Has anybody had any good experience with companies that provide reproduction furniture (eg. barcelona chairs, etc)? There always seems to be threads with negative experiences (JMC Furniture, eGamma, Ocean), and even I've been ripped off by Ocean in the past. Which begs the question, are there any good ones, and why are all of the existing ones so bad?
I'm almost thinking that I'd like to open my own company so I can do it properly.
please read before you weep...
This being thread 3224, there are 3223 threads before this one in which a whole lot of other companies are discussed that sell reproductions. A lot of them also get good reviews. Try using the search tool in the upper right of the screen.
Good luck reading 🙂
I'm aware that there are...
I'm aware that there are other threads that discuss specific companies (I've been around a while, I just don't post anything). What I'm interested in is why so many of the companies that deal in these types of products are so bad, and why they always seem to have the same complaints made against them.
Is it because reproduction furniture is a grey area of legality, and the people drawn to that sort of thing are just crooks, or is there some other explanation?
If you ask the averge man on the street if he knows what a "Barcelona Chair" is, he'd probably say no. Iconic furniture design pieces, I would imagine, are things that people with an interest in design have a passion for. So I would assume that someone who sold these sort of products for a living would have a knowledge and a genuine love for the products, and not be the type of scam artist out to make a few bucks.
Greed.
Greed - plain and simple. This postcard from the Louvre kind of looks like the Mona Lisa....but it isnt. The same holds true for designer furniture. Sure, a repro may look like the original, but the quality, the craftsmanship, the nuance is removed. What you are left with is kind of like the difference between a table made by the Amish, and a similar looking table you buy at Ikea. One will last you 8 generations.. one will last you through college. One costs a lot... one is cheap. Why is it cheap? Because it is inferiorly made, with worse craftsmanship.
If you want absolute proof that greed is the driving factor behind cheap repros look at customer service. If a company believes in their product, and wants YOU to believe in it, they will provide excellent CS. If a company wants to make a buck, they will treat you like crap if you have a complaint... why? Because they've already got your money.
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