5 Things to Remember When You Buy Furniture Online
Beds, chairs, tables, sofas…. You can buy all kinds of furniture online. It is convenient, lighter on the pocket and gives you many more options to choose from than the biggest store in your city. In fact, you can shop from not just the brands in your city, but international brands as well. However, shopping online is not the same as shopping offline. Here are a few things to remember when you buy furniture online.
Shop from trusted websites
There are a number of Wooden Furniture Suppliers where you can buy furniture online. Before looking at the product page, you need to check the website’s reputation. Whenever possible, shop only from brands that you know and recognize or brands that have been recommended by someone you trust. Read reviews for individual products as well as overall reviews for the company’s quality and service. For unbiased reviews, look at the customer posts on the company’s social media pages and customer forums. Not all negative posts reflect poorly on the company. Instead, look at how the company responds to these posts. Companies that ignore criticism cannot be relied on for their service but companies that do respond and resolve customer issues are a safe bet.
Read the descriptions
When you buy furniture online, you cannot touch the upholstery, sit on it to check comfort, etc. Instead, you have photographs and maybe a video. However, this is not enough for a decision. The product descriptions are equally important. If the company does not explain the features and product details, you should look elsewhere. Ideally, the description should list out the type of wood used, dimensions, polish, and talk a little about how to use and style the product. For example, when you look at chairs, it should tell you whether the chair can be used only at the dining table or also in the bedroom.
Check the dimensions
Dimensions are a critical aspect of furniture. Firstly, you need to check the overall dimensions as to whether they will fit your space, and be able to pass through the doors and corridors. A good way to visualize how much space a piece of furniture takes up is to cut out a sheet of paper, the length and breadth of the piece and lay it on the floor. There should be atleast 2 feet of free space around large pieces of furniture. This gives you enough walking space and keeps your home from looking crowded. When it comes to products like dining tables, the ideal size depends on the number of people you want to seat at the table.
Check out the other pages too
Let’s say you are looking for a sofa. Don’t look only at the sofa pages, also look at the other pages on the website such as the ‘About Us’ page, the FAQs, Shipping information, etc. The ‘About Us’ page tells you about the company and their manufacturing policies. It tells you about their quality controls and the company’s heritage. Similarly, you need to check the FAQs to learn more details about how they treat wood, the joinery details, their policies on after-sales service, etc. The Shipping page is another essential read. This page tells you whether or not the company will charge a shipping and assembly fee, whether they accept returns in the case of quality issues, whether they charge restocking fees, etc. Restocking fees can amount to a sizable percentage of the product cost.
Buy furniture that complements, not matches
In a store, you may see matching sofas, armchairs and tables. Just because the set looks good in the shop doesn’t mean it will look good in your home too. As far as possible, avoid buying matching furniture. Instead, look for furniture that complements each other. Start by selecting furniture that belongs to the same style story. You can’t have a mid-modern sofa and a baroque-styled coffee table. You need furniture that belongs to the same period, in the same polish and a thread of continuity between them.
The advantages of choosing to buy furniture online far outnumber the challenges. You can now shop for all your home needs from the comfort of your home and have it delivered to your doorstep. If you’re not in a hurry and can wait till the festive season, you can get special discounts too! So, are you ready to upgrade your home?
