With online shopping, there’s simply something for everyone. You can get access to millions of products and have them delivered at your doorstep.
The problem is that having too many options can be debilitating, particularly if different websites offer very similar products.
Wayfair and Overstock are both such websites. Specializing in the home furniture, they’re known for their vast inventories and fierce competition.
Below you’ll find the rundown on which one we think is best.
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Background
Wayfair was founded in August 2002 by Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, as a small store in Conine’s nursery in Boston. At first, the company was named CSN stores after the founders’ initials, and it focused on selling storage furniture, media stands, and later garden and patio goods.
Currently, the company’s CEO is Niraj Shah, and the main office is in 4 Copley Place, Boston, Massachusetts, US. The store itself no longer has a physical address and exists solely online.
Overstock started as a website in 1997 and was founded by Patrick M. Byrne. It began by selling returned and excess merchandise from other online stores at a fraction of the cost. Over time, it grew to include all sorts of home merchandise.
Website Experience
Both websites are relatively organized with a search bar, filters, and a suggested product list.
Overstock’s website has a busy interface, particularly on the homepage. However, the option to shop by style, category, or room is great.
Wayfair has a relatively cleaner interface overall. The navigation panel on both websites is very similar (and very crowded).
On both websites, the products are listed with a detailed description and photos, as well as the pricing, available discounts, and shipping policy. Overstock has different product colors on the same page and many translations available for the descriptions.
Product Range
Wayfair offers furniture for living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. They also offer outdoor furniture, baby and kid furniture, rugs, home appliances, décor and pillows, storage, and lighting.
Overstock has many of these same offerings, plus a dedicated jewelry section.
Wayfair has a much bigger inventory (about 7 million products) from over 8000 suppliers. In comparison, Overstock has a modest 63,000 products from 200 suppliers.
Prices and Promotions
Wayfair and Overstock carry many of the same items. They have very similar prices in general. Aside from that, Wayfair has better deals on furniture, while Overstock has cheaper rugs. The results are mixed for other product categories, so if you’re looking for the best value for money, it’s better to check both websites.
Technically, Overstock offers more discounts, but many users report these to be fake. The price is inflated, then reduced to look like it’s on sale. The manufacturer’s website may offer the same product for less. Wayfair has less discounts but they tend to be more legitimate.
Overstock offers discounts for particular sections of society, such as students, teachers, and veterans. Wayfair has black Friday sales which is notably missing from Overstock.
Delivery and Returns
Wayfair offers free shipping in the continental US on orders over $49. Overstock has a similar offer on orders over $45.
For international shipping, Wayfair only ships to the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Germany, while Overstock ships to over 180 countries around the globe.
The refund policy for Wayfair is a refund within 30 days except for clearance and bundled items. You can only return a discounted item if it’s defective or damaged. Some products are marked as non-refundable.
For Overstock, the refund policy is laxer as you can get a full refund on any new and unopened items within 30 days. Products returned after 30 days receive a partial refund. Like Wayfair, some products are marked non-refundable.
Both websites appear to have some delivery issues, particularly with shipping time and returns. We don’t recommend taking the estimated shipping time on either website too seriously.
If you decide to return an item from either retailer, you may need to pay the shipping or even deliver the item yourself to the shipping company. When you consider the fact, most people order online so they don’t have to go anywhere, so this can be a big hassle.
Also, the price may not include assembly fees, so the customer is expected to do that on their own. It’s good practice to check the delivery policy on each item separately.
Payment methods
For Wayfair, you can pay with credit/debit cards, including Wayfair credit card, American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover. You can also pay with Wayfair gift cards and store credit, Wayfair rewards, and PayPal.
Overstock accepts credit card payment with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. It also accepts debit cards from Visa and MasterCard, and of course PayPal and the designated Overstock Credit card and gift cards.
Surprisingly, Overstock accepts Bitcoin payment, and offers progressive leasing on select items.
Warranty
Wayfair has at least a one year warranty on most products.
Overstock has a 1-5 year warranty, plus a lifetime warranty on jewelry.
Conclusion
There isn’t a definite way to say which site is best. Wayfair has a more extensive selection of products, as well as better prices on furniture (read detailed Wayfair review).
Overstock ships worldwide and has more flexible payment and returns. It really depends on what you’re personally looking for (read detailed Overstock review).
You are quite wrong on the number of SKUs and partners for Overstock. They are closer to 5M products and on average have a lower price that than Wayfair. In fact, Wayfair typically hides the product under a different name, but with a little work you can see they have higher prices. I do feel Wayfair has a better shopping experience, but I always look at Overstock to save money.
5 million item’s verses 63,000 Lara… Why does it appear you’re so far of the mark? I would really like to know which is correct?!
I’m discouraged that the comparison did not include environmental practices (eco-friendly vs eco-problematic), where the products are manufactured? How workers treated? Livable wage? How is the transparency for each of these firms, and the companies they buy from? Do they contribute to or destroy local makers and economies? It’s not all about the consumer, my friends.