Species Home Furnishings

[Sharp Observer 0]

Hi all, I just went to furniture mall recently. I spend my whole afternoon choosing few piece of furniture there. I realize the price of the furnitures in FC is very steep. Examples : they try to adverstise with a sign board telling customers that they are selling a L Shaped Fabric Sofa for $5999 but after discount it is $3999. Do you think it's worth the price. After talking to their Senior Salesman (name DW). I realized the sofa is fabricate in China. Oh my god. Fabric sofa made in China cost $3999. I try to ask for further discount and he's willing to lower the price to $2700. Haha i nearly laugh until my FOOT came off. Do you guys know why? He seems so genuine in giving me further discount until $2700. He is taking me for a fool. It cost less than SGD$1000 to fabricate a L Shape Fabric Sofa in China. I can get a top grade leather Sofa with $2700 budget on hand. Basically I'm trying to tell serious furniture buyer to ask for the country of origins where the sofas made and the fabrics used. Do not just buy sofas just because of design and mechanism. Do look into fabrics and most importantly- quality in terms of what wood they used to make the sofa frame and how much weigh can it withstand. Lastly always short list a few selections of furniture and make comparision before you decide which one you wanna buy.

Hi Smurfy,

U juz bought a sofa from species? they have a package with includes doubling up as ID to go to ur hse to do some color matching of the furniture n wall painting. after seeing all the comments here, i'm a bit worried..not too sure to take up their package anot. realised not many ppl took up their this package too... by the way,we also like one of the sofa there...

[Smurfy76 0]

Hi Smurfy,

U juz bought a sofa from species? they have a package with includes doubling up as ID to go to ur hse to do some color matching of the furniture n wall painting. after seeing all the comments here, i'm a bit worried..not too sure to take up their package anot. realised not many ppl took up their this package too... by the way,we also like one of the sofa there...

Yah. order mine in Feb. got the sofa in late apr. overall ok. we choose what we wanted.

She (sales) did try to dbl up as ID. To me they juz give opinion what colour/material matches etc. ultimately will still intro their own furniture wat.

It still up to you whether you like it anot. I been thru a few places, Furniture Mall, Sungei kadut IFC & individual store etc.) In the end I like one of the sofa design there and i bargain for what i think is worth it lor.

as long they dun chu pattern.

happy tio ho.

[Michdavey 0]

My husband and I bought their L-Shaped sofa cost over S$3k a year ago and recently we noticed

that part of the leather are tearing off for reason we could not explain since we have no kids, no frequent

visits, no direct sun shinning on the sofa and most of the time we aren't home to sit on it.

So we took a few pictures and went down to their furniture mall shop. The sale person who attended

us was surprised to see the condition of the sofa too from the pictures and assured us that we would

get a happy answer when we speak to their customer service person.

So after a few rounds of phone conversation and one of their guy came to have a look at the sofa, we

are still not getting a good solution. They wanted to charge us for S$250 delivery cost and said

they will do free for the upholstery based on the same sub-standard leather. So we asked them what if

one year later, the same thing happens again?! They said they are giving us warranty for that. So would

that mean if that really happens, we have to pay $250 again???!!

They initially offered us $600 to do the upholstery on the leather they sold us (apparently it is some kind

of German leather) and they HAVE a second option which they call it as premium leather charging at

S$900 (they claimed this is the italian leather). In the first place, why didn't they sell customers the premium

leather on new sofa and gave us sub-standard leather when we paid for $3k+ and expected a good quality sofa

that can last us at least 5-year. I told the girl my mum bought a leather sofa for 1k plus and that lasted her

a few years!

We expect them to call back this week to give us a final answer but apparently no news yet after a week. Will

keep you guys updated.

[Michdavey 0]

We finally sorted out with Species and got a really good deal with them for the upholstery of our sofa eventually. Good service they provided when you got to the right person to speak to! Good job!

[sekloong 0]

I bought an L-shaped sofa, a coffee table, and a dining table with 4 chairs back in June and have initially set a delivery date in mid-Sept. Brought the delivery date one week earlier sometime back which Species agreed. Recently, I called a few times to fix the time of delivery and each time I was told the time will only be known a few days before actual delivery. Mind you, I wasn't even asking for the exact time, but at least a range (morning/ afternoon). Even that they can't provide any information. What am I to do? Wait at home the whole day?

Deliveries for all the other furniture and electrical appliances that I bought was arranged and executed very early on. No problem at all. I'm so surprised that Species cannot plan the deliveries properly. Makes me wonder if they sub-contract the work out - most likely the case in my opinion....

Since then, Species has called me twice to shift the delivery date a few days later, blaming it on their order overload. Now as it stands, the date's back on the initial delivery date. I will be very happy if they don't change it again.... Because I am moving in and without these, where am I and family to sit, have a proper meal, etc??? Sigh........

All I can do now is pray and hope that the things are delivered on this latest revised date and there is no problem with the quality and workmanship..... From the posting here, I think I have to pray very hard....

But having said all these, I really hope I can come back to this forum and post a "Well Done" note to Species.... that'll be the win-win situation that I hope will happen eventually.

[relaxman 0]

Hey everyone,

bewarned!! I am newbie in this as its my first furniture purchase. I would advice against going to species home furnishing.Their sales staff are very pushy and rude. The one who serviced me is candice aw(欧思伶).She is very persuasive and experienced talker. At first, i'm won over by their furniture design and her glib talking. I placed a deposit and later found that its too late for regrets.

Those sales person from species like to talk bad about their competitors,from what i observed. After talking bad about their competitors,they will promote their own furnitures. this is when they will try to win you over by their sweet talk. They will say that now the furniture is on promotion for a limited period only, if you don't buy now you may miss it. They are good at playing psychology, don't trust them, its just their sales tactic. Then they will ask you to put a deposit. If you change your mind later, they can still keep your deposit.

Their warranty terms are the worse among all the other competitors.I asked what if the leather has manufacturer defect on it? Candice aw(欧思伶) replied that there's no warranty on the leather. She said that if i fail to detect any defects upon delivery,than its not their problem already.Their warranty on mechanism is only one year as compared to two/three years(their competitors).

What made me mad is that when i told her this is the hardest decision in my life to make(jesting only), their sales person replied me:"you're the type of buyer that i never ever came across too". When i'm pondering whether to buy the sofa,another sales staff can ask me stupid question like why am i looking at the furniture.

Takecare.

Edited September 11, 2010 by relaxman

[mxl95 0]

Hi everyone,

Would also like to share my experience with Species Home Funishings. It is a long story so please bear with me. I went to their Harper Road branch in August and was served by their Managing Director, Leslie. He is very persuasive and even though I was just browsing around for my furniture, I ended up buying a leather sofa, carpet, dining set, tv console and coffee table. Leslie said he is giving me a special package price of $6150(before GST) which of course made me very happy and concluded the sale.

I was unable to confirm the delivery date yet as my house was still under renovation and was advised to park an estimated date of delivery 1st. If there is a need to change the date, just call their customer service to make arrangement 2 weeks in advance. I was quite satisfied with the good deal that I got as the furniture was really what I liked, until I read all the reviews about Species here. It got me abit worried about quality of the furniture and aftersales service of the company seems quite bad.

Then when I went to another furniture place to purchase my bedframes, I saw the same tv console & coffee table selling at 2/3 of the featured price in Species. Both the console and coffee table are modular designs, which means that it is made up of 2 separate sections. Species sells each section individually so for the TV console, it cost about $1150(before GST) but the furniture place I went to sells the whole console for $750(no GST).

I did a calculation and even with the package price, it didn't seem a worthwhile deal. I felt so cheated but I guess there is noone to blame but myself for being impulsive and not doing my homework 1st. Willing seller, willing buyer.

What makes me upset is that more than 2 weeks before the delivery, I called their customer service to bring my delivery date forward, I was advised that it cannot be done as their delivery dates are all full. No bringing forward or postponing. She even said that the sales side can promise whatever they want but it does not mean it can be done cause sales side don't know the delivery schedule. Then I asked what time the delivery will be as I needed a time range so I can arrange for someone to receive the furniture. She said don't know yet and they will call me the day before to inform.

My delivery is scheduled for tomorrow so I made a call to Species this morning since I did not hear from them. I was advised that the delivery will be between 12-1pm and I got their assurance that there will be no change to the timing. Who knows, this afternoon, I received another call from the "supplier" of Species and caller told me the tv console, coffee table and dining table will be delivered between 11am-12pm. I ask about the sofa and carpet but caller says she don't know as she is not from Species. Then I said Species confirmed delivery time to be 12-1pm and she repeated that she is not from Species so they have their own delivery timing. So now there are 2 deliveries to be expected.

Pricing aside, as a consumer, all I know is that I bought my furniture from Species and hence, I expect a certain level of customer service from them, rather than having to hear customer service telling me that the sales side don't understand the difficulties of the operation side or liaising with different suppliers on delivery timing.

I am very disappointed with the whole experience and will not buy anything from Species again. Now all I hope is that the deliveries are made during the said timing and furniture is in good condition so I can at least come back and post something positive.

[ahpoohbear 0]

hope its not the dark glass shiny surface coffee table...

nope..is a white shiny surface table..and sucks!! the surface is very uneven!! and their service really sucks to the max!! i will never ever buy anything from them anymore..refer to my complains here : species

[ahpoohbear 0]

Hi everyone,

Would also like to share my experience with Species Home Funishings. It is a long story so please bear with me. I went to their Harper Road branch in August and was served by their Managing Director, Leslie. He is very persuasive and even though I was just browsing around for my furniture, I ended up buying a leather sofa, carpet, dining set, tv console and coffee table. Leslie said he is giving me a special package price of $6150(before GST) which of course made me very happy and concluded the sale.

I was unable to confirm the delivery date yet as my house was still under renovation and was advised to park an estimated date of delivery 1st. If there is a need to change the date, just call their customer service to make arrangement 2 weeks in advance. I was quite satisfied with the good deal that I got as the furniture was really what I liked, until I read all the reviews about Species here. It got me abit worried about quality of the furniture and aftersales service of the company seems quite bad.

Then when I went to another furniture place to purchase my bedframes, I saw the same tv console & coffee table selling at 2/3 of the featured price in Species. Both the console and coffee table are modular designs, which means that it is made up of 2 separate sections. Species sells each section individually so for the TV console, it cost about $1150(before GST) but the furniture place I went to sells the whole console for $750(no GST).

I did a calculation and even with the package price, it didn't seem a worthwhile deal. I felt so cheated but I guess there is noone to blame but myself for being impulsive and not doing my homework 1st. Willing seller, willing buyer.

What makes me upset is that more than 2 weeks before the delivery, I called their customer service to bring my delivery date forward, I was advised that it cannot be done as their delivery dates are all full. No bringing forward or postponing. She even said that the sales side can promise whatever they want but it does not mean it can be done cause sales side don't know the delivery schedule. Then I asked what time the delivery will be as I needed a time range so I can arrange for someone to receive the furniture. She said don't know yet and they will call me the day before to inform.

My delivery is scheduled for tomorrow so I made a call to Species this morning since I did not hear from them. I was advised that the delivery will be between 12-1pm and I got their assurance that there will be no change to the timing. Who knows, this afternoon, I received another call from the "supplier" of Species and caller told me the tv console, coffee table and dining table will be delivered between 11am-12pm. I ask about the sofa and carpet but caller says she don't know as she is not from Species. Then I said Species confirmed delivery time to be 12-1pm and she repeated that she is not from Species so they have their own delivery timing. So now there are 2 deliveries to be expected.

Pricing aside, as a consumer, all I know is that I bought my furniture from Species and hence, I expect a certain level of customer service from them, rather than having to hear customer service telling me that the sales side don't understand the difficulties of the operation side or liaising with different suppliers on delivery timing.

I am very disappointed with the whole experience and will not buy anything from Species again. Now all I hope is that the deliveries are made during the said timing and furniture is in good condition so I can at least come back and post something positive.

i got the same delivery issue with u! and they expect me as the customer to give them a call and asked for timing. and worst, just two items only but they got two delivery timing. worst of all - they only informed me about the coffee table, only when my mum asked the delivery guy where is the sofa, the delivery man said is not under his delivery. called them back and the staff got the cheek to tell me: oh ya your sofa will be delivered later. i got so pissed off, what do you mean by later???? in the first place they never inform me that these two items have separate delivery time..and me as the paying customer has to keep on calling them to check when is the delivery time!

i wonder what kind of delivery service they have. and with such a high price, im paying, im expecting a better service + quality. apparently, it does not seem to be the case. I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO SPECIES ANYMORE!! and of course WILL NOT recommend friends!! they can say BYE BYE to me as their customer forever..haha..

[fussie 0]

I have the same problem as Micdavey. My GERMAN leather sofa from Species is peeling after only 1.5yo. It started having hair line crack abt 1 year after we bought it. Now its so cracked that I felt so heartache paying $3K for it.

I have spoke to a few other furniture shops and all says that real leather will crack over time but DEFINITELY will not peel. That's the case for my previous set of sofa. It cracked after we use it for about 6-7years but never did I see it peeling off.

I have emailed them the condition of the sofa and hope that I can resolve this issue with them soon.

[SamTheMan 7]

I have the same problem as Micdavey. My GERMAN leather sofa from Species is peeling after only 1.5yo. It started having hair line crack abt 1 year after we bought it. Now its so cracked that I felt so heartache paying $3K for it.

I have spoke to a few other furniture shops and all says that real leather will crack over time but DEFINITELY will not peel. That's the case for my previous set of sofa. It cracked after we use it for about 6-7years but never did I see it peeling off.

I have emailed them the condition of the sofa and hope that I can resolve this issue with them soon.

Usually the leather that will peel is either PVC or Bonded leather. Genuine leather may peel if it gets soaked in sweat or water too often.

Hope this helps.

[snowmanapril 0]

We finally sorted out with Species and got a really good deal with them for the upholstery of our sofa eventually. Good service they provided when you got to the right person to speak to! Good job!

I called Species 3 weeks ago and no reply. My L shape "leather" sofa is torn like **** really. First time to see leather sofa torn/peel off like that!

Then finally one guy came to my house and check the condition, said will get back to me.

May I know how much they charge u for the replacement?

[Guest jomonica]

nope~ but i suggest u to search them first online~

[angry about species 0]

Never buy in Species.

I bought a cow leather sofa with 3k price, but the sofa arrivied with PU plastic.

How angry we are

[icnt 0]

Never buy in Species.

I bought a cow leather sofa with 3k price, but the sofa arrivied with PU plastic.

How angry we are

I think it is quite common in the market that delivering the wrong item for furniture. Can you imagine, a simply study table also can be wrong in colour and design, it is totally not the one that I have ordered just 5days ago. Never take their business /job seriouly.

Reading all types of comments over in this forum, there's still have rooms for improvement in customer service and satisfaction in this trade.