The savings
$0 saved so faron 12 pieces, by checking 19 retailers. The largest opportunity is $0 off the highest prices, if every big piece lands at the lowest factory price we found.
From the highest prices down
Lines 3 to 5 are estimates that include duty, freight and fees, shown from low shipping to cautious shipping.
Three prices for every piece, in the same order each time: the highest price we found, the lowest domestic price, and the factory median. Tap the small "lowest" price to open that factory listing. Under them: the price a maker has given for your size, where we have one, and the largest opportunity.
Retail prices were read on the retailers' own pages on Nov 10, 2026, and do not include tax. The factory median is the middle small-order price across the listings that accept an order our size. A factory saving is the lowest domestic price minus the delivered cost. Where a maker has quoted our order, that is the quoted total. Otherwise it is our estimate: the high figure assumes low shipping, the low figure assumes cautious shipping in one shared consignment. Advertised prices and planning estimates are not quotes.
What each big piece would cost from a factory, three ways: at the price a maker has given for your size, at the factory median, and at the lowest price anyone lists. Each line gives the factory price, what it comes to delivered, and what that saves against the lowest domestic price.
Delivered means the factory price plus our estimate of duty, freight and fees, from low shipping to cautious shipping. The lowest listings are real, public prices, but most of them apply to orders of 100 or more or to a smaller size, so that line is the most the savings could be. The prices for your sizes are the test of it.
Where the exact piece has one seller and one price, the saving comes from choosing a similar piece. These are the closest we found. Each is a different product, so the look is yours to judge.
We have not handled these pieces, and the photos are the sellers' own. Art from the studios is painted in a similar style to our brief; we do not order copies of another artist's work. Painted-to-order prices depend on size and framing and still need quotes.
What the factory median is
For each piece we read the public listings from makers that will take an order our size, note each one's price for a small order, and use the middle one. It is a planning number, not a quote.
What the largest opportunity is
Every big piece at the lowest price any maker lists, delivered. We opened those listings to see what the low price requires: in most cases it is 100 or more pieces, or the smallest size. So it marks the most the savings could be, and the prices for your sizes show how close we can get.
Sample prices
When a maker prefers larger orders, we ask for a single-piece price built to the same materials and finish as its production pieces. A sample can cost less or more than the listed price, so we ask every time. Because we are buying one to four pieces, the sample is the order.
What the lowest price really requires
| Listing | Lowest price shown | What it requires | Price for our order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabaster ring pendant, Dongguan Yihao | $99 | 100 or more pieces | $799 |
| Dining armchair, Quanzhou Xiwu | $50 | 200 or more chairs | $60 each |
| Counter stool, Ganzhou Yuyang | $59 | 100 or more stools | $67 each |
| Sectional, Foshan Francis | $380 | 100 or more sets | $790, or $400 as its posted sample price |
| Crystal chandelier, Shenzhen Together | $92 | Its smallest size, 50 cm | $487 at 120 cm, or $650 as its posted sample price |
Read on the listing pages on Nov 10, 2026.
From a factory price to your door
| Added to the factory price | Low case | Cautious case |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | About 37.5% on tables, 41.4% on lighting and 50% on upholstered seating | |
| Freight | About $210 per cubic meter, door to door, priced by weight | $500 per cubic meter in a shared container |
| Broker, bond, filing and final delivery | Built into the freight price | $1,800 for the consignment, shared by volume |
| Crating and damage reserve | $120, plus 8% of the factory price | $150, plus 10% of the factory price |
The low case starts from the freight rate Alibaba posts on these listings, $0.84 per kilogram with a 50 kg minimum, and plans on one and a half times that. Both cases are our planning estimates until a customs broker and a freight forwarder confirm them.
The pieces
Everything on your list
Sourcing
Who we are talking to, and where it stands
The manufacturers
Every conversation runs through Alibaba's message center. Where a card says "See the conversation", it opens a capture from that thread. Audit and delivery figures come from each maker's profile and are checked again before any order.
Activity
The prices that matter are the ones for the sizes this home needs. For each piece: the size, then every price a maker has given against it. So far 0 quoted for our order, 0 prices in hand in all, and 0 requested.
Quoted for our orderListed for your sizeClose, to confirmNot your sizeRequested
Quoted means the maker priced our order in the conversation. Listed for your size is the listing's own price at our size and quantity. Close means the size or the build still has to be confirmed. Requested means we have asked for a single-piece price at production quality and are waiting on the number. Nothing has been ordered, and none of these is a signed quote.
The factory listings behind our numbers. Every row opens the listing it came from. Prices are what each maker advertised on Nov 10, 2026, before duty and shipping, and the lowest one in each group is marked.
The median counts only listings that accept an order our size and uses each one's small-order price, which is the top of its range. Rows marked "not counted" are shown for reference.
Every piece goes through the same six steps. Nothing is ordered, and no deposit is paid, without your approval.
Find the highest price
We open each product page and record today's real price: on sale or not, in stock or not. Everything else is measured against this number.
13 pieces verifiedHunt for a lower price
The same item at other stores, a close substitute where the original has only one seller, and a similar piece where the look matters more than the label.
Lower price found on 6 piecesGo to the source
We ask manufacturers directly for a price, lead time and certifications, which skips the retailer's markup. Where a maker prefers big orders, we ask for a single-piece sample price at production quality.
11 manufacturers in conversationVerify before trusting
Business license, third-party audit, dated factory video, on-time record, and safety certificates checked by file number. Photos alone prove little, because sellers copy each other's pictures.
One fixture put on hold over its safety listingArrange the shipping
A licensed freight forwarder, a customs broker, duty, insurance and delivery to the door, priced as one landed cost.
Starts when carton sizes arriveCompare and recommend
Each piece is judged on price, time, protection and ease, then given a call: buy here, go to the factory, or swap for a similar piece. You decide.
First calls are in the Plan tabPrices were read on each retailer's own page on Nov 10, 2026.
Four more stores would not show prices to our tools (Wayfair, Birch Lane, Ferguson and one page that was down). We check those by hand.
The plan
Buy here, or go to the factory?
The rooms were measured on Oct 29, 2026 with a phone measuring app. We use those numbers as starting points and confirm each one with a tape before anything is cut or ordered.
What the measurements say
Your call 0 piecesTo measure 0 piecesFits 0 pieces
Clearances follow common design practice: 36 in or more around a dining table, the lowest point of a light 7 ft above the floor where people walk, and a rug longer than the sofa that sits on it.
| Buying here | Buying from the factory | Swapping for a similar piece | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | The retailer's markup is in the price. Sales and cross-shopping took 9 to 30% off six pieces. | Factory price, plus import duty of roughly 37 to 50%, freight and fees. At median factory prices it wins clearly on the stools, depends on shipping for the table and chairs, falls short on the console unless one maker holds its listed price, and loses on a sofa, which is bulky and costly to ship. | Often a fraction of the original: $66.50 against $731.75 a stool, $55.99 against $529 for the olive tree. |
| Time | A few days to 3 weeks. | About 2 to 4 months for furniture: 3 to 10 weeks to build, then 5 to 7 weeks for ocean freight, customs and delivery. Lighting is closer to 2 to 3 months. | About 1 to 2 weeks when it ships from US stock. Art painted to order takes longer. |
| Protection | Returns, a warranty, and the seller deals with damage. | Platform payment protection when we pay through it, an inspection before shipping, and a damage reserve built into our numbers. Lighting also needs a UL or ETL safety listing for the whole fixture. | Platform order protection for missing, damaged or defective deliveries. It is not a brand warranty, and it does not cover a change of mind. |
| Ease | One checkout, delivered to the door, often with white glove service. | More steps: quotes, samples, inspection, customs. We run those for you. | One order. The trade-off is the look and the build, which you judge when it arrives. |
From the factory floor to your door
- FactoryBuilt to the approved spec, with dated photos and video.
- InspectionChecked and crated before it leaves.
- PortTrucked to the port and cleared for export.
- Ocean4 to 6 weeks at sea in a shared container.
- CustomsA licensed broker files the entry and pays the duty.
- Your doorFinal delivery, scheduled with you.
Three ways to ship
Door to door, by weight
Each order travels through the platform's own freight service and is priced by weight. Alibaba posts a starting rate on these listings: $0.84 per kilogram with a 50 kg minimum and an estimated 17 to 24 days in transit. Our low estimate plans on one and a half times that, about $210 per cubic meter, with duty added on top.
One forwarder, shared container
A licensed forwarder collects from several factories and books the ocean leg, so the fixed fees are paid once. Space from Shanghai was quoted on Nov 2 at about $502 per cubic meter to Los Angeles and $651 to New York, port to port only. Our cautious estimate uses $500 per cubic meter plus $1,800 in fixed fees.
Delivered, duty paid
The supplier quotes one price to your door, duty included. Simplest for you, but each cost is hidden inside the total. We ask every supplier for this number and compare it with the other two.
What duty adds
| Type of piece | Estimated duty | Pieces affected |
|---|---|---|
| Stone and wood tables | about 37.5% | Dining table, console |
| Upholstered seating | about 50%, rising to 55% on Jan 1, 2027 | Dining chairs, counter stools, sectional |
| Lighting | about 41% | Chandeliers, pendants, sconce |
These are planning estimates. A licensed customs broker confirms every rate before anything ships.
How we vet a shipping agent
License
A current Federal Maritime Commission license, looked up on the Commission's own site.
Track record
Years in operation, trade association membership and references for home furnishings.
Money
A written quote that lists every fee, and payment tied to milestones, never a large deposit up front.
A few choices unlock the rest. Tap your answers, then copy them and send them to Ray.
Dates worth knowing
| Piece | Date | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Maxim Radiant pendant | Nov 18, 2026 | The $907.80 sale price ends. Regular price is $1,068. |
| Valo console | No date shown | On sale at $1,439 from $1,799. The page only says the sale ends soon. |
| Remi pendants | No date shown | On sale at $370.30 each from $529. |
| Chairs, stools, sectional | Jan 1, 2027 | Estimated import duty on upholstered seating rises from 50% to 55%. |