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Surveys tell us that more people than ever are buying products online – everything from groceries to cars. One product that is a classic example of something increasingly being sold online is pine furniture. Until a few years ago no-one would have dreamt of buying their furniture ‘without seeing it first’ but the internet has proved cynics wrong. There are pitfalls and some things that online purchasing cannot provide but, with care, it offers significant savings of both time and money.

In Britain, customers have been used to buying pine furniture from high street stores since the Victorian age but the arrival of the internet does not mean the end of the high street retailer. They can still offer a level of personal service that online retailers cannot and it is the quality of this service, and how much people will pay for it, which will determine their success.

Online retailers do not have expensive showrooms full of pine furniture, sales staff and all the other costs. Their reduced overheads produce savings and lower prices. Of course the ease with which a website can be set up has attracted some less reliable traders but it is usually possible to spot these.

Avoid websites that discourage visits from the public – it is not unknown for these to be operated out of the back room of a house and to disappear as easily as they appeared. Choose websites that give a clear address and contact details. If they have a showroom open to the public this is even better.

If the site is short on specific contact details then be particularly wary if they also offer all the top brands of pine furniture. They may not be authorised retailers but take an order and subsequently call to say the furniture is not available offering an alternative, usually inferior, range.

Reliable websites offer clear information about their premises and the pine furniture on offer. They will usually show customer feedback and will clearly be established retailers of branded furniture ranges.