Made.com

Made.com cuts out the middleman to offer high quality, designer furniture and home accessories at a fraction of the recommended retail price. A site with success written all over it, Made.com works by featuring products which have not yet gone into production. Thus, the visitor can buy a desk or a table lamp by a top designer for 80% less than the usual price, but will have to wait longer for delivery while the item is manufactured.

UP TO 80% OFF DESIGNER FURNITURE

Made.com is the brainchild of Ning Li, an internet entrepreneur who saw inefficiencies in the furniture retail industry and set about resolving them. His bright idea quickly attracted the attention of some high profile investors: Brent Hoberman, founder of mydeco.com and co-founder of Lastminute.com, and Michael Birch, co-founder of social networking site, Bebo have both helped Li to secure £2.5 million in financial backing for Made.com, which is already a talking point for furniture lovers, despite being in business for such a short time.

TOP DESIGNERS

Designs from manufacturers around the world are available to buy at Made.com. Visitors to the site are asked to vote on their favourite items of furniture, the most popular of which will then appear on the site. Visitors who have voted can then buy those items at a further discounted price. Browse categories covering Tables, Seating, Leisure, Storage, Outdoor, Lighting and Art.

There are some truly fantastic contemporary designs by top designers, the background of which can be read in the ‘Meet the Designer' and ‘Product Story' sections beneath each item. Those placing an order can track their item in the manufacturing process and its shipping in real time. Made.com offers a 7-day return guarantee, which means that, if for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return it in its original condition. With quality like this, at prices like these, why would you shop anywhere else? The furniture industry had better watch its back.

18 November 2010