Designer Marketplace - MN Furniture Store — Attraction in Saint Paul

The owner of this store is as unscrupulous of a con man as I have ever encountered in my life. Do not EVER buy anything from this store unless you have a furniture expert with you who can verify you are getting a fair deal.

My experience was so bad and I felt so intimidated that it has taken me months just to muster the courage to post this review.

I purchased a furniture set from this store that was supposedly a high-end brand of leather furniture. The owner, Jeff Farahan, explicitly told me it was that brand before I made the purchase.

After signing the purchase receipt and returning home, I did some research online and discovered that the furniture I had purchased for almost $2,000 was actually a cheap knock-off brand available elsewhere for less than half that price. (I also found much of the other furniture in the store (all supposedly high-end) through the same knock-off manufacturer website.)

When I contacted Mr. Farahan, he refused to cancel the sale and refund my payment, even though this was mere hours after the purchase. He cited his "all sales final" policy. (If I learned one thing through this experience, it is NEVER sign anything that says all sales final.)

I had to fight with Mr. Farahan about this for weeks. To make a long story short, after much verbal intimidation, I finally agreed to a refund less a 6% fee, supposedly to cover "nonrefundable" credit processing fees Mr. Farahan claimed were charged him by his credit processor (something anyone who works in the credit or banking fields knows is absurd). I ended up paying over $100 to get absolutely nothing, except many days of stress and intimidation.

Bottom line: stay far, far away from this store!

UPDATE: Revisiting my reviews. Amazing to see this store remains in business with a nearly perfect Google rating. Apparently people in the Twin Cities area are too dumb to figure out when they are getting sold knock-off designer furniture. Still ranks as the worst retail experience of my...

Designer Marketplace has been one positive experience after another. I have made two separate purchases with Designer Marketplace and have been 100% satisfied with both. The first was a charcoal couch, two matching pillows and a queen size box spring. I had all these delivered to my residence and they arrived about 3-4 days after the purchase. Delivery crew was great. I live on the third floor of an old apartment building (no a/c) and it seemed like the hottest day of the year when the delivery team showed up. Despite the humidity, the team was very friendly and had positive attitudes. The stairs were too narrow in the front of the building so they delivery guys had to find another route, eventually figuring out the back stairs were slightly wider. They successfully got the couch into my apartment and I am very happy with the couch so far. Very comfy and spacious. I'm a 6'3 male and I'm able to lay fully across the couch with room for my dog who likes the couch more than me some how. My second purchase was a few months later and I bought a rug to accomate the couch and help "warm up" my apartment that has all hardwood floors. The staff at the store has always been very helpful and genuine. They care about what they do and it really shows in the way they treat their customers. Three thumbs up for this furniture store tucksd just outside downtown MPLS. Definitely recommend this store...

My husband and I walked into Designer Marketplace after weeks of shopping for furniture. I'd like to think we both have the most discerning of taste, but in reality we needed a little help pulling together our room of mis-matched, yet completely fabulous furniture.

We sat down with Jeff and Becca. Becca asked me to draw a picture of the room (although my drawing skills are horrible) and within minutes they were running around the store pulling items together from every corner! About 15 minutes later they had a custom room put together for us that looked GREAT! I will admit though I was hesitant about how the metallic silver leather tufted couch would look in our space that Jeff had picked. He assured me that he would make sure that I was happy and would exchange it if I didn't like it.

When delivery time came, I was stuck in snow storm traffic and was late for the scheduled time. The delivery men were very professional and told me to simply drive safely and they'd be waiting for my arrival. The couch LOOKS amazing and we are so incredibly happy with both the product and their service. 5-stars doesn't do them justice, it was more like 5,000 stars!

Now all I have to do is convince my husband to increase my trophy-husband allowance so I can go see Becca and Jeff more often!...