You might have read or heard of the disasters of buying clothes online and ending with clothes that barely resemble their original description on arrival, or worse yet, ending with objects that even barely resemble clothes themselves. The fiascos with clothes and online shopping have become the main reason to discourage people from venturing to make their purchases online, but it is not as if online shopping is full of bad things!Despite this, the field of furniture is yet another of the riskier sectors in which to make online purchases. The main reason is because of the significantly higher value being correlated to a higher chance of being duped – you might purchase an entertainment unit, for example, only to end up with something else (and the bonus is that when you click on the ‘contact us for Scandinavian entertainment unit replacement’, you find that they won’t have any of it back or refund you in any way!). And yet, the dangers of online shopping should not stop you – all it takes is to be aware of what you are doing. Below are some of the mistakes you should learn to avoid:
Buy from reputed companies and websites – if you do not want to experience the aforementioned example, then the number one precaution you should take is to make sure to always buy from reputed sources. There are many certifications given by the government and other independent organizations that will allow you to evaluate these businesses; check for websites that have trusted connections and display these certifications on their pages.
Returning is a tricky business – if your purchases come with options such as easy or free returns, then you have been tricked. Whether you buy dining room furniture that comes fully assembled or needs to be assembled, it will take money to send the product back if you have problems with it. And certain businesses can be particular with their returns – some go as far as requiring the original packaging or give a very small time frame to return it.
Know that there will be differences – colour is the biggest variable when it comes to online shopping. Have you ever looked at the same web page on different screens? You might notice that the colour output is different. Not only does the capacity of the monitor affect this, but also the actual conditions in which the picture was taken – location, light directions, quality of the camera, etc. – also affects this.
Accordingly, understand that the colour you view on the screen and the actual product will be different.