If you’ve ever wanted new furniture or to spruce up your space for less, there’s a good chance you’ve come across Wayfair. Because of Wayfair’s trendy pieces at super affordable prices, people across the web are asking the same question: “Is Wayfair legit?”
Wayfair.com is stocked (and I mean stocked) with all of the home goods you could imagine including sofas, rugs, lighting, bedding, kitchen accessories, artificial plants, and so much more. And while the reasonably priced items look good online (for the most part), many people wonder if the brand is actually legit.
As a Wayfair shopper myself, I wanted to know the truth. So I dug deep into company facts and countless customer reviews to give you a totally unbiased answer. Why is Wayfair so cheap? Where does Wayfair furniture come from? And can you trust the quality? I laid out everything you need to know, plus tips for smarter shopping.
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What is Wayfair?
Wayfair is an affordable online furniture store with thousands of products to choose from. Their site is filled with everything from couches and beds to rugs, decor, and more, all for fairly reasonable prices.
There are tons of other online furniture and home goods stores, but Wayfair stands out for their low prices and near-constant sales. Wayfair is much cheaper than traditional furniture stores (like West Elm, CB2, and Crate and Barrel), though the quality isn’t always comparable.
Currently, Wayfair doesn’t have any physical store locations, which means you can only buy items online. But Wayfair ships to all 50 states and U.S. territories — and shipping is usually free (for the most part).
Who owns Wayfair?
Wayfair is owned by individual and institutional stakeholders, so they operate on their own and aren’t tied to a larger overall company. In fact, Wayfair acts as the parent company for other online furniture brands, including AllModern, Joss & Main, Perigold, and Birch Lane. You’ll often find the same or similar items across multiple Wayfair-owned sites.
Where does Wayfair furniture come from?
Wayfair gets their furniture from a variety of suppliers all over the world. They don’t make any of their furniture themselves. Rather, they buy products from brands (like Three Posts, Greyleigh, Kelly Clarkson Home, Mistana, and more) to sell on their site. However, they do have their own Wayfair brand for bedding.
Why Is Wayfair So Cheap?
Many potential Wayfair shoppers ask the same question before they place an order: How is this site so friggin’ cheap?
Well, there are three main reasons for Wayfair’s low prices:
- Wayfair doesn’t have any physical locations. Because they’re online only, Wayfair doesn’t need to pay salespeople or commercial rent to maintain store locations. This helps them save money on overhead.
- As with most places, you get what you pay for. Because Wayfair sells furniture that’s typically made from lower-quality materials, they are able to keep their prices lower than other stores that use high-end materials. This can be both good and bad news from a shopper’s standpoint.
- Wayfair doesn’t manufacture anything themselves. Wayfair buys items from a variety of suppliers. Since they aren’t dedicating financial and employee resources to making items themselves, they’re essentially saving money on the manufacturing process. This way, they can purchase items for cheap, then sell them to customers for cheap.
Is Wayfair Ethical?
Wayfair claims to follow high ethical standards, according to their website. In addition to stating they’re “committed to responsible and ethical product sourcing,” here’s what they say:
“Our Supplier Code of Conduct outlines the expectations for our suppliers to adhere to strict human rights, labor, and environmental protection standards in their procurement and manufacturing processes.”
However, Wayfair is considered a mega-retailer, which basically means their practices are not the MOST eco-friendly. Regardless, they are taking more steps toward a more sustainable future than other massive brands.
If you want to learn more about Wayfair’s ethics, you can check out their Shop Sustainably feature, which shows you which products meet global environmental and social certifications or standards.
Does Wayfair Have Good Quality Furniture?
The quality of Wayfair’s furniture depends on the piece you get. Since the furniture comes from a wide range of brands, their quality varies across the board. And since Wayfair has so many products — including sofas, beds, rugs, lighting, decor, and more — it really comes down to what you buy.
Overall, I’ve been satisfied with the Wayfair items I’ve purchased over the last five years. I ordered a sofa, a dresser, a rug, and a bedside table, and each item was under $300. Now, I won’t say they’re the highest-quality pieces in my home, but they do the job for the price.
Why do People Think Wayfair Is a Scam?
Furniture isn’t usually affordable.
No, Wayfair is not a scam. But Wayfair’s low prices have shoppers questioning whether they’re legit — and word tends to spread. That’s the main reason why people think Wayfair is a scam, but there are, of course, other factors at play.
For example, some customers complain about the quality of Wayfair’s products, which led them to leave some baaaaad reviews. However, Wayfair seemingly makes an effort to address and fix customer complaints.
Wayfair customer reviews are not always good.
Again, customers have a problem with the quality of Wayfair items, so lots of frustrating shoppers have left negative online reviews. That’s absolutely fair, but when you pay Wayfair prices, it’s hard to expect Pottery Barn quality.
Always take bad reviews with a grain of salt, but product-specific reviews can be helpful if you’re considering buying the same item. Those reviews will give you an idea of the quality you can expect.
Wayfair’s Better Business Bureau rating is also not good — 1.68 out of 5.
Wayfair isn’t the best in the Better Business Bureau’s eyes. In fact, Wayfair’s BBB page displays a shockingly low 1.68 rating out of five stars.
That’s because shoppers submitted a large number of complaints to the BBB in the last 12 months. Out of over 1,700 reviews for Wayfair, only 4.8% of them were positive.
When you consider how many orders Wayfair gets a day, those numbers seem more reasonable. But still. This doesn’t look good to prospective shoppers.
So Is Wayfair Legit?
Overall, yes. Wayfair is Legit.
From my extensive research and personal experiences with the brand, I feel confident telling you that Wayfair is legit. I’ve had some problems with items on back order and getting in touch with customer service, but in the end, I received my items and paid hard-to-beat prices.
I personally haven’t had problems with quality, but I probably had the right expectations from the start. It’s definitely something worth considering before you make a purchase. I suggest researching the product a bit to find out where it comes from and what people have to say about the item and the brand. If you set the right expectations and use your smarts as you shop, you’ll likely have a pleasant experience like mine.
Prepare for potentially long shipping times.
Since Wayfair gets their products from other brands, shipping times can get lengthy. Be sure to keep this in mind as you consider a new purchase, just so you can plan for its arrival accordingly. Wayfair offers free shipping on orders of $35 or more, but you’ll pay $4.99 for orders under $35.
Don’t expect an immediate response from Wayfair customer service.
Wayfair customer service isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. It can take some time to get a response via email or social media. To avoid this, I suggest reaching out to them directly (by phone) via their Contact Us page. You can also use the Live Chat function on their site but beware — it’s a virtual assistant, not a real person.
Wayfair Unclaimed Orders is NOT legit.
If you ever get an email about Wayfair’s unclaimed orders, don’t open it — it’s a scam. Some customers reported emails from Wayfair that said orders were not claimed and that items were now selling for more than 80% off.
You can tell these emails are fake because the email address isn’t Wayfair’s official email. So be sure to check the sender info on sketchy emails, and don’t open any from unknown addresses.
Wayfair Shopping Tips to Keep in Mind
Do not expect to get top quality.
My best advice is to set the right expectations before your purchase. There’s a reason Crate & Barrell prices are so high and Wayfair prices are so low. There’s a clear difference in quality, but it’s not like your Wayfair furniture will fall apart after a month. Not everything in your home has to cost thousands of dollars, so Wayfair is still a great way to furnish your home for less.
Score major discounts on Wayfair throughout the year.
One of the things I love most about Wayfair is that they drop big sales all the time, giving you plenty of opportunities to save more. You can score deals during their famous Way Day Sale in April and October and save up to 80% on furniture, rugs, curtains, storage, decor, and so much more. The Wayfair Black Friday sale is another can’t-miss savings event with discounts like 70% off lighting, 65% off living room seating, and more great deals on decor and bedding.
Read up on Wayfair’s return policy before you shop.
Don’t get stuck with something you don’t want to keep. Before you place an order on Wayfair, be sure to read up on the return process and policy. Our easy guide to the Wayfair return policy has everything you need to know.
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