All hail the boom in e-commerce! We can now sit at home and shop to our heart’s content without exhausting ourselves. But here’s the catch – how sure are you of the product quality? We can all agree that there are enough stories on the internet about how customers ended up with products that looked nothing like the pictures. The case is no different with furniture shopping too. Given that furniture shopping involves a lot of money and larger sized products which could be inconvenient to return and handle, quite a bit of thought should be given to how they should be purchased online.
If you are someone planning to shop for some furniture online, make sure you give this article a thorough reading. So, without much ado, here are 6 pointers for those of you planning to shop furniture online.
#1 Be Clear About Your Requirement
What purpose do you intend with the furniture you plan to buy, what dimension do you want it to be in, what kind of theme are you going with – And whatever other things you need to address should be decided ahead of browsing options. To make things easy, here are the things you need to figure out beforehand.
- Size
- Function
- Aesthetic elements
- Design theme
- Color theme
Answer each one of them before you even begin browsing products.
#2 Set A Budget
It is very easy to get carried away when you see beautiful furniture. You might end up overspending on something you don’t require. Online shopping makes it easier to stay focused on a budget because unlike when you visit showrooms, there’s no over-enthusiastic sales assistant trying to sell a costlier product to you. You can easily set filters on the price margin you want to stay within.
That said, spending a few extra thousands on a product that seems durable and perfect for your requirement may not be a bad idea. You may also want to explore alternate options that would allow you to custom make furniture based on your requirement.
#3 Don’t Place The Order Straight Away
We’re dealing with furniture here. They are big objects, not a tiny dress that you can stow away in a shelf. They are expensive and take up space in your home. If you order it and it gets delivered to you and then you realize it doesn’t fit your requirement, it will be difficult to keep in a corner of your house until returned.
To fight the urge to buy straight away, we’d recommend placing the things you like in your wishlist for a week. Helps you rethink your decision and hopefully make the right call. It is not easy to transport big, bulky furniture products back and forth. It is not inexpensive either. This is why shopping for such products require a lot of thought.
#4 Do Some Comparison Shopping
Found something you like? Wait for a few days and while you wait, check other platforms to see if the same or similar products are available there at a better price or with additional benefits. Very often, once you like a product, you’ll have more clarity on the kind of replacements you can substitute it with, inexpensive substitutes we mean.
If you have a trusted carpenter, you may even approach them with the design and ask for a quote. This will even allow you to help make customizations you want. However, there’s a chance that the prices online will be lower.
#5 Seller Reputation
We have some big names in the online furniture retail space. Most of them, should be safe bets. However, no matter how big a company you are shopping with, never skip checking customer testimonials and reviews on the specific product you are planning to purchase.
Valuable information would be available in the reviews left by shoppers who brought the very same product. Sometimes there could be a slight mismatch in the color, or model or measurements even. Always. We repeat, always check the reviews and seller reputation before you place the order.
#6 Product Quality, Warranty & Additional Perks
While most new furniture products come with manufacturer’s warranty, shoppers looking for second hand goods often end up living in fear of the product getting damaged soon after the sale. Thankfully, we now have service warranties on second hand furniture too! When you are shopping for furniture, we would strongly recommend that you skip anything that does not come with at least a free service warranty. It will not only save you from unexpected repair expenses, but it is also an indication that the seller does have some confidence in the quality of the products.
Also, check their return policies. No matter how good the product looks in pictures, a lot of things will seem different once it actually arrives at your home and blends in with other household objects.
For Best Results, Shop With Guarented
Take a look at Guarented’s amazing collection of brand new and refurbished furniture. We have an excellent team of carpenters, artisans and other professionals who can even craft custom furniture for you if you provide us with designs or ideas. And of course, we have a service warranty and buyback guarantee on our products. Our customer testimonials should tell you how popular we are with the crowd in Bangalore and if that’s not enough – we’ve got amazing discounts too!