Buying a Sofa Online vs. In-Person

Online shopping has become so popular, people hardly shop in-person anymore! While it may be simple to find a tech gadget or beauty item online, buying furniture isn’t always as easy. Can you successfully buy furniture online? Is it really easier than shopping in-person?

Well, spoiler alert, we think it can be. While where you shop greatly depends on your personal preferences, both online and in-person have their own sets of pros and cons. Today we will discuss those and give some tips for buying a sofa both online and in-person.

Buying a Sofa Online

Pros

No leaving home necessary

The best benefit of buying a sofa online is the convenience. You can complete the entire process from inside your home. Especially in today’s world, the less you have to leave home the better. Not to mention this usually trims your search time down since you don’t have to take travel time into consideration.

Search a wider variety

The online world is extremely vast and can offer you a much larger variety than your local furniture stores. When shopping online, you can look at every style of sofa imaginable within a few web searches. If you have no idea what kind of sofa you want, it is much easier to narrow that search down online than visiting a bunch of stores.

View customer reviews

Shopping online allows you the unique privilege of viewing customer reviews. These people have bought, tried, and loved or hated the sofa you’re interested in buying, so this information is typically invaluable. You can see if someone’s sofa broke on them after a few months, or if it’s the best sofa they’ve ever bought, which allows you to make a much more informed decision.

Cons

Can’t try before you buy

Obviously, you can’t try a sofa before you buy it when shopping online. This is a big downfall with buying furniture online because comfort is an important factor. Checking customer reviews can help, but it isn’t the same as trying it yourself.

Few second-hand options

There are very few online second-hand furniture stores. So, if buying furniture second-hand is important to you, you’ll most likely have to shop in person.

Tips for Buying a Sofa Online

Check the delivery time

It’s easy to find sofas for sale online with quick delivery, but it’s important to check the delivery time first so you know it fits your timeline.

Filter your search

Don’t spend hours scrolling through sofas you know you aren’t going to buy. Filtering your search based on your specific needs can save you loads of time.

Buying a Sofa In-Person

Pros

Test it Out

Trying out furniture is the biggest benefit of buying in-person. You’re able to see if it’s comfortable enough for you and your family and if the size is big or small enough to easily sit on. You can also feel the fabric in person which can help in deciding what kind of fabrics you like.

Know what you’re getting

There are no doubts with buying in-person, which is nice. There is no chance of the color not looking like it did online, or the quality not being as good in-person as it is in the picture. Because you get to see the piece before buying it, you know exactly what you’re getting.

Cons

Less Selection

As we mentioned, shopping in person guarantees that you won’t be able to see as wide of a selection of sofas as you would online.

Travel Time

Shopping in person takes a lot more time than online. If you don’t love what you see at one store, you’ll have to drive to another, and another until you find the one you want.

Tips for Buying a Sofa In-Person

Know what you want

Go in with a clear idea of the kind of sofa you want. This will hopefully cut back on time wandering multiple stores unsure of which sofa to purchase.

Measure your Space

Take measurements of your space before going shopping. That way you know exactly what sized sofa to be looking for.

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