When a furniture or mattress store goes into business, it does it the old fashioned way. Advertise like everyone has for the last 50 years and pay a lot of money to be on radio, TV and newspaper flyers. Set up shop on a busy street and pay a lot of money for the exposure. Hire permanent staff to make sure that no matter the time of day, someone is there to help you. Don’t forget, they also need to pay ownership or investors back for taking the risk.
All of that is the American way of doing things. It takes money to make money. If you have high expenses, someone (the consumer) ultimately has to pay them. And frankly, most profit margins in the home furnishings business aren’t as outrageous as other industries like health and beauty, etc.
At a gross profit level, stores try to double their money and at times triple it. Some mattresses are 4-5 times their cost. It really depends on how high those expenses are. The NET profit is usually very slim for most stores.
So why does Midwest Mattress and Furniture Outlet have better prices than stores if it still has to advertise, have a physical location and not be manned by humans? Why would MMFO have cheaper prices for furniture and mattresses when wholesale costs generally don’t fall much based on volume from manufacturers even though they are a small local company?
It is all quite simple:
The first part of the inexpensive mattress and furniture cost equation comes from their buying strategy. Buy closeouts, clearances, overstocks, and factory selects if you want to actually pay less at wholesale. Find things the manufacturers want to get rid of quickly and then grab it before any one else does. Most stores are not interested in these good buys because it doesn’t allow them to have a stable lineup – they would have to deal with a lot more churn from the back room to the floor to the house. They prefer stability and ease of stocking. Constant disruption to the sales floor and sales associates having to learn new product all the time isn’t a formula for selling confidence. In general, closeouts, overstocks, etc. will be 25% below regular wholesale cost although closeout containers could be as much as 75% off regular wholesale! It pays to shop smart but not everyone can deal with the in and out nature of closeouts.
The second part of Midwest Mattress and Furniture Outlet cost equation comes from not being like everyone else. Yes there is a location that people can come to but it is space that hasn’t been filled in a while. Big shopping center leasing companies don’t like losing money forever so we convince them to take less than a quarter of what regular stores pay for primo locations – it is cheaper than most warehouses with the same amount of space! As for advertising, when it comes to Midwest Mattress and Furniture Outlet, TV and radio won’t get a dollar from us. Social media and free sources like Craigslist are the most efficient and cost effective way to let people know we exist and what we do. Finally, we typically allow the public to come in by appointment. No one gets paid by the hour or to baby sit mattresses and furniture. If nothing gets sold, no one gets paid!
Every nickel counts. Generally we don’t turn on the heat or air conditioning so keep your coat on in the winter! Lights are off when no one is there.
Add al these savings up and you will save between 40 and 70% off regular store prices. Whether you are looking for lower cost mattresses, bedrooms, living rooms, sectionals or dining rooms, you will never find better prices than Midwest Mattress and Furniture Outlet. The best part is the personal service who actually knows about mattresses and furniture. We may not be able to increase your budget but we can certainly make it go a lot further.
Support local small businesses today and build a better Columbus, Ohio for tomorrow. 
