How to compare a sofa

Name the shape before the price

A straight two-seater, an L-shaped corner, and a U-shaped sleeper are different sofas. The chaise department in this feed is full of those sectionals, not a single chaise longue. Read the shape in the title. A lower price on a two-seater is not a discount on the corner unit in the photo next to it.

Seat count is the next word to match. A three-seater and a corner with a chaise do not hold the same number of people, and they do not occupy the same floor. Write down the shape you have room for, then ignore rows that are a different shape. Sorting the whole list by price will surface the smallest sofa and call it a bargain.

Storage ottomans and scatter cushions are part of the offer only when the title counts them. A lifestyle photo adds cushions that are often another product. Believe the piece count. A cheaper sofa without the ottomans is an honest different product, not a saving on the set.

Measure the room, including the door

Width and depth have to be in the title or on the shop page. A sofa that fits a showroom photo can still block your own door. Measure with people sitting, not the empty floor. Include the path around the sofa and the gap a sleeper needs when the footrest is out.

The doorway, the stairs, and the lift are part of the purchase even though they are not in the feed. Some retailers stop at the kerb. Some charge more above the ground floor. Some will not take a sofa back once it is in the room. Read that before you pay if the size is tight.

We do not visit the room and we do not carry furniture. If the title has no centimetres, treat the row as incomplete and open the shop. Two sofas with the same name and different photos may be different sizes. Match the numbers.

Fabric, fill, and what we will not claim

A fabric name, a leather-look word, and a corduroy description are different covers. Match the word. Leather-look is not leather unless the title says leather. We do not rub the cloth and we do not tell you how a cover wears.

Foam and a sprung seat are different builds when the listing says which. If it does not say, do not invent a fill from a photo of someone sitting down. Removable covers are a practical advantage only when they are written down. A stain claim is the maker’s.

Colour names are loose. Two greys can be different dyes. Open both shops when the prices are far apart and the names are close. A cheaper colour you will not live with is a different sofa.

The feed price and one offer

The figure on the card is the feed price of the sofa as titled. It is not delivery, and it is not old-sofa collection. A small gap between two shops can vanish once the heavy delivery is added. Visit retailer and read the basket.

The sofas department is often a handful of rows. The chaise list is longer and is still not a complete market. One shop is one offer. Visit retailer is an affiliate link. You pay the shop. Commission does not pin a sofa to the top.

If the right size is missing, search sofa. If it is still missing, wait or use a shop you already know. Do not buy a chair because it was the card on the page. Armchairs have their own heading when you want a chair.

When to leave the row

Leave a sofa with no dimensions. Leave a sectional when you wanted a simple two-seater and did not notice the shape. Leave a title you cannot read. Leave a sleeper if you needed a fixed seat and the mechanism is the whole point of that row.

A comparison that tells you the cheap row is a different shape has done its job. You can stop. Nothing in the feed is reserved. The checklist is shape, centimetres, what is in the box, then the shop’s delivery line.

Sleeper mechanisms and storage

A sofa bed and a fixed sofa are different products. If you need a guest bed, the title has to say sleeper or sofa bed. A cheaper fixed sofa is not that guest bed. The mechanism, the mattress thickness inside it, and whether the arms fold are shop-page details. We do not open the mechanisms.

Storage in the chaise or under the ottoman is useful only when the title gives a clue that a lid opens. A photo of a blanket inside a posed chaise does not put a storage cavity in the box. Measure what you hoped to store. A cavity the size of a magazine is not a cavity the size of bedding.

Covers, pets, and stairs

If a pet or children are the reason you care about the cover, the shop has to name a wipeable cloth or a removable cover. We will not rank fabrics for claws. A pale colour shows marks sooner. That is ordinary observation, not a test we ran on these sofas.

A modular sofa that arrives as several pieces can be easier on a stair than one rigid frame, and it can also be the wrong shape if you needed a single fixed unit. Read how many pieces the title counts. Corner pieces are not interchangeable with a middle seat unless the listing says the system is modular.

A practical order

Write the shape, the maximum width, and whether you need a sleeper. Open the chaise list and the sofas list, or search sofa. Ignore rows that are a different shape. Then read delivery. If the only offers are the wrong size, stop.

Armchairs and recliners have their own heading when the feed files rocking chairs there. Do not force a sectional to stand in for a nursing chair. The same rule runs the other way: a chair is not a cheaper sofa.