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GREENSBORO - An attorney for Black's Furniture said Friday that the business has closed and approximately 400 orders will not be shipped to waiting customers.

Those who will not receive furniture were notified by letters sent out Thursday, said Brooks Reitzel, an attorney representing Wanda and Chris Cox, a High Point couple who owns Black's.

"Please accept our most sincere apologies during this most difficult time for all," the three-paragraph letter said.

Reitzel estimated that the unfilled orders totaled between $300,000 and $350,000.

He said customers who placed orders by credit card - he put that figure at 99 percent - should be able to get their deposits back by contacting their card companies. However, some financial institutions limit the time in which charges may be disputed.

For those who paid by cash or check, the news isn't good.

"I think they are out of luck," said Pauline Morrison, president of the Better Business Bureau of Central North Carolina, which covers Greensboro. " ... Banks have the first lien for merchandise and cash."

Sarah Thompson of Reidsville, who bought furniture from Black's, said she's "pretty angry" about what's happened.

She and other customers say that recently they've been unable to contact anyone at the company. They said that doors to Black's showroom at 300 N.C. 68 South have been locked, phone calls have gone unanswered and the Web site has been down.

"We have heard nothing from Black's or nothing from their lawyer," Thompson said. "I am sure there are a lot of people out there who have lost money and have no furniture and don't know it yet."

She said she and her husband ordered a kitchen table and four chairs from Black's in mid-May. She wouldn't say how much the furniture cost, but said she paid by debit card. She hopes the bank that issued the card will cover the money.

Reitzel said Black's remaining inventory has been sold to a furniture company in New Bern and proceeds went to High Point Bank, which has a lien on the furniture.

He said none of the furniture belonged to current customers.

The attorney said Black's fell victim to a combination of forces: the loss of most of its furniture vendors in recent years, the rising overhead brought on by a move to a larger location and a weakened economy.

He said the Coxes had put more than $250,000 into their business.

"They're out all that money," Reitzel said. "They invested every dime they had in that company."

Efforts to reach the Coxes over the past two weeks were unsuccessful.

Reitzel said Black's did not plan to file for bankruptcy.

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com