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Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

nytimes.com

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Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#41

Post by astura »

alistproducer2 wrote: post #23

Who are these people buying sofas, mattresses, pillows etc online? Bedframes, end tables, storage? Sure. Amazon knows what's up and realizes it has to have some form of brick-and-mortar to sell goods that [normal] humans will never be comfortable buying sight unseen.

I bought a mattress online. I read somewhere that people who buy mattress that they have tried out in store aren't more satisfied than people who buy one online sight unseen - lying on it in the store doesn't really tell you what it's going to be like sleeping on it long term. So I just went for it because the price was right. Turns out I'm happy with my the mattress.

Pillows are pretty much all the same to me and are replaced regularly so I'll buy those online if there's a sale.

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#42

Post by emodendroket »

javitury wrote: post #9

The article compares how difficult is it to ship sofas with shipping mattresses. However you can order online rolled and compressed mattresses for ~60€ that are the size of a thick pillow. Once the plastic wrap is removed it will unroll. Then wait 24h and it will grow to its full size.

I bought a mattress compressed like this but it was considerably larger than a "thick pillow" and much heavier.

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#43

Post by vas123 »

wiremine wrote: post #18

We recently moved and my wife attempted to purchase 5 different items from Wayfair: we ended up returning 4 of them. The problem was color: the photography online was typically very different from the final product. We kept thinking there was a simple fix: send sample veneers to a customer to let them see what the actual product looks like. They could rent them out like lots of other furniture places do with fabric.…

My wife purchased some pendant lights for our kitchen, and what arrived was a totally different color. Return was handled no problem.

Second time ordering lights, they were missing a part. After trying unsuccessfully of having the manufacturer ship us the missing part the order was cancelled. Again the return was handled no problem.

Third order the product was satisfactory.

Gotta hand it to their support though, returns were handled no questions asked and seamless. Makes putting up with the hassle almost worth it.

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#44

Post by noitsnot »

bluedino wrote: post #20

If you're looking for a $249 couch, it's the way to go. Around here, at least the low-end furniture stores like Art Van stock a ton of low-end Chinese-built furniture. Everything is particleboard and laminate, it scratches and peels and is basically junk, but they want to charge full price for it. At least when you buy a cheap table from Amazon it's priced accordingly. I can see their industry turning upside very qui…

Just bought a $269 couch on Walmart.com. Same price as in store but didn't have to haul it to the house. Free shipping included.

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#45

Post by _puk »

javitury wrote: post #9

The article compares how difficult is it to ship sofas with shipping mattresses. However you can order online rolled and compressed mattresses for ~60€ that are the size of a thick pillow. Once the plastic wrap is removed it will unroll. Then wait 24h and it will grow to its full size.

Non spring, memory foam mattresses compress surprisingly well. Bigger than a pillow. Still weighs the same regardless of dimensions though.

Anecdotally, I had a fantastic experience ordering one through Argos (UK brick and mortar catalogue store that is finally getting its act together online), same day delivery on a Sunday, fit the bill of "I need a cheap mattress tonight".

If I didn't need it same day, then there is no way I'd buy something as subjective as a mattress online..

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#46

Post by hugecynic »

Varcht wrote: post #26
bluedino wrote: post #20

If you're looking for a $249 couch, it's the way to go. Around here, at least the low-end furniture stores like Art Van stock a ton of low-end Chinese-built furniture. Everything is particleboard and laminate, it scratches and peels and is basically junk, but they want to charge full price for it. At least when you buy a cheap table from Amazon it's priced accordingly. I can see their industry turning upside very qui…

Not just brick and mortars, recently I was looking at a couch on OverStock.com at ~ $1,100 , they have good prices right? I shopped around, found the same couch from a local company online (LA area) for $399 shipped. Transaction went smoothly quality was good.

what company did you end up buying from?

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#47

Post by hbnyc »

jseliger wrote: post #2

I bought a sofa online and it is, frustratingly, one inch too short. I find the Campaign Living concept: https://www.campaignliving.com/products/the-sofa?variant=416... to be an interesting one, however.

While they look nice and might be decent quality, they delayed my shipment repeatedly up to about 6 months before I cancelled my order. Paid in full many months out so it was essentially an interest free loan. I would not recommend them, no matter how awesome the UX of their site is.

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#48

Post by GFischer »

Impossible wrote: post #21
jseliger wrote: post #2

I bought a sofa online and it is, frustratingly, one inch too short. I find the Campaign Living concept: https://www.campaignliving.com/products/the-sofa?variant=416... to be an interesting one, however.

I think AR will find a useful niche here, IKEA already has an ARKit app and I think it will become standard for any large furniture or home improvement store. One problem with AR is that is won't solve the comfort problem. You don't need to get a "feel" for a bookshelf or a cabinet, but couches, beds and chairs vary a lot in terms of comfort level and you can't really know if something will be comfortable unless you…

I have no idea why you were downvoted - big ticket items are ideal for AR :) .

Re: Buy a Sofa Online? Wayfair Is Counting on It

#50

Post by AJ007 »

philfrasty wrote: post #11

There was an article the other day here in multiple German newspapers that IKEA will start selling through shops like Amazon and Alibaba besides their own ecommerce presence. If I remember correctly they mentioned that IKEA has twice the margin compared to all other competitors. They also mentioned that the biggest problem in the delivery process seems to be damage to these bulky items. [1] http://www.handelsblatt.co…

Every time I've ordered from IKEA the items have been damaged. Fortunately it has been minimal and they are so cheap it doesn't really matter.

This is an example of where you want an item to be shipped a single time. Amazon has a problem where big items can end up looking like they've been shipped two or three times, which of course increases the chances of damage.

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