No one likes to feel pressured when purchasing something. Whether it’s due to a pushy salesperson, or perhaps a store is closing soon and you need to make a decision, we all prefer to take our time and think before handing over the money. Of course, we can usually take back an item if we’re not happy with it, but isn’t it better to get it right the first time? That’s why so many online companies are offering fantastic ‘try before you buy’ deals these days, probably even more than you thought. Here are a few we like.
Mattress
When we look at mattresses in-store, we’re often invited to lie down on the products and see which one we like best. However, is 10 or 15 minutes really enough time to know what we prefer? Especially surrounded in a room that’s not actually where we’ll sleep. As shown in this Telegraph article, many consumers are making the shift to online mattress companies for several reasons, such as the fact that there is often only one product to choose from, as well as the lenient trial times. For example, one of the companies, Eve, allows for up to 100 nights to sleep on their mattress, and will refund and pick it up if the customer isn’t happy. Although if you were to buy on Amazon, it’s worth noting that the 100-night trial doesn’t apply, but rather 30 days.
Glasses
If you’re a first-time glasses wearer, then you may well feel very self-conscious trying on all sorts of pairs in a store; it can be slightly daunting to look at the massive wall of frames staring back at you. Enter Warby Parker. The online glasses retailer lets you choose five different frames from their selection, and then gives you five days to test them out to see which one you prefer. If there’s one that jumps out, the customer can simply mail back the other four and pay for their favorite. Warby Parker can even give you a second opinion on social media, if you photograph yourself and use the hashtag #warbyhometryon.
Clothing
If you thought choosing glasses was hard, then how about an entire outfit? Under the oft-unflattering bright lights of a fitting room, it’s difficult to know if what we try on actually looks good, or whether we’re being too hard on ourselves. However, Stitch Fix is an interesting solution to that problem. Similarly to Warby Parker, Stitch Fix will send you items of clothing based on your preferences, which you try on over three days, then only pay for the items you’d like to keep and send back the rest. Stitch Fix’s biggest advantage is perhaps their human stylists, who offer useful tips and suggestions for what kind of clothing you’d like.
