and won't help you make friends. And it shows that you're not just a weasely cheapskate.

Negotiate once or twice on floor sales - not every time. See above.

DONT BE PICKY! I can't stress this enough. Nothing is so insulting as to demand top quality at 70% off. There is a REASON it is 70% off - deal with it or don't buy it. I got a Nelson bench for SUPER cheap. I was more than enthusiastic : what seemed like a complete wreck to the (helpless) store clerk was really just a broken joint - fixable with some glue and a single wood screw.

Using this formula at various stores I have gotten: a sofa (900 - down from 3k) an Angela Adams rug (200 - down from 1500) another rug (200, down from 2600) a Nelson lamp (100 - down from 400) a Nelson bench (100 - down from 700)
two Aalto stools (60ea down from 140ea) an Eames plywood chair (100 secondhand)

Re: Modfan

Does anyone pay full retail price anymore?

And wouldn't that kind of negate alot of the savings from any successful negotiation or discounted finds that may come about?

Just wonderin' about the strategy.....

Modfan

I don't think it's insulting to the staff of a store if you don't want to pay full price. I think they are happy to see somebody feel like they got a great deal on an item. Just because you don't want to pay full price doesn't mean you are criticizing or a cheapskate. I am neither. I don't understand what your formula is.

i am not even sure how to get in on the floor model, negotiation, not paying retail scene! aside from the fact that i am drooling over the room and board anson sofa (which i will NEVER be able to afford), i feel kind of helpless when confronted with super high prices for home decorating.

i am great negotiating on clothing, because i worked as a stylist, but with furniture i don't even know where to begin. i'd appreciate a post on that!

Revers chairs from Cassina in NYC. They were 2 for 550 (50% off).

just today I got a $1000 rug at Crate and Barrel for $250. It is is 8x10 and GORGEOUS. Brown background with big bold flowers. my husband and I were thrilled. we are definitely going to be checking for these floor model sales again!

Modfan,

Retail sales people understand how the pricing game works. Sales are "events" intended to drive traffic. Yes, if you see something you love and have to have it right away, by all means buy it when it's full price. But don't mistake being motivated by discounts or waiting for a sale as insulting the store clerks. They get a discount on merchandise, too, you know.

I'm sitting on mine right now!

A Cameron Sofa from Room & Board. I paid $899, original $1299. It's in perfect condition and I love it. It was definitely worth me waiting in line 2 hours before R&B opened on Dec 26. I was 3rd in line and went right for what I wanted. And I got it. Very nice.

I've got one good deal on floor sample, it's from PB outlet store, I saw the 8*5 carpet underneath the bed for their window show case, it was only $80 something(original $360). Another good deal I got from PB was on a brand new sectional, it was not a floor sample, but first I got 14% off from new mover's program, and then due to the shipping delay, I got extra 20% off. Total I saved almost 1K on the sectional plus it IS BRAND NEW, CUSTOM-made.I love it!!!