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Online shopping is my favorite way to shop and I shop online way more often than I shop in brick and mortar buildings. I’ve ordered everything from toys to curtains to sofas and even my king-size mattress. Over the years, I’ve learned a few things about ordering online and I want to help you with my 5 Tips for Ordering Furniture Online.
I recently updated and changed the color scheme of my living room. I ordered everything – the new rug, the sofas, chairs, and drapes – online. And I’m thrilled with it all. I’ll be sharing my redo soon, so stay tuned.
If you’ve never ordered a large scale item online, don’t be afraid. These 5 Tips for Ordering Furniture at online furniture stores will help you order furniture like a boss.
5 Tips for Ordering Furniture Online
1. Research, Research, and Research Some More
Compare apples to apples. A great deal may not be so great if the materials used to build the furniture are inferior.
When ordering a sofa, check out the type wood it’s made from (stay away from particle board or MDF), what kind of springs it has, what type of fabric it’s upholstered with, etc. Read the fine print.
Helpful Hint: Springs should be close together and firm. Sofas with no springs, just webbing or mesh, are uncomfortable and flimsy.
Tightly woven fabrics and fabrics that are heavy will stand up to wear and tear better, as will leather. Avoid satins, brocades and damasks unless the sofa won’t get much use.
Personally, I hate microfiber. I had a microfiber sofa and 2 microfiber chairs (not at the same time because I just say no to matchy matchy). They were the hardest sofas to keep clean. Even when it looked like the stains were gone after a good cleaning, they would resurrect themselves.
2. Read the reviews (but do so with an open mind).
If there are 30 great reviews and 5 poor reviews, I always side with great. If most of the reviews are bad, I pass it up and keep looking. No matter how good it looks in the photo, if all the reviews are bad, skip it.
3. Pay attention to the measurements.
If you’re replacing a sofa, measure your current one and compare it to the measurements of the sofa you’re thinking about ordering online.
Also, measure the depth of the cushions. My daughter bought a sofa once and didn’t pay attention to the height or depth of the seating area. She’s on the short side and while the sofa was beautiful, it was so deep that her feet didn’t come anywhere close to touching the floor. She tried to love it, but it was too uncomfortable. She sold it and bought another one.
My husband prefers a sofa with a higher back and I like one that doesn’t have loose back cushions. It’s too much work to be constantly straightening cushions.
4. Check the Shipping Costs
I was about to order a piece of furniture once until I checked the shipping cost and realized that it cost more to ship than the actual cost of the furniture! Once again, read all the fine print!
5. Returns – Know the Return Policy
One of the downfalls of ordering furniture online is returns. If it arrives damaged or you realize it’s not at all what you want, it has to be returned. Most online companies have great return policies and it’s easy to print a return sticker. The problem arises when it’s an oversized item and can’t be sent back via UPS or FedEx.
As long as you do your homework, read all the fine print, measure your space and compare it to the measurements of the furniture you’re eyeing online, you’re pretty much good to go.
Here’s a sneak-peek of one of my new side chairs and my new area rug. I replaced a patterned wool rug with this one and it’s super soft!
Helpful Hint: February is the best month to buy furniture. New furniture designs debut in the spring, so retailers are clearing out the old to make room for the new.
Have you ever ordered large-scale furniture online? How did it go?