After buying a new home recently, I have been shopping for some new furniture. I've been haunting Gabberts' Odds & Ends, Schneiderman's, Hom, Odds & Ends, Design WIthin Reach, Ikea and Macy's.

As you can see I shop the moderate and the pricey. Furniture is such a difficult thing from which to determine value. It's difficult to evaluate quality on upholstered furniture, so I often find myself shopping based on color and style.

A sale is a relative thing though. Was Becker's Groupon coupon a good deal yesterday ($35 for $100 value)? Better than Design Within Reach's semi-annual sale with many items 15 percent off? On the surface a 65 percent discount beats 15 percent. But what about quality and longevity? Becker has frequent sales; DWR does not.

I could blather on about DWR's quality, but if you don't plan to keep furniture for a long time because you get tired of it or the kids ruin it, why pay more? Furniture shouldn't be disposable, but even expensive furniture can be easily ruined by pets, kids or careless adults.

Let's face it, once furniture leaves the showroom/warehouse, it's our problem. Maybe we should all shop for furniture at Costco or Sam's where it's always returnable. Except that it's too big. Do all of their customers live in 3,000 square foot homes?