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CHURCH PEWS
CHURCH CHAIR
SUPPLIERS
PULPIT FURNITURE
What Manufacturer's
don't want you to know about Church
Chairs...
There are "insider secrets" in every
industry, and the church chair business is
no different from other industries. In
fact, since this is something that most
folks only do one time during their
lifetime, few people are interested in
"revealing" what they do know. Here are
some of the secrets...
CHURCH CHAIRS -
Check
Issues and Complaints Here
There are many considerations when
considering church chairs. Before this
recent recession, there were about 5 or 6
major companies offering church chairs. Due
to economic conditions, two things have come
to the front of this industry.
1. Some of the major players in this
business are in dire financial condition,
due largely to having too much overhead,
large facilities, staff and overhead, and an
influx of "new players" at a time when many
churches are not buying anything. BE SURE
to check the financial condition of any
company you are considering. Get a report
from Dunn and Bradstreet (You can get a
financial report from
Dunn and Bradstreet. Yes you have to
pay for it, but it is a lot easier to explain
to your church that you invested $100 in a
report than to report you lost $20,000 by
failing to check out the company. Our
church furniture
blog and the
Better Business Bureau may also have
some info for you.
Check this BBB Report!
2. A good number of
NEWCOMERS have jumped into selling chairs,
in order to make a quick dollar (many of
these folks are out of work and have just
set up their website or are selling on
eBay) Beware of newer "shops". They are
usually undercapitalized, will offer little
or no warranty, and as soon as the recession
ends and they get a real job, they will be
gone. One way to determine this is to do a
WHOIS lookup of their domain. It will
tell you who owns the company, when it
started and how long their domain is
registered for. If they don't identify
themselves, stay away.
If they have not been in business for a few
years, STAY AWAY.
If their domain expires this year, STAY
AWAY.
CONSTRUCTION
Almost all chair manufacturer's today,
foreign or domestic, use excellent quality
materials and workmanship. Look for plywood
cores inside the seat and back, 1" steel
frames, T-Nuts which hold the frame to the
wood, olefin fabrics (excellent durability
and stain resistance). There is almost no
difference in 95% of the chairs offered
today. Beware of those with polyester
fabrics as these will not be stain resistant
and may not be as durable. Also be careful
about chairs that you have to put together
in any fashion, it will add time and work on
your end, and volunteers are not always
accurate in their placement of screws.
Plywood or plastic? Some companies offer
plywood backs, some plastic inside the
fabric. A few still offer particleboard (run
from them!). Plastic backs, made from
petroleum (oil) are easier to shape into a
curved back. They have not been used long
enough to know how screws will hold long
term. Plywood backs have proven screw
holding capability. And plywood is a renewal
resource!
As competition increases, and prices drop,
at some point quality will drop. We are
beginning to see that chairs in the $32
range with "free shipping" are popping up.
These chairs are made with polyester fabric
instead of the better quality olefin
fabric. Olefin is more expensive but is
considered a stain proof fabric, and is
worth the difference in price.
TWO WAYS TO BUY CHAIRS
Worship Chairs today are available in two
ways. They are either already built and
ready to ship (or will be in a few days), or
available to order in custom fabrics. The
chairs already built are generally $15-20
less, per chair, than those made to order.
MADE IN AMERICA?
Some companies highlight that their chairs
are "Made in America". Keep in mind that
"America" is not only the name of our
country, but also the name of two
continents. Made in America could mean made
in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, or Peru. All are
part of America. We ordered a sample of one
of those "Made in America" chairs, and when
we took it apart, the plywood inside said
Canadian product!
Whether the chair is Made in the USA or
America or China, you need to first
investigate the manufacturer or
distributor's history. The best method is
to check with the Better Business Bureau and
D&B (the business financial rating
service). Yes there is a fee to check, but
it is better to be penny wise than pound
foolish!
FINANCIAL STABILITY
Church Chair Industries, one of the largest players in this industry, who
formerly was dominant, is now in
bankruptcy.
The company was in trouble for some time,
but still taking orders and deposits! No
matter who you do business with, get
that
DNB report before you order, or ask for
very recent references! (Another chair
company and three pew manufacturer's have
shut their doors in the past year, also!)

FREE SAMPLE CHAIRS
Over the years, some companies have offered
a "free" sample chair if you are planning to
buy 100 or more. A "free" chair costs that
company $80 on average to produce and ship
to you. Don't be fooled, that "free chair"
cost is hidden in your price or shipping
charges.
REFERENCES
It bears repeating so you will know to do
this - get at least 3 recent references,
call them and ask if they were satisfied.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTRACTS
Some companies will take your money with the
pretense of a delivery date soon, but end up
taking a long time, sometimes months, to get
your chairs. Ask for a written contract
that specifies a firm delivery date "no
later than...." or you can cancel the order
and get a full refund. If they will not
offer that, STAY AWAY! Some fabric mills
are having difficulty getting fabric made,
due to the recent closing of a major
American fabric yarn provider . Others
are having trouble getting fabrics and
materials because they have not been paying
their bills on time. Be sure you have your
ducks in a row, including a financial
reference such as
Dunn and Bradstreet, before you order.
Remember, if you send a company $5000 and
they go bankrupt next week, you are out of
$5000. There is NOTHING you can do (unless
you pay by credit card).
CREDIT CARDS
Speaking of credit cards, remember that any
business that accepts a credit card pays a
fee of about 3% to the bank for the
privilege of accepting the cards. If you are
paying by check, you are saving the chair
company money - ask if they will give it
back to you!
MAIN PLAYERS IN THE BUSINESS
The chair business was largely started by
Church Chair Industries of Rome, GA.
Undoubted they have a history that starts
with the beginning of this business and had
at one time the largest facilities for
manufacturing of chairs. They offer custom
made chairs largely, but have tried
importing chairs in the past. Currently
Church Chair Industries is in US Bankruptcy
court. Their future is unknown.
Another large supplier is
Bertolini of California. They operate a
number of websites and offer American made
chairs. They have factories in California
and Tennessee.
Uniflex is a company in Texas that offers
custom made chairs. Another exporter /
manufacturer is
Carstone Industries of Kentucky.
In 2005,
Worship Chairs was the first company to
offer pricing on their website. Their
competitive online pricing forced other
companies to do the same and lower prices.
As an independent dealer, they can offer
better pricing and options than factories
like Church Church, Bertolini, and others.
Many companies do not offer pricing on their
sites, so beware of hidden costs and
shipping charges.
One of the largest suppliers is
Comfortek Seating, a Canadian company
that stocks over 35,000 chairs for quick
delivery from their warehouses in Virginia,
Texas or California. Comfortek is sold only
through a
dealer network.
Two new players in the industry are
BizChair
and
New Church Chairs. Both offer heavily
discounted chairs ($28 range) that require
some light assembly.
FREE SHIPPING
Let us say a word about "FREE SHIPPING".
Like "free samples" you should be smart
enough to realize that there is nothing free
in life. "Free Shipping" just means that
shipping is included. However, in order for
a company to do that, they must include
shipping charges to the furthest points away
(California, Maine, Florida, etc). So, in
essence, by getting free shipping you are
paying more for shipping than if you get
"regular shipping"!
CHURCH CHAIR SUPPLIERS
We are putting a list together of
Church Chair Manufacturer's and Suppliers.
Please
email us to be added to the list.
Next
... Church Chair Suppliers Page
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