On island vs Off island furniture purchase

well if you want NICE furniture....LOL

Silk Greenery has very nice stuff IF you can afford it.
I have purchased furniture (ordered) thru Aego out in Bovoni and been very happy with what I ordered - Living room furniture plus a sleeper sofa for my office. I will not purchase from any Arab stores.

I believe the prices at Silk Greenery are plus shipping on Tropical (at least that is what they told me) so we buy States side where the selection is greater and then ship.

Pia

Curious, why will you not purchase from "arab stores"?

Just don't like being insulted, lied to and cheated by male arabs so have found it best not to patronize.

Just don't like being insulted, lied to and cheated by male arabs so have found it best not to patronize.

WOW! That's the pot calling the kettle black!

Just don't like being insulted, lied to and cheated by male arabs so have found it best not to patronize.

WOW! That's the pot calling the kettle black!

Don't know why you should have that insulting attitude towards me, CaDreamers?
I was asked and I answered, truthfully. I have many dealings over the years of living here which is way longer than you've been on island. This is what my experience(s) have been. It is unfortunate because I would much prefer to deal with local businesses and I do, when I find them above board and honest in their dealings. I can give stories and examples of my experiences but they are too lengthy for this forum.

When you have had similar experiences, then you can comment but I find your rudeness to me is unnecessary and without merit.

Just don't like being insulted, lied to and cheated by male arabs so have found it best not to patronize.

WOW! That's the pot calling the kettle black!

Don't know why you should have that insulting attitude towards me, CaDreamers?
I was asked and I answered, truthfully. I have many dealings over the years of living here which is way longer than you've been on island. This is what my experience(s) have been. It is unfortunate because I would much prefer to deal with local businesses and I do, when I find them above board and honest in their dealings. I can give stories and examples of my experiences but they are too lengthy for this forum.

When you have had similar experiences, then you can comment but I find your rudeness to me is unnecessary and without merit.

I do believe you are the one without merit!

Just don't like being insulted, lied to and cheated by male arabs so have found it best not to patronize.

WOW! That's the pot calling the kettle black!

Don't know why you should have that insulting attitude towards me, CaDreamers?
I was asked and I answered, truthfully. I have many dealings over the years of living here which is way longer than you've been on island. This is what my experience(s) have been. It is unfortunate because I would much prefer to deal with local businesses and I do, when I find them above board and honest in their dealings. I can give stories and examples of my experiences but they are too lengthy for this forum.

When you have had similar experiences, then you can comment but I find your rudeness to me is unnecessary and without merit.

I do believe you are the one without merit!

WOW, where is this coming from, have you had personal dealings with Alana? I have had personal dealings with a few of the Arab and Middle Eastern owned or operated stores on St. Thomas and found them to be just about like Alana described them. They seemed to be very indifferent and kind of like I don't care if you shop here or not.

Funny, I've had Arabs (mostly Palestinians) as tenants and customers, and I frequent their shops, and have found in 95% of the cases they are honest and reputable people. Maybe it is different over there on STT, but WOW, that is a great example of bigotry.

Funny, I've had Arabs (mostly Palestinians) as tenants and customers, and I frequent their shops, and have found in 95% of the cases they are honest and reputable people. Maybe it is different over there on STT, but WOW, that is a great example of bigotry.

Well said.

CD

Experience 1:

Ordered a living room set and paid for it on credit card. Was told it would be delivered in 2-3 weeks.
8 weeks later, still no delivery so I went into store (after numerous back and forth calls) to find out exactly when the already paid for furniture would be delivered as I wished to sell the living room furniture I had, before the new stuff was delivered.

Was told it got back-ordered somehow and it would take another week, at most. Okay, waited this long, what's another week!
I asked if it was possible to get additional fabric in same pattern as the set since I wished to recover some bar stool cushions.
"Sorry, not possible." Since I was in the store and the fabric I wanted was on display sofa, I found that it had a manufacturer name and contact number. Returned home and I called them directly to inquire about purchasing additional fabric.
When I did so I was told they no longer had that fabric (which was what I ordered) in stock and it had been discontinued for quite awhile (over 1 yr.!). I asked how was that possible since I had just ordered a complete living room set in that particular cushion fabric.
They asked me who the business was that I had purchased from, then proceeded to tell me they no longer did business with this particular company due to the fact they were OWED so much money by them and had never rec'd any such order from them.

I go back down to the store the next morning and the young arab man who was the owner's son was incredibly rude to me when I asked him to verify what the manufacturer had told me. I asked that my money be returned via the credit back to my card. At this point, he is screaming at me and telling me he "has so much money coming out of his ass that he don't need my money nor my business."
This is a verbatim quote.

At that point, I told him he could either refund my money or I could stroll down to the police station at 4 Winds Plaza, just a few doors down, file a complaint for fraud and then make a stop at Licensing and Consumer Affairs. He finally refunded my money and I never went back to that store ever again tho I did file a complaint with licensing in hopes that no-one else would ever have the same experience that I did.

Want any more examples? I have a couple more.

I don't think Alana is being bigotted, she is speaking of her experience with these stores which happen to be owned by Arabs. They tried to rip us off also and got beligerent when we called them on it. I won't go in those stores again either and it's not because I hate Arabs; it's because these particular ones treated me badly.

I was sitting outside of one of these stores in an alley with my back then girlfriend before she went in to work which was a store right next the the arab owned store. The owner of the arab store sent his truck driver out to tell us we couldn't sit in the alley and we had to move on. The driver threatened to beat me up if we didn't move on. The driver was black. My girlfriend urged me to leave and return when the store was open, which we did. I went into the arab's store after I saw my girlfriend off to work and had asked for his driver. He told me the driver had already left. So I told him that I would be back to pick up my girlfriend after work and if there was another incident like the one that occurred that morning, I would be back and neither he nor his driver were going to be happy when I did. My girlfriend later told me that the arab owner always starred at her and it gave her the creeps. That is just one instance, I have others. Yep, I'm a bigot, especially when it comes to stupid ignorant jackasses.

I have not had good experiences at certain furniture/appliance stores. It is not due to nationality of the owner, but the integrity of the business practices.

I needed a stove for an apartment tenant and did not have time to do a lot of shopping around when I was new to island (years ago). I specifically asked the owner if they would haul off the old stove when the new one was delivered. The owner quickly said, "oh yes. just offer the driver $10". When the driver arrived and delivered the stove, I asked him about taking the old stove and he was adamant that he would NOT take the old stove, but finally agreed for a cost of $75. Later I found that I not only paid extra for the removal of the old stove, but I could have bought the same stove $200 less at a different store. I learned to shop and compare before purchasing.

Last year, I took a quick look at appliances (at the same store mentioned above) and the owners' wife followed me out to my car and kept trying to sell me an appliance with price tag that was twice the cost I had seen at another retailer on island. I felt uncomfortable just trying to get into my car in the middle of the parking lot to leave.

We have some good store owners and I still try to purchase on-island. If you were a local business owner, you would want people to buy locally rather than off-island. We should support our local businesses when possible.

Would you please give your definition of "arab"? I'm assuming you are not referring to persons from Arabia, but I may be wrong
t

I have purchased a number of appliances for different properties over the past 6 years or so from Carlos Furniture and Best Furniture and have always found the owners (who appear to be of middle eastern descent) to be a pleasure to deal with. They have always been upfront about fees for hauling off the old appliances and delivered the items when they said they would and have had their repair technicians out quickly on the few occasions they have been needed for warranty work. They have always been courteous and willing to bargain a bit if asked. While Home Depot can be cheaper for smaller appliances I can carry out myself, I have found the furniture store prices to be cheaper overall when you factor in their delivery charges (usually free) and willingness to haul off the old appliances for a nominal fee (usually around $20). Maybe things are a bit different here on STX. And although she may not have intended it as such, Alana's statement sure comes across as bigoted to me too.

Wow, sure got this sidetracked. When I had the need to buy furniture or a mattress for any reason I choose the store in Lockhart Gardens. I find that among the Middle Eastern furniture stores their furniture is much better quality than the others who are noted at being rude as always baiting and switching especially the Salem stores around the island. It's a disgrace what the son has done to his father's reputation as a reputable furniture store owner. This one changes names regularly but is the one across form Charlotte Amalie High School. He owns other small ones around the island, the one next to Pueblo and one in Tutu but the dry cleaners so he is hard to escape. I think there are two others. Do if you can.
Island Empire, Silk Greenery are better. You might also be able to pick up something slightly used at ReUse Emporium in Bovoni or even one of the rent to own places if it's for a rental. Bought a $1200 glass top stove for $500 at Dial Rent to Own!

Carlo's Furniture Store is supposed to have bought land by PriceSmart and are going to build a big store. I don't know if and when it has happened, but they do want to relocate out of Tutu Mall to a bigger store.

I am probably the least bigoted person you will ever meet. Growing up in these islands exposed me to many different races, nationalities, religions and belief systems. I treat everyone with respect and enjoy being treated with respect in return.

However, I do take exception to the way I have been treated at the various stores that are arab owned over the course of the years I have done business with them. The experiences have been with different stores, different owners and there have been different issues but the god awful service, unethical and substandard treatment I have encountered with them, pretty consistently, has been a complete and utter turn-off. This is not the case with other places that I patronize so why the difference with these stores? Maybe they are bigoted?
I choose not to continue to inflict myself with these inconceivably bad behaviors, lack of ethics and courtesies that I have encountered. Neither would you, had you had the same treatment.

and you should not have to alana. i have found the quality at most stores to less than. i wish i could shop at ethan allen or someplace like that

All really good suggestions.... i will do some scouting. Last year i went to the furniture store across the street from Charlotte Amalie High School to get a bed for my dad that was in the hospital after surgery. And it was a very unpleasant experience....the owner/salesman cussed at us because we were trying talk him down on the price. We kept attempting to leave the store, and he followed us out to our car trying to get us to buy the over-priced bed. At that point I was just feeling uncomfortable and anxious, especially when dealing with a loved one in the hospital. Didn't make my day any easier.

I've never bought new furniture on island other than a couple of cheap pieces over the years such as bookshelves - those DIY pieces with screws that never seem to work right for me and which end up waiting for a more handy friend who can translate Orwellian gobbledegook instructions to finally put together ...

I've always bought from yard sales, etc. and have found some awesome pieces for next to nothing. However, I did recently price out beds as I was finally going to buy a GOOD bed which I sorely needed. Local prices were very high for what I was looking for, the selections were very limited and I ended up buying online. Even with the shipping I saved well in excess of 1/3 what I would have paid on island for much lesser quality.

What island, OT?

It seems as if the STT experiences are very different than on STX.