Loveseat Online Furniture Auction San Diego — Attraction in San Diego

Long but informative, honest review.

Buyer beware. It could be a good or bad experience for you.

I've been a customer for years, well before the pandemic. Loveseat used to sell local consignment pieces before they sold returned and overstock items. I want to love this company so much, but your purchase from them is a gamble. There are many, many unhappy customers whose orders are lost or the item they bought was grossly misrepresented. It's happened to me time, time, and time again. On the other hand, sometimes you end up with a great find/deal and feel like you scored.

What you NEED to know. Loveseat doesn't thoroughy check items so your purchase is a complete risk. Even if a listing says, "Appears New," you can hover over those words and it will disclose that Loveseat doesn't fully inspect the item and they cannot guarantee perfect condition. Thus, they really are guessing that it appears new. To me, that's a deceptive business practice if you have to hover over an active word to see that it doesn't really mean what it says.

The best thing to do, if possible, is to open and inspect every item before you leave their property. That way you can decline a purchase. Often that's really impractical, especially if buying something electrical, mechanical, large, or items that need to be assembled.

Once you get your items home and they don't work or there's damage that they didn't take the time to take pictures of, you can email them and ask for a refund. Customer service isn't the best, but not the worst either.

They will consider giving you a full refund if you take the time to return the item to them or they may offer you up to a 30% refund if you keep the damaged or broken item. Thus, you need to return the item or pay 70% of your bid to keep a damaged or non-functioning item you bought from them. I've been screwed over time and again because I didn't have the time to drive almost 30 minutes one way to return an item. I was then left with paying 70% of something I would never have considered purchasing if the listing was accurate. Or, and this has happened more times than I care to admit, I just don't want to deal with customer service and take what I paid for the item as a loss.

See what I mean about risk?

Being a long-time faithful customer, I've urged them (often!) to consider checking their items more thoroughly so they can have more integrity with their listings. I hear so many complaints from other customers while waiting for them to bring my order out week to week. Loveseat has specifically told me they don't have any interest in changing their business practices. That kind of sucks, tbh.

So - whenever you're bidding on an item, think about if it's damaged, are you willing to deal with customer service over email and 1) return the item to their warehouse for a refund or 2) keep it for 70% of what you paid for.

Good luck on...

This is an interesting auction but newbies beware. Almost all items listed as "returned" are actually damaged and most beyond reasonable ability to repair without serious mechanical or furniture repair skills, including soldering. Beware of delicate glass items. Many of the returned items have parts missing and there is simply not the option to try a repair. Very occasionally, a returned item might have more superficial damage, such as a dent in a refridgerator or a large deep scratch in a peice of furniture, damage that does not interfere with functionality but may not look awesome. Items listed as "overstock" have a moderately better chance of being less damaged but even they may have parts missing such as furniture feet on a couch which you can replace (so factor additional costs into your bidding limit calculation). Items such as silverware, headphones, shoes etc have a good chance of being undamaged but may still be missing a part. I would have thought bedding in the original bag would be undamaged but actually I bought a blanket which was thoroughly pilled and could see why it was returned. Also, "sealed box" does not mean "never opened". It just means that the person who returned it to the original vendor bothered to tape it closed. That being said, if you're handy with the tools, you can buy 2 identical items and use one for parts to complete or fix the other - just make sure the combined purchase price with the added 15% auction charge and taxes are still a good enough deal to beat just buying one new one. And then...what to do with the old defunct one you are using for parts? Calculate in hauling costs if purchasing large items- both hauling from auction site to your home and to dump if damaged beyond repair. Finally, every now and then there is a treasure that someone returned because it was too hard to do a minor repair. In general, this is a good auction for volume and unemotional purchases that are based on careful fiscal calculations of cost:benefit ratio. The website proves comparisons to original vendors such as Wayfair to see what the item would cost new, but remember the auction fee (15%) , the cost to haul it and the very real possibility that the item is quite damaged. If I want a couch, I purchase 2 through the auction site assuming to use one for parts and make sure the overall purchase price including tax, auction fee, hauling to dump are still substantially less than puchase price of a new one (which usually has free deliver and returns). In summary: assume that any "returned" item is quite damaged and bid accordingly. That way you are not disappointed. And if the rare returned item is actually similar to new: do a celebratory happy dance: you're one of...

I'm not big on leaving reviews, but Loveseat is a GEM of a place - imagine the best of the best of an estate sale, thrift store, and your grandma's house, lovingly arranged in a warehouse that lets you see, test, and ask questions about everything they have. You could easily spend hours walking through the slightly-narrow aisles, falling in love with pieces for every style. Boho chic? Come on in. Mid-century modern? Right this way. Industrial upscale meets Indiana Jones? You're in good company.

The prices are extremely reasonable - more expensive than your local Goodwill, but also cleaner and more carefully curated. I snagged a millennial pink tufted armchair that I named Emily Weiss for $82 (down from $90 - they have a 'make an offer' function on their website). They offer delivery (for me in downtown SD, it would have been around $60), but two of the staff members were nice enough to help me load my purchase into my car to make sure it fit. (It did, and I love it. Obviously.)

A few tips: The website and the warehouse don't always match up, as some things get put on the floor before they're posted online. Take that as an excuse to wander around! If you love something on the website, buy it! Loveseat's policy allows you to go to the warehouse and check out the item, and if you don't love it, they refund you - no questions asked. They'll hold the piece for 48 hours at no charge, so you can pop in and make a final decision before taking it home or setting up delivery.

I can't wait to go back and find more one-of-a kind goodness at Loveseat! The staff is so nice, the website is gorgeous and easy to navigate, and all of the pieces are #aesthetic. I'm reducing waste, finding unique pieces, and supporting local business - what's...