I would love to be able to evaluate every product I buy first-hand before purchasing it.
The first slipcovers I bought, I purchased at a brick-and-mortar store – a K-Mart in downtown Atlanta, to be precise.
That should tell you something about how long I have been buying slipcovers.
If you wanted to buy a slipcover at a K-Mart store today, you would have to drive to Miami, Florida or New York City, the locations of the only two remaining brick-and-mortar K-Marts in the United States.
Or you would have to shop online at kmart.com.
My next round of slipcovers I bought at a Target, again a brick-and-mortar location.
There are currently nearly 2,000 Target stores in the United States, but while Target still sells slipcovers, they seem to have moved most (if not all) of their slipcover inventory off store shelves and into cyberspace.
Between modern consumer habits and trends in retail, when you buy a slipcover these days, there is a very high probability you will be buying it online, sight unseen (except for the super-attractive picture on the retailer’s site).
This may not seem like a big deal when it comes to something like a slipcover.
But remember, that slipcover is meant to cover your couch or other upholstered furniture. It is going to be playing a central role in your home and your daily life. If it doesn’t fit, look good, or hold-up it’s going to be disappointing, frustrating, and also, in many cases – given the nature of online shopping – difficult to return.
Over the past few months my mother-in-law has talked about, measured for, and researched slipcovers – something she definitely needs to protect her very nice Lazy-Boy sofa from her one-year-old Cairn Terrier - and yet she has not bought one. I would bet this is mostly because she is hesitant to buy an unfamiliar product online. (Especially one that will be integral to the function and aesthetics of her living room.)
Over the past few months my mother-in-law has talked about, measured for, and researched slipcovers – something she definitely needs to protect her very nice Lazy-Boy sofa from her one-year-old Cairn Terrier – and yet she has not bought one. I would bet this is mostly because she is hesitant to buy an unfamiliar product online. (Especially one that will be integral to the function and aesthetics of her living room.)
What is the best way to shop online?
A thoughtful approach to online shopping will go a long way to ensuring that you are satisfied with your slipcover purchase.
In this article we will review key practices for shopping online safely – an important consideration with any online product purchase.
Then I will share how I approach buying slipcovers online.
In this article: Shop Safely Online Understand the product • Do some basic research • Comparison shop • Follow retailer advice Get to know the retailer • What is the retailer’s relationship to their product? • What does the retailer charge for shipping? • What is the retailer’s return policy? • How do other customers feel about the retailer? Look for sales and deals Conclusion
Shopping Online Safely
In addition to receiving shoddy products (or no products at all) online shopping carries with it the risk of having your personal information and/or your credit card information stolen. (Of course, identity theft and credit card theft can and do happen at brick-and-mortar stores also.)
There are a few practices you should always follow when shopping online in order to reduce these risks.
Shop with online retailers whose names you know and trust.
Be wary of misspelled names and sites that use a different top-level domain (.net instead of .com, for example). Also look for a lock icon near the website’s URL and check to see if the URL begins with “https://” rather than “http://”. The ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’ and means that the information you’re sharing is encrypted.
If all these things aren’t in place, think twice before making a purchase from that online retailer.
Shop using a private device and a secure connection.
Shop using a private device and a secure connection. In other words, shop at home – you’ll make better decisions anyway. Avoid shopping from public Wi-Fi where personal information can be viewed by prying eyes or collected by others connected to the same network, including scammers and crooks.
Shop with a credit card, not a debit card.
Using a credit card for purchases online is much safer than using a debit card. Most credit cards have a zero-liability policy that protects you from any responsibility for fraudulent purchases made with your account. That doesn’t just cover unauthorized purchases by someone who has stolen your credit card information. That also covers purchases you yourself make from an unscrupulous retailer who does not deliver what they promised.
Before you shop, freeze your credit.
For an extra measure of security, before you shop online, freeze your credit. Freezing your credit with each of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) prevents anyone who gains illicit access to your personal information from creating a fraudulent credit account in your name. Since only a handful of purchases necessitate a credit check – major purchases that you won’t make every day or even every year, like a new car or house – you can simply freeze your credit and leave it frozen. Freezing your credit (and unfreezing your credit when needed) is easy to do and free.
Beyond following these key practices for shopping safely online, there are a few things I have learned to do to improve my chances of making a successful slipcover purchase online.
Understand the product
First, I do some basic product research.
Some products are just bad.
But sometimes customer dissatisfaction originates from lack of familiarity with a product and its attributes.
Even a good product that doesn’t do what you expect it to do can leave you frustrated and disappointed.
If I am going to buy a slipcover for the first time online (or any product with which I am unfamiliar), I am going to first do some basic product research, as follows:
Product reviews.
I will read about the product on reputable sites that provide sound, consumer-oriented advice. Sites like Consumer Reports publish reviews for a wide range of products while authority sites in different product domains – think CNET (high-tech gadgets & electronics), NerdWallet (financial products), TripAdvisor (airlines, cruises, accommodations, and restaurants), and, yep, Cover the Couch (slipcovers) – provide targeted, insightful information covering a narrower range of products or even a single product.
The opinions of others.
I will ask a friend with first-hand product experience for their opinion. Take your friend’s (or favorite influencer’s) opinion with a grain of salt though. Their experience is, after all, their experience. Let their observations suggest areas to investigate and couple their thoughts with your own findings.
Comparison shopping.
I will comparison shop. Once I have an idea of the type or brand of product I am interested in, I don’t just buy from the first retailer I come across. I do some comparison shopping. Comparison shopping familiarizes me with retailers that sell the slipcover (or other product) I am interested in and with pricing.
“How To” product guides and other retailer advice.
I will review retailer advice regarding product selection and use. Make sure to read any product information provided by the retailer, especially “How To” product guides. Following retailer advice will help you select the right product for your specific needs. Review and consider any guidance regarding intended use, care, and – especially when it comes to something like slipcovers – any and all instructions about measurement.
Get to know the retailer
Then I familiarize myself with the retailer.
Some retailers like some products are simply bad.
But as with products, customers can also become quite unhappy with a reputable retailer based on their own lack of familiarity with that retailer’s procedures and policies.
So, before purchasing a slipcover online, I take a little time to become familiar with how a retailer does business.
Here are some things I typically consider:
What is the retailer’s relationship to their product?
When it comes to slipcovers, there are many retailers but very few retailers that have a hand in the design, much less the manufacture, of their product. Some retailers sell slipcovers as one of many different kinds of household furnishings. Many merely serve as drop shipping store fronts.
While a slipcover drop shipper may operate a scrupulously ethical business, they are not likely to be as knowledgeable about their product as a specialty retailer involved in their product’s design and manufacture.
This doesn’t mean I would never buy a slipcover from Wayfair or an Amazon third-party seller, but I would have different expectations than if buying from SureFit or Mamma Mia Covers.
Test the waters by calling Customer Service before you buy. Ask about the product you are interested in. Was Customer Service knowledgeable? Were they helpful? Were they even reachable?
What does the retailer charge for shipping?
When you shop online, the cost of shipping (like taxes) is really just part of the total cost of a product to you.
Most retailers will offer free shipping for a purchase over a specified dollar amount. Aim for that.. There are very few reasons you should need a slipcover shipped in a hurry, so standard shipping should always be sufficient.
Of course, balance the cost of shipping against sales or other deals that reduce the product’s total price. Losing free shipping but cumulatively paying less for your slipcover is obviously fine.
It’s all about the bottom line.
What is the retailer’s return policy?
This is something I pay close attention to. Particularly if I am buying a product for the first time.
If you are unfamiliar with a product there is a much greater chance of your needing to return it. Right?
Ease of returns is one reason I like to shop with Walmart. Right up there with Amazon as a massive online retailer, Walmart also has numerous brick-and-mortar locations. (In 2023, there were 4,616 Walmart stores in the U.S. and another 5,294 worldwide.)
Many products that you purchase online via Walmart.com (including slipcovers) are returnable, for free, at your local Walmart big box store. (Walmart spells out whether a product is returnable in-store on each and every product page. Make sure you check.) The same approach works with Kohls, another retailer of slipcovers with both ecommerce and brick-and-mortar operations, albeit only in the United States.
Being able to return a slipcover to a brick-and-mortar store makes the whole purchase experience very similar to buying that slipcover at a brick-and-mortar store in the first place.
If you cannot return an unsatisfactory product to a brick-and-mortar location, be sure to know the retailer’s return specifications.
- Will you be responsible for return shipping costs and, if yes, how much?
- Does the retailer specify what condition or what packaging the product must be returned in to be refund eligible?
- Must the product be shipped back from a specific location, like a UPS or FedEX store?
Of course, whether returning to a brick-and-mortar store or shipping your return, always make sure you know how long you have to return the product.
How do other customers feel about the retailer?
Read customer reviews but as with product recommendations from a friend, take customer reviews with a grain of salt.
You can find reviews of major independent retailers on sites like Yelp and Trustpilot.
You can also find reviews of third-party sellers who sell on Amazon or Walmart on Amazon’s and Walmart’s respective sites.
On Amazon you can check a third-party seller’s “shop rating” by clicking on the “Sold By” link under the “Buy Now” button on a given product page on the Amazon website.
On Walmart.com you can check a Pro Sellers customer reviews by clicking “View seller information” on a given product page.
Even product reviews on brand specific sites can yield insight into how customers feel about their experience with a particular retailer. If you read enough of them, not only will you get a good sense of how customers feel about a retailer’s products, but also how they feel about the retailer in general.
A lot of bad reviews are a red flag, of course. Also be cautious when there are very few reviews.
Look for sales and deals
I check for sales and deals every time I buy.
I consider slipcovering an excellent way to save money – slipcovering optimizes your investment in upholstered furniture by extending that furniture’s life.
By that same token, I am all for saving money on the slipcover itself.
Many times, when you visit an online retailer for the first time you will be offered a discount in return for your sharing some contact information – usually your email. This is part of the retailer’s marketing strategy and, so long as subsequently receiving emails from that retailer doesn’t bother you (and the retailer is reputable), it’s a good way to save some money on your initial purchase.
Lots of retailers also have recurring sales. If you have shared your email, they will be only too happy to alert you to them.
For additional savings, feel free to give promo and coupon codes a whirl. (Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.) Keep an eye on the bottom line, however. Retailers may only honor one deal at a time and even a working coupon code may cancel out a better offer direct from the retailer.
Conclusion
Retail shopping is becoming ever more an online experience.
I don’t miss driving to a physical location. And I do appreciate that shopping online gives me access to an array of products that simply would not be available at a single brick-and-mortar store, not even at a big box retailer.
Following the above approach to online shopping may seem like a lot of work for a simple slipcover.
But putting a little extra effort into selecting your slipcover on the front-end is the best way to save yourself a heartbreak and a hassle on the back end.
If properly chosen that slipcover can protect your furniture, enhance your comfort and décor, and generally improve your life.
If not, it can quickly become as big a headache as the furniture problem you were trying to solve in the first place.
Plus once you have settled on a retailer and a product with which you are happy, you can confidently make repeat purchases for a long time.
Have any questions or, better yet, any good tips for shopping for a slipcover online? Please share them in the comments below.
