A Complete Guide to Buying Furniture Online

Furniture is a major investment for a home. That’s a good way to look at it, at least. You are spending potentially a lot of money on a large piece that will take up a fair bit of room in your home and probably stay there for a while. If it’s a really nice piece, you might hand it down to younger generations.

All that means you need to carefully consider your furniture purchases. This is especially true if you’re buying online. When you go to the shop to buy furniture, you have a chance to look it over, measure, check the color, and the other important bits.

When it comes to buying furniture made by the Amish online, or anywhere else, you need to be careful because you can’t see and touch the piece in real life to properly see and feel how to works with your home. So be cautious when buying online so you can do it right.

Check Measurements

Since you can’t physically measure the pieces you’re buying online, you need to pay special attention to measuring. Whether it’s a bed, table, sofa, or chair, it needs leg room.

Tables need room for chairs, including people getting into and out of the tables. Other pieces need room for people to sit into and out of as well. So take that extra space into account as well.

As part of that, make sure to measure to include getting the furniture where it needs to go so it can go up the stairs. Also mark spots on the floor where the pieces will go, so you at least have that as a visual aide.

Check Reviews

Since you can’t see the furniture in real life, make sure to look at the reviews of the site you want to buy from. The reviews on products will go a long way to helping you decide on the quality and longevity of the furniture. If the site belongs to a brick and mortar store, you might be able to get a bit of a feel for the furniture.

Some stores give away free wood and upholstery samples, and that includes some online shops –if you ask for a sample of swatches or the like, they may very well send one. Furniture stores know their products are expensive and want to protect their image, so they tend to be pretty helpful. That makes checking the reviews even more important.

Examine the Pictures Closely

This is also true for the samples, if you can get some. If you don’t have any physical visual and textual clues as to what the furniture will look and feel like, you have to go off the pictures on the site.

Pay close attention to how they’re framed and lighted. Lighting can affect how colors look, so keep that in mind if you’re looking for something to match or compliment what you already own.

Check the Specifications

Similar to when buying electronics, make sure to carefully read through the product specifications. For one, that’s usually where you find the measurements and colors. It can also tell you more details about the piece, like the wood, the lamination, staining, and the like. This section is important for learning about the furniture, especially since you can’t see the piece in real life.

Check the Return Policy

Just in case something doesn’t line up right, like you can’t get the couch up the stairs or the color is off for some reason, make sure to look into the return policy.

This is easier if you’re buying from a website with a physical store. If you’re buying from a strictly online site, make sure to read the fine print on returns. Furniture is big, and returning it can become a lot of effort.

Check Shipping Too

Again, look at shipping options along with the return policy. If the website is tied to a physical store, you can save a lot on shipping by picking up the furniture yourself or having the store do it, if that’s an option.

Otherwise, you’ll need to check shipping options for if the site will just deliver the box to the post office, your front door, or if they’ll put it into the home. Some sites might have an option for assembly as well.

It’s a big venture buying furniture online. if you’ve measured everything carefully, examined the pictures and reviews, trust the site, have some samples, know how it’s getting to your home, and know what you can do if the piece doesn’t work out, then your online furniture shopping experience should prove just as successful as if you went to the store and looked at them in person.

So shop online with confidence and a firm idea of what you’re looking for and where you want it in the home. That’s how you ensure a great furniture home investment.

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