Sale at ABC Home

I thought it started earlier. Are you sure they don't have one now?

They're always having what they call "sales" over at ABC.

That means a chair worth $1500 with an "original" price of $12,000 has been "marked down" to only $8,750. But the salesperson will give you an extra-special "deal" and you can have it for only $5900!

No chair is worth $1500. Furniture buyers of the world, get a life and a grip.

Actually, Alan, that's not true at all.

I have actually BUILT furniture in my life (OK, I've helped my dad, who is an expert craftsman) and I can tell you that a well-made, well-designed chair is often "worth" at least $1500, particularly if it's made out of hardwood like oak or walnut (as opposed to pine).

One hand-crafted chair, from design to polishing the finish, can take up to a week to make. Factoring in the cost of the craftsman's operating costs (workshop, electricity, tools, etc.), the cost of materials, and at least several days of his TIME, $1500 for a chair is actually a bargain.

Especially "reproduction antiques".

I did something sneaky and bad. I liked something at ABC Carpet, they wouldn't give me mfr info. But after hours of googling, I found out who made the item and got a wholesale price. Chaching. 75% off. Made in USA, so benefitting local economy (can't vouch for immi status).

Creating something in a more-expensive-than-necessary manner doesn't make that something worth the sum of the creation costs ... it merely makes that something the product of a hobby.

My Manhattan-grown tomatoes aren't worth $93 a pound, for another example.

AH - I disagree. If you slice them very thin, call them 'Micro-locally sourced Hart Farms Organic Tomato Carpaccio', and throw 3 drops of a nice aged balsamic on them, they certainly are worth $

Funny. Tarragon used to be an instant price enhancer as well

I highly suggest a pilgrimage to the Bronx Warehouse (which you can get to on the subway plus a couple-block walk) too. While I feel like the deals aren't as good as they once were, I still think it's the place to buy carpets, and I like some of their furniture.

and alan, don't sell your tomatoes short.

ali r.

Micro-locally sourced Hart Farms Organic Tomato Carpaccio Napoleons ... maybe.

I was a bit negligent about watering during one of the 27 heat waves this summer, so lots of cracked tomatoes. That adds character; $119/lb.

Alan...I'll order 15 lbs of Hart Farms Tomatoes with character. God knows I need character.

do you finance purchases?

NYCDreamer, you'll need to order them from a shady character.

printer, no, how could you even ask ... you'll need to bring a pre-approval letter and three references in order to put a bid in. And the collective doesn't accept any bids for less than three times the previous sale price in any of its farms, no matter what.

alanhart: I can get you on Letterman with those. A taste-test with Dave. It would be hilarious.

nyc10023: Way to go!

nycmatt: Yes those "sale" prices are funny. I like to drop in there and sit on the chairs and sofas with my friends. Then we pretend to spill something on them. The sales-people get wide-eyed and rush over.

ABC owns its building, so not under the gun to make sense as a retail biz.

Thanks Ali. Though a pilgrammage it was (esp with 4/5 running local!) I got some good deals in the Bronx Outlet store -- relative to the Manahattan prices. ;)