There’s no shortage of virtual furniture showrooms – The Chronicle’s Two Cents contributors surveyed for this story had favorites ranging from big-box warehouse Costco ( www.costco.com) to wine-accessory specialist Wine Enthusiast ( www.wineenthusiast.com).
Features uniquely suited to furniture shopping included the unfiltered customer reviews at Overstock.com (a decent substitute for doing your own touchy-feely) and the custom cabinetry design-your-own tool at Room&Board. Inexpensive or free shipping, guaranteed satisfaction and delivery tracking – all features that were rare in the early days of the Web – can be found at many furniture e-tailers and should be considered carefully when comparing prices of identical goods.
Of course, all of the wise advice that applies to Internet shopping in general applies to Internet furniture shopping; with stakes so high, don’t even think about doing business with e-tailers that are not secure and do not have address and phone number in plain sight. Also be sure to examine delivery and surplus freight charges before finalizing a transaction, because these vary so widely among e-merchants.
Here’s a broad sampling of trustworthy U.S. sites that Bay Area readers might like to visit.
Room&Board
www.roomandboard.com: Minneapolis company with nine brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, including one in San Francisco.
Vibe: Modern and transitional furniture, with an emphasis on domestically produced and carefully crafted cabinetry and case goods. Median price for a full-size, fabric-upholstered sofa: $1,400.
What’s to like: The shopping is well organized, with categories and subcategories, and there are downloadable and printable guides to help sectional buyers configure their pieces. A flat, whole-house delivery fee ($69 for local customers, up to $199 for those in the boonies) encourages shoppers to buy volume. The Design Tools options help the user create custom pieces in the Linear collection. You can also order as many as seven free fabric swatches. “You’ll Love This With” offers suggestions for additional pieces.
What’s not to like: There’s not much here for the bargain hunter. And there’s been no shopping cart for completing purchases without a phone exchange; look for e-commerce on the site later this month.
Ikea
www.ikea.com/us/en: Swedish company with 31 brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, including two in the Bay Area.
Vibe: Modern furniture that tends to be light in weight and on the wallet. Just about everything boils down to a flat box or two. Median price for a full-size, fabric-upholstered sofa: $699.
What’s to like: Product information is extensive, with dimensions, materials, key features and often even environmental impact described in detail. The Web site lets you sort pieces by price, and you can click to see only those available online. With stores in Emeryville and East Palo Alto, the “check store availability” feature can save time for Bay Area shoppers. The Kitchen Planning tool is very cool and fun.
What’s not to like: You’ve got to go through the checkout process (a lot of typing) to find out the shipping charges. Pictures are stark and there’s generally just one image per product. There’s an automated assistant, “Anna,” who will answer questions typed by users, but in a test run, her answers seemed unreliable.
West Elm
www.westelm.com: Williams-Sonoma brand launched via catalog in 2002, now with 27 brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, including one in Corte Madera.
Vibe: Lots of mod, chunky, cubist furniture with a touch of Asian flair, seemingly targeted for the young. As with Ikea, just about everything comes in a box, but prices seem higher here. Median price for a full-size, fabric-upholstered sofa: $899.
What’s to like: Clear and detailed shipping prices and return policy (30 days for any reason, but after that there must be a defect in order to receive a refund). Lots of views of furniture, including room shots and swatches, with many options on sectional configurations spelled out. “May We Also Recommend” politely suggests things to go with what you’ve selected, and the sale button for discounted merchandise is prominent on the home page. Love the downloadable assembly instructions.
What’s not to like: Product info tends not to include countries of origin, and although the shipping and handling prices are spelled out clearly, they’re high.
Home Decorators Collection
www.homedecorators.com: High-volume, 16-year-old Missouri catalog company with seven brick-and-mortar stores in the Midwest.
Vibe: Well-priced, mostly traditional and transitional furniture (lots of Mission and cottage look), especially tables, bookcases and cabinets, that requires assembly on arrival. Median price for a full-size, fabric-upholstered sofa: $599.
What’s to like: Very well-organized site that makes it easy to narrow searches by colors, finishes, prices and even styles. Prices are very low, and there’s a big, separate, outlet site for discounted items ( www.homedecoratorsoutlet.com). Shipping prices come up when an item is placed in the cart, and there’s a simple order tracker.
What’s not to like: This site could really use a customer-review feature, because prices are low and many things look contemporary, yet it’s impossible to judge quality or get a very good look at the furniture. There isn’t a button that leads to the return policy or to customer assistance for assembly.
Overstock.com
www.overstock.com: 8-year-old Salt Lake City e-tailer with no brick-and-mortar stores.
Vibe: The selection is a mishmash of style and quality in a broad range of prices that Home and Garden buyer Lani Murakami has snapped up at volume discounts, and when the supply dwindles, the site creates a sense of urgency (LIMITED INVENTORY! Sell-out risk HIGH). Median price for a full-size, fabric-upholstered sofa: $2,149, but most of the sofas are leather.
What’s to like: Love the $2.98 shipping and the unfiltered user reviews, where buyers can, and do, speak their mind when a product doesn’t measure up to price, picture or description – and also when it exceeds expectations. Love the best-price guarantee and the easy shipment tracker.
What’s not to like: Manufacturers are not named, and often the country of origin isn’t named either. This is not the site to visit for room shots and decorating advice; deep discounts equal bare bones.
– Susan Fornoff
This article appeared on page F – 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle
