Christa Geraghty | 

Wayfair vs. Overstock: Who Wins in the Battle of the Online Retailers?

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Wayfair vs. Overstock — who wins? To decide we have to look at Wayfair sales vs. Overstock, best things to buy, and differences in their return policies.

While the two retailers may sometimes feel indistinguishable, it's important to note that, for a while, Overstock went away. When their parent company purchased Bed Bath & Beyond in 2023, Overstock became BedBathandBeyond.com (a head scratcher to anyone who followed the demise of the original Bed Bath & Beyond). The head honchos at what is now known as Beyond Inc. realized shoppers were like, “Where’d Overstock go?,” so they brought it back.

We want to see how the two compare to day, so follow along as we dissect the Wayfair vs. Overstock debate.

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Wayfair vs. Overstock: The Similarities

They're not totally twinsies, but Wayfair and Overstock do have quite a bit in common. 

They both sell furniture and home decor.

The most obvious similarity between Wayfair and Overstock is that they both sell a wide selection of furniture and home decor. And, of course, they each do so online only (with the exception of a few physical Wayfair outlet stores as well as one regular Wayfair brick and mortar near Chicago). 

In fact, you’ll find nearly identical products on each site, but the prices tend to vary (we'll get into those differences below).

Wayfair and Overstock's return policies can both best be described as "meh."

     

Neither of these two retailers has a great return policy. They’re both pretty strict and require the customer to pay for return shipping. As you can imagine, this can get pretty pricey depending on the size and weight of your item. That's right, the amount you'll pay to make your return varies by item. The larger the item, the more it costs to ship, and the more you'll pay for that return. The only way out of paying for return shipping at either retailer is if your item arrived damaged.

To get all the details, see our guide to the Wayfair return policy and our breakdown of the Overstock return policy.

Each retailer offers frequent sales.

We never want you to pay full price anywhere, but you certainly shouldn't at either Wayfair or Overstock considering the sheer number of sales each holds annually. While Overstock sticks with holiday tentpole events, like Fourth of July and Memorial Day sales, Wayfair prefers branded sales. Just look at Way Day (where you can get up to 85% off), the Wayfair Anniversary Sale (up to 70% off), and their 5 Days of Deals (also up to 70% off).

Wayfair and Overstock each offer free shipping, but their free ship thresholds are different.

The good news here is that when arguing Wayfair vs. Overstock, both offer free shipping. However, Wayfair's free ship threshold is $35, whereas Overstock's is $49.99. This makes Wayfair the better deal by roughly $15. On top of that, we see a lot of items ship free on Wayfair regardless of the advertised order minimum.

Both stores offer coupons when you sign up for emails.

If you’re new to Wayfair, enter your email address to get a 10% off purchase promo code that you can use on sale items. If you already have an account, use a different email account to claim this one-time coupon.

Same goes for Overstock, except their welcome coupon is 15% off. The email sign-up is at the bottom of their homepage.

Wayfair vs. Overstock: The Differences

Now let's dissect what separates these two mega housewares retailers.

Wayfair tends to have cheaper prices than Overstock.

While, yes, you can find affordable home furnishings at both, in the Wayfair vs. Overstock debate, Wayfair tends to win price-wise across different categories.

Price Closeup

We always encourage price comparing across stores on a particular item, especially when looking at Wayfair vs. Overstock. Why? Because prices at these two retailers can change daily. Sure, Wayfair is legit, as is Overstock, but between flash deals, regular sales, and whatnot, product prices are super quick to change. 

Here’s how prices on some basic household items compared at Wayfair vs. Overstock at the time of publication.

Wayfair Prices vs. Overstock Prices

Overstock sells apparel and jewelry; Wayfair doesn't.

Full disclosure: we've never considered Overstock when it comes to clothes shopping. But they do actually sell clothes for the entire family, as well as jewelry and accessories. You'll actually see some brands you know, too: DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, and Lucky Brand, to name a few.

Wayfair, on the other hand, keeps things strictly housewares. And we like that about them.

Open Box deals are available at Wayfair but not at Overstock.

When you're trying to save at Wayfair, their Open Box deals can't be beat. These are simply returned items that are in like-new condition which Wayfair sells at a discounted price (up to 30% off in some cases).

Unfortunately, Overstock doesn't join in on the Open Box party. However, they do have a Factory Direct section of their site where you can get deals on furniture and decor that's coming straight from the factory (as you might have guessed).

Wayfair has a few physical locations, but Overstock is strictly online.

As we mentioned earlier, both stores are pretty much only online. But recently Wayfair has been broadening their horizons. They have four physical outlet locations:

  • Kentucky

  • New York

  • North Carolina

  • Texas

And Wayfair also opened its first real brick-and-mortar store in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

So which is better: Wayfair or Overstock?

Truly, there's a case to be made for both retailers. Wayfair's sales and Open Box options make for great deals, but Overstock also offers competitive pricing while being easy to shop. Ultimately, the choice is yours. Just never pay full price at either one (for real, we're watching you).

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