Furniture Buying Myths

Part 3

This is the third of a series of articles written by a furniture industry insider that will provide guidance on how to obtain the best value possible on the purchase of home furnishings and will provide an insight into commonly held misconceptions on this important big-ticket purchase.

There are a number of myths and incorrect assumptions made by consumers concerning the purchasing of furniture. Frequently these situations result in consumers paying much more than they should for their purchase of home furnishings. At the very least, some of these incorrect and widely held beliefs result in a great deal of wasted time and a substantial amount of aggravation.

The purpose of this article is to provide some insight on how to avoid some common furniture purchasing “pitfalls”.

Myth 3

“It's Not Safe To Purchase Furniture On The Internet”

The facts are that Internet furniture retailers have a much lower cost structure than typical local furniture companies. Most furniture stores have very high overhead structures. This includes substantial retail rental costs as well as sales commissions paid to their personnel. The typical Internet furniture retailer avoids many of the overhead costs of the average furniture retailer resulting in a lower selling price to the consumer. Many Internet furniture retailers also provide free shipping to the customer's home. Many regular furniture stores charge for delivery to the home. In addition, sales tax is generally not charged by the Internet furniture retailer unless the customer is in the same state as that company's office.

All in all, purchasing from an Internet furniture retailer can often save the consumer a substantial amount of money. So if that is the case, why do some people not utilize the shopping option? There are two primary reasons:

•  They feel that they will not receive good product or service or will be cheated in some way.

•  They are not secure that their credit card information is safe.

Fortunately, there are many safeguards in place to alleviate these fears.

As far as the fear of not receiving good product or service or being cheated in some way, the customer has the final approval on any purchase because they hold the credit card. What this means, is that if the purchase of furniture over the Internet is unsatisfactory, the customer simply doesn't pay for it. The customer always has the option to deduct the amount of the purchase from their credit card bill and place the transaction in dispute with the credit card company. The credit card company will deduct that amount from the Internet retailer's account who then has the responsibility to correct any service issues that exist. For this reason, most Internet furniture retailers go great distances to make sure their product and service levels are above reproach. The customer is always in control.

Another way to avoid any potential problems with Internet furniture retailers is to check them out beforehand. This is best accomplished by reviewing their standing with the Better Business Bureau. Most Internet furniture retailers have a link to the Better Business Bureau on their sites so it's easy to see if they have any outstanding complaints. Not every customer for any business will be 100% satisfied every single time so the key is not whether there have been complaints but whether they were resolved in a satisfactory manner. If a company has ten or less complaints a year and they have all been satisfied that is generally considered to be good performance. All of this data is available on the Better Business link that is on the better retailer's web sites. The customer should make sure that any web site they are considering making a purchase from is listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Most Internet retailers have 800 phone numbers so it never hurts to call before making a purchase to get a feel for whether a professional business is in operation.

As far as the credit card safety issue, it's no more dangerous to use your card on the Internet than it is to hand it to a waiter in a restaurant who disappears with it for five or ten minutes. The fact is that all of the better Internet furniture sites have encrypted systems to protect your credit card data. They generally use services that specialize in the protection of your credit card such as Verisign. Again, going back to the waiter analogy, your credit card is as well protected on the Internet furniture site as it is being physically placed in an individual's hand.

A substantial amount of furniture is being sold on the Internet and this is a viable option that customers should consider for their purchase in order to obtain the best value possible.