Furniture stores seem to be everywhere, but I don't really notice them, as I'm not looking for furniture! But, that was then, now that we've made an offer on a condo I need to get some advice about where to go to get the best quality for the money for furniture, appliances, lights and ceiling fans, window treatments, etc. The price/quality ratio doesn't seem much in our favor, but maybe we've just been looking in the wrong places. Where have some of you found to shop for these sorts of things?
Many, many people buy their household things at the big Telebodaga in Region 86.. the prices there may or may not be the cheapest but they have a selection which is what many places lack... there are several "up scale" places scattered around, all overpriced, and with furniture I would probably throw away if it were given to me, but I guess that depends what your tastes are. The price/quality ratio will almost never be in your favor here compared to the US unless you're looking for something uniquely Mexican. So you really have to get that idea out of your head and instead just look for what you want.. then worry about finding the best deal for it. Below is where I would look first for various things based on my overall impressions of their average prices and selection from past shopping... your mileage may vary... Sofa/recliners - Sears or Liverpool Big TV - Costco fridge, washer, dryer, stove - Sears, Chedurai, Telebodaga, maybe even the Mega by Costco nice table/chairs - Liverpool, possibly look for side-of-road sales with the fancy engraved chairs and such... remember to haggle... A/C's -Telebodaga Ceiling fans, lighting, misc. hardware - Home Depot Also FYI.. the Sam's on the way out of town has a wireless home alarm system for $450 pesos... (the same exact one I paid over a 1000 for a few months back, that I'm fairly pleased with) so that might be something to grab if they haven't already sold out of them... (walk in and make a left to the wall by electronics) Good luck on your hunt and remember you don't have to buy everything at once.
Telebodega, Sears, Liverpool and for some reason I really like Dico (on Tulum close-ish to the bus station, beside the McDonald's).
I love my Hunter Douglas window treatments. Got them at the place a block to the right of Pasteleteria Cancun. My sales gal is no longer there. Excellent service and on time. THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT THEY DID NOT TRY TO RIP ME OFF AS TWO OTHER HUNTER DOUGLAS DEALERS DID. I will give you the details when I see you but the short version is that HD prices are set, BUT include installation which the others added to my quote. Another non rip off from these folks is that the all of Mexico price list includes IVA in the price and as you know, ours are 4% or 5% less than most of the rest of Mexico. They knocked off the excess IVA while the others did not. I don't remember their names but there a couple of high end store on Xcaret, in the general area of across the street from Walmart. BUYER BEWARE - I had to take Sergio Pilati to PROFECO to get money back for S*#% mdse that I paid in advance and never accepted. 2 week delivery time was +2 months. There Grand Plaza store was beautiful but now closed and covered with governmental stickers. Also had a problem with Azcue at Plaza Las Americas, upstairs in the old VIP area. Another great looking store that is now closed. They delivered my beautiful bedroom set without 2 drawers. It took me a month of hassle to finally get them from another store of theirs. Seems like a local industry with issues. My friend Brian who builds and remodels high end properties, has used a store on Nichupte, on the same side of the street as McDonalds but a block sort of diagonally across the street from Plaza Nichupte. I know the owner, Alex, who I met thru Bundy and Trina and can get you the number for him if no one else posts it. I think Alex even manufactures some items, like entertainment centers.
A carpenter friend of mine made our bedroom furniture, and it's beautiful! (We gave him a photo of a design we saw at Liverpool, and he duplicated it) He will also be making our dining furniture soon. See our bed here: Our Beautiful Custom-Made Bed « Gringation's Blog We got our TV at Sams for much much cheaper than they were selling it at Walmart. Telebodega is great for appliances and such (we got our AC and fridge there), but horrible for furniture. The most uncomfortable sofas I've ever sat on. Liverpool seems to have the most comfortable and best quality furniture, but it's also the most expensive. I also second CancunCanuck.... Dico has some very attractive stuff for low prices. I can't attest to the quality, but it sure does look cute! I keep hearing people recommend Dettaglio, but I think it's a bit overpriced. It's a similar style to Dico, but more expensive. That's all I know about furniture in Cancun
Furnitures There is a good carpenter in Temozon, north of Valladolid that did some excellent custom stuff for us. Not fast but we were very happy with the results. We bought our couch at Liverpool in 2003 and it went moldy on us. We were stunned that they replaced it for free. We had gone in to the store to ask them how to clean it and they replaced it. We were shocked. Based on that, I like their customer service! Rob ps. Gringation, that headboard is beautiful!
V / Gringation, I sure agree with appliances as I got most of my stuff there. Washer and Dryer I got (Whirlpool) at the Mega on Lopez when it first opened while the one on Kabah was being rebuilt after the (dare I say) strange fire. But L, I got my sofa at Tele and love it. I am picky, picky picky and it was as comfortable as any I found in the high end stores and clearly the best bang for the buck. My sofa criteria is "comfortable, and can I sleep on it." I did go to maybe 10 stores and sat and lay down on at least 50 sofas. Ja Ja.
TJ: Glad you had a good experience with Telebodega, especially considering their great prices. I'll give them another shot, because I should be buying a couch very soon. (I have to be able to sleep on mine, too!) Rob: Thanks! We love it
Not sure of the style that you like but, you might have some good luck at the Flea Market that happens every Sunday. There are some nicely designed kitchen tables and chairs and living room sets made out of good quality wood and glass. I would consider the designs to be somewhat modern/colonial Mexican (if that makes sense). You can bargain on the price and you can arrange someone to deliver it. I beleive that it is cash only, but I can be wrong.
TJ: You must have found the "diamond in the rough" couch at Telebodega. Most of the ones we tried felt exactly like sitting on the concrete curb in front of the store!
