Why You Shouldn’t Buy Hardwood Flooring Online

If that last thing you bought was purchased online, you’re not alone. Eight in ten Americans now shop online, and that number is expected to rise as e-commerce rapidly continues to grow. With this in mind, homeowners often ask, can you buy hardwood flooring online?

Hardwood flooring is a great investment for your home, and it’s important to shop around to find the right product for you. But while there are online flooring stores that sell wood flooring, hardwood flooring is a product you should always buy in-person from reputable flooring companies, like Floor Coverings International.

Buying Hardwood Flooring Online

It’s true that there are some benefits you can get if you buy hardwood flooring online. Most people look for online flooring storesbecause they want the convenience of searching online from home and having the product delivered to them. However, there are a handful of drawbacks to buying hardwood flooring online:

• You can’t assess the quality of the products.
  Just because a picture of a hardwood flooring product looks good doesn’t mean it’s high quality. Online flooring companies can take low-quality, cheap flooring and use camera techniques to make it look like high-end flooring. Because you’re not evaluating the wood flooring in person with a specialist, it’s nearly impossible to tell if you’re looking at good-quality hardwood or not.
• You may receive damaged flooring. 
  According to a recent study, one in five oversized packages in the U.S. (such as wood flooring or furniture) arrived damaged to the buyer’s home. Damage often occurs because the flooring was not packaged properly at the point of origin or it was mishandled during transit. The same study revealed that 15% of customers reported having to miss work to wait for a delivery, while 11% lost hours or even days fighting with customer service. Be aware that buying hardwood flooring online often comes with all of these challenges and more.
• You may have trouble with accountability. 
  When you buy hardwood flooring online, there are usually multiple parties involved with the sale, delivery, and installation. When something goes wrong, these parties often blame each other. For example, the online flooring store might blame the contractor, while the contractor might blame the seller. Sadly, the customer often gets caught in the middle, and no one takes responsibility.
• You can’t easily ask questions.
  There are a lot of questions homeowners have when they buy hardwood flooring. It’s a complex product that features several variations in color, texture, hardness, flexibility, and grain structure, to name a few. It’s impossible to assess all of this with just an online photo, and it’s equally impossible to tell which one would look best in your home. When you buy hardwood flooring online, it’s difficult to ask key questions about the product because you’re not interacting with a person. You just pick the option that looks best and hope it isn’t low-quality, doesn’t arrive late or damaged, and looks good in your home. Needless to say, many online shoppers of hardwood flooring are disappointed.

A Better Way to Buy: The FCI Method

At Floor Coverings International, we avoid all of the problems that come with buying hardwood flooring online without sacrificing any of the convenience. Similar to shopping online, you won’t need to leave your home; our experts will bring the options to you so you can pick the best flooring for your home at your convenience. When you shop wood flooring with Floor Coverings International, you get a:

• Free in-home design consultation
• Free estimate
• Personal Design Associate
• Mobile Showroom with thousands of options
• Team with over 25 years of experience

While online shopping can make our lives easier in many ways, when it comes to hardwood flooring, in-person shopping is the only way to buy. Floor Coverings International offers personalized professional service that guarantees you’ll find the perfect hardwood flooring for your home. For more information or to schedule a free in-home design consultation, contact us today!