Furniture options (Hilo: sales, rent, mattress)

[Jessica K]

My husband and I are finally moving to the Big Island in June. As we decide what to fill the container with, I would rather leave behind our cat-scratched couch and get a new one after the move. However, I've read that furniture options are very limited (and most retailers will not ship furniture to Hawaii).

My husband does not care for island style (bamboo / rattan) indoor furniture. I'm fine buying most things second-hand, but I think I would prefer a brand new couch. Are we better off buying something on the mainland or are there options on the island? Does anyone have experience with companies that will ship furniture to Hawaii?

Thank you!

[hotzcatz]

There are assorted furniture stores on the island, although the selection will be somewhat limited if you're not going to opt for rattan and bamboo 'island style' furniture. Another popular style is Asian inspired furniture, that's sort of a version of Danish or Mid-century Modern. Teak & Bamboo used to have some Victorian looking darker wood pieces, although it's been several years since I've looked in their shop. Plus Costco has some couches and chairs occasionally as well.


If you can't find it on this island, then there's always Oahu and sending it over on the inter-island barge. Of course, you'd have to fly over to Oahu and go shopping, then have it delivered or take it to the port and put it in a G-Van of either mixed freight or rent a whole G-Van for yourself. G-Vans are about 8' x 8' x 8', or somewhere around that size.



Or buy a new couch there and bring it over in the container. There's lots of options.


Lots of retailers don't want to bother with shipping just one item and the big shipping companies don't want to deal with small freight. The folks who fill in that gap between retailers and big shippers are called "freight forwarders". They will consolidate your shipment with others to fill up a container and then ship it all over together. I just saw an advertisement for a place called 'Ship To Hawaii', although I've not used them so I don't know much about them but I like their name.



Shipping also changes, Amazon used to blithely ship a lot of big bulky items that they now won't. Some sellers on places such as eBay won't ship to 'foreign countries' such as Hawaii.


FWIW, most folks seem to bring too much stuff more often than not enough.

[Amadrid]

We bought a beautiful sectional at Costco and it was very inexpensive. There are all kinds of places in Kona to buy various styles of furniture also. IMO leave everything on the mainland. We brought too much.

[Grassyknoll]

Costco has decent furniture, but their big selections only arrive every few months (then it is a free-for-all of folks buying it all up). You can also get decent second hand furniture off of Craigslist.

[terracore]

The local Bed Mart (or whatever it is called) in Hilo has inexpensive, nice looking indoor furniture (couches, recliners, etc).


I've learned to check out the Home Depot online "Buy of the day" because they ship those specials to the BI for free. We currently have some outdoor-style furniture en route that we have been unable to source locally for 7+ years, or otherwise get shipped in.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

HomeWorkd Furniture across from Costco in Kona has nice, non-Island style couches and loveseats.

[JustFriday]

You can use Home Depot. Select item with "free delivery" online, call local(Hilo) Home Depot, make order. They delivered to CA HD then in couple weeks they delivery to local HD or house. I believe the Walmart does the same.

[Jessica K]

Thank you all for so much great information!

[terracore]

Originally Posted by JustFriday

You can use Home Depot. Select item with "free delivery" online, call local(Hilo) Home Depot, make order. They delivered to CA HD then in couple weeks they delivery to local HD or house. I believe the Walmart does the same.

I have ordered things from HD this way. Two things:


1) They can only do this with things that ship from their California warehouse.


2) You will pay that area's sales tax. I believe it was 9% when I did it.


It's not a bad workaround, but it is time consuming and its success is contingent on a few things out of one's control.

[Frankjake]

We have found a lot of very nice furniture on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. I’d never buy a mattress or sofa or anything upholstered but I’ve found some very nice teak tables, shelving and even a few nic-naks. Obviously furniture styles are a little more limited than the mainland. Unless you’re looking for something very specific, you should be able to find something here.

We sold a lot of our furniture before we moved here. We shipped the things that were not easily replaced. I have a huge display case that is one of a kind and it was shipped here. None of our appliances were brought with us. They can easily be replaced. Even a lot of clothing stayed behind. I don’t see much of a need for 3 piece suits on the big island.

If I had it to do over, I would have left even more behind. My advise is bring anything you love and can’t be replaced when it comes to furniture. I wish I would have brought my mattress. My new bed isn’t nearly as comfortable as the new one. I did bring the bedroom furniture because bedroom furniture is expensive to replace. It was cheaper to ship than replace it. I brought all my kitchen stuff (no big appliances) because I love to cook. Books....that’s a hard one. They are heavy and expensive to ship due to weight and size. I sold many and brought only the ones I couldn’t live without. Same with DVD’s. I left most behind. Digital media is where it’s at today.

Big screen TV.....if it’s 5 years or older, it’s time for a new one.

The only toiletries I brought were the items I’d take on vacation. No huge bottles of cleansers, shampoo. That can all be replaced. Same with household cleaners. It’s cheaper to replace than ship.

I hope this helps someone deciding what to ship or not.