About

Hi my name is Eamonn Stafford aka “The Boss” and welcome to our shop FurnitureShop.ie.

FurnitureShop.ie started life as a concept business in 2010. At the time, I was operating a tourist hostel and small removals business. The economy had collapsed and we were barely keeping our heads above water. One evening in my tiny loft office, deep in the draughty eaves of our Georgian hostel, I got a call from a guy in Balbriggan.
He wanted me to pick up a couch for him in Harvey Normans and dispose of his old one. When I arrived at his house with the new couch he showed me the one he wanted to get rid of. I took one look at it and told him it was too good to take to landfill. Instead of charging him for the job, I took the sofa in lieu of payment. I did the same thing a couple more times during the course of the next week or so.

Now I had a new problem how to sell the items I had. I considered taking photos and messaging them to potential customers, but about a microsecond later I figured a website would be much more efficient. Right then and there I registered the domain name and started building the website. By 4.30 that morning I had #1 of our site.
From that humble beginning BargainShop.ie was born. The concept was simple. Good quality second hand furniture bought for as little as possible, lovingly restored in my workshop so that it could continue to be of use for many more years to come. Over the following 36 months it grew and developed from the one man humble garden shed to the team and shop that we have today.

As the economy began to slowly recover we began to see a demand for new budget furniture.
We teamed up with some of Irelands largest suppliers of new low cost furniture and developed a dropship model. I.e. we carry samples in the shop and order as required. We can deliver direct to our customers from the warehouse. Most of our furniture comes flatpack and home assembly is required. We can assemble it for you prior to delivery or in your home, additional charges apply. Please contact the shop for details. Geographical restrictions apply. This model is extremely efficient as it means that we can offer the same prices as much larger chain stores because we don’t have a stocking cost. We are therefore able to pass on those savings directly to our customers.

Meet the team

Sean

Sean arrived in the hostel in April 2010. He was on his way to Ballina to stay with some friends. After a couple of days with us he ran out of money. He agreed to do a bit of work around the hostel in lieu of board and lodgings. After a while I brought him to my workshop and he suggested that he could revarnish a table and chairs. Seven years later he is still in the workshop, he never made it to Ballina. He takes incredible pride in repairing old tables and chairs, respringing sofas and reconstructing beds. He’s at his happiest surrounded by his drills and a fistful of screwdrivers in his side pocket. With his crooked salotaped glasses speckled in sawdust, a belt sander tearing across an old table, all to the rhythm of some 80s classic on the radio, he’s a force of nature. Of course, he gets paid now and keeps a friendly eye on “J”.

“J”

“J” was in between jobs when he joined us first three years ago. Between himself and Sean they assemble all our flatpack for customers. They will either build in the warehouse or go to a client’s house and assemble on site. Wise cracking “J” is nearly always heard before he is seen. Customers like his easy going can do approach. He is usually found in the shop assembling our latest display models, surrounded by screwdrivers and paper plans.

Dean

Cool, calm, quiet and dependable. Just like “J” Dean was out of work for a while. He started part time and quickly joined our delivery team. Over the last four years he has probably become one of the best furniture delivery men on the road. Nothing is a problem and anything is possible. He has become the backbone of our home delivery service. Customers love quiet efficiency. He loves cruising on the motorway between customers, sunglasses on and FM104 blasting. If you need it upstairs he’s your man!!

Cormac

The youngest of the team and my son. Cormac works part time from the office in the evenings and looks after all our IT. Like all younger people his fingers are a blur on keypads and somehow manages a face to face conversation, while texting, Facebooking, watching TV and “working” at the same time. And at that he still does it in half the time I would. Kids!!

Magda

Someplace along the line during a house clearance we picked up Magda. Although second hand and a little bit used, we put her through the work shop and now she’s good to keep going for another couple of years. Allegedly she is Polish, we think she is actually Russian and from Vladivostok.

She runs the shop and is the voice on the far end of the phone. She loves meeting new people and says her job is the best she has ever had. Every day is different she says. She organizes the deliveries, workshop, and shop. Magda also has the added advantage of being able to speak Polish, Russian and Slovakian.