Entering upon the March, home building materials market ushers in its busy season gradually. Many branding owners and sellers begin to promote their new products. Undoubtedly, last year's goods in stock and samples would be sold at a discount. Since a slump in the home building materials market in recent two years, many malls present routinely low-price, bargain price and sample sales activities this year, which unexpectedly greeting a god-given prosperous scene in this imaginary dull season.

Attraction of Juku samples

Juku, a remote home furnishing market in Beijing, is just a warehouse mall strictly. Furniture here is stocked at random, let alone design and model as compared with other luxurious, exquisite and well-designed stores. However, so remote and seemingly low-end home furnishing mall was no less prosperous than other famous furniture mall in the urban area. Almost every buyer would buy something here. Why this place is prosperous and bustling in this year? Because many outdated brand goods in stock and samples sold are guaranteed to be quality products though no longer fashionable. Actually, Juku is also a warehouse for many well-known brands in Beijing.

A seller told the reporter, what they sold were mainly last year's goods in stock and samples. The price was relatively low as compared with other normal sales products in malls, but not much difference. In former years, there were not many customers under a good market situation, people preferred to buy new products in urban mall. The market situation changed in recent two years yet, many companies sold their goods in stock and samples at a discount. Maybe much difference in price between these products and quality goods, the customers increased recently, especially for the purchase of on-sale samples. According to the reporter, with the spring decoration trend, many households began to select and pre-order home building materials products. Due to low price, many samples in mall attracted customers especially, thus activating the mall.

Closeout netting prospers the mall

According to reporter observed, Guangdong - the major furniture province also witnessed such sample hot sell phenomenon in many home furnishing markets. Guangdong sellers were used to adjust to their home furnishing goods every March. Replacing with a new agent brand or other series products under the brand would impel many sellers to sell their original products at a discount in this period. Due to less difference with normal products with respect to quality or style, these on-sale goods attracted quite a few customers.

Industry insiders said, most home furnishing brands would introduce new styles and update products, and even a few building material brands intended to extend and re-decorate stores at the beginning of spring next year, so they would on-sale their samples and goods in stock at the end of the year. Such heavy-discount activities gave a good chance to buy preferential goods for owners who intended to decorate at the beginning of spring. Besides, due to storing in malls for a certain time, the furniture finish of these samples released the volatile substances included, and it was safer and more eco-friendly for customers. Newly purchased furniture generally would be delivered 20 days or even 1 month after placing an order. Comparatively speaking, the sample furniture would be delivered and installed on the purchase day, which was convenient and timesaving for customers.

Incomplete after-sale service

Though inexpensive samples activated the home building materials market, such on-sale samples could not be guaranteed perfectly just like the quality products. Some problems were required to be treated rationally.

In many customers' opinions, they would accept and buy those sample furniture with some defects like stains if only there was no any quality problem. Some customers also thought, formaldehyde that the sample furniture included and volatile substances on the finish of solid wood furniture would be released after storing in malls for several months. Compared with new furniture, they were safer and more environment-friendly.

Nonetheless, industry insiders also said, defective rate, difficult return or exchange of goods and other various problems appeared frequently in furniture building material samples than common products. Just because of this, such goods were inexpensive. Customers had better to be prepared to this case.

*This article was published on chinadaily.com