Bob's Furniture: The No Gimmick is the Gimmick

"No phony Gimmicks! Just pure value," is the slogan of Bob's Discount Furniture stores. However, what is more gimmicky then a Gumby looking caricature of Bob plastered all over his commercials and his website? My one year old nephew, who has the attention span of a, well, one year old, will stop in his tracks to watch the Bob's furniture commercials.

The whole back corner of the Bob's I went to in Woodbridge, New Jersey was one big gimmick. There were table and chairs facing a big screen TV showing Disney's The Little Mermaid. There was also candy, cookies, ice cream, coffee and non-carbonated drinks available free with no limits. Once Bob gets you in he does not want to let you out!

What about their Product?

From personal experience with Bob's furniture, I can honestly say that the quality of the product in my opinion is sub-par.

First, there is the couch duo with the four wall saver recliners. The backs to the couches are weak making sitting down a cautious activity. The recliners are also very faulty. They constantly jam and do not shoot out when the leveler is pulled. Getting the recliners to rescind is also a chore. You have to push real hard and even multiple times before they click back into place.

Second, there are issues with the bedroom furniture. The dressers and table tops scratch too easily which makes the furniture look old and beat up. The draws jam constantly. A track snapped off the dresser once when trying to install the draw. One of the tiny legs in the middle of the bed frame is weak and has since broken off.

From the experiences of my family and friends, who have all shopped there thanks to his no gimmicks-gimmick which has lured us all into New Jersey, his furniture can be hit or miss. For instance, the Bob-O-Pedic has been excellent and will probably be the only piece of furniture left by next year even though I spent thousands of dollars at Bob's Discount Furniture to furnish my new apartment.

Some tips to make sure you get the most out of your Bob's furniture purchase: buy the real wood pieces and nothing plastic and get only real leather instead of the fake imitation. I opted for the plastic set that was advertised as it had great storage with a very stylish look. It is not just that the wood furniture tends to last longer but that the plastic-like material that my bedroom is made out of does not hold up at all. Also, the fake leather on my sister's couch no longer looks right after a few months.

What about the Warranty?

Bob's Discount Furniture guarantees the merchandise for one year from the date of purchase. A service that Bob calls Goof Proof was purchased with the living and bedroom sets just incase something happened to the furniture. The draw was replaced because the track could not be repaired.

However, the service technicians were rude and did not know what services they were supposed to provide. In regards to the surface scratches, the service technician said that the Goof Proof does not cover them but when I went into the store the service desk said that it does. It took months to get this straightened out. After less then a year with the piling issues, my furniture looks terrible as even a hair brush can cause it damage.

The Gimmick of No Gimmicks

"It looks like a million... costs next to nothing" and "No phony gimmicks! Just pure value!!"

This should cause you to throw up a red flag and proceed with caution because they warn you against stores with phony gimmicks and they claim not to have any. Then what are talking furniture, catchy little jingles and animated figure heads if not pretty obvious gimmicks? This all adds up to Bob's gimmick is saying he has no gimmick while he saturates you with gimmicks. As the saying goes, "if it seems too good to be true then it probably is too good to be true." Listen to Bob himself, or the animated version of him, and look out for phony gimmicks.