5 Tips For Buying...

at Wayfair, for example, you can also find someone through ondemand service platform Handy who can put together your purchase. TaskRabbit is another site where you can hire a helper.

Also check to see how your purchase will be delivered, Girard says. Will it be brought and placed in your home, or just dropped at your front door? Some stores charge a fee to bring it inside.

FIND DEALS Search multiple sites for better prices. The same furniture or rugs may be sold under different names. Sara Skirboll, shopping and trends expert at deal site RetailMeNot, suggests filtering search results by the color of the item you are looking for. This might be time consuming -- Wayfair alone owns several sites, including AllModern, Birch Lane and DwellStudio -- but it may pay off. Also check out Amazon, Walmart and Target, which are increasing the amount of furniture they sell online.

Another way to find deals is to sign up for the site's email newsletter. Many will offer a discount of 15 percent or more to sign up. Skirboll also recommends searching online for the retailer's coupon codes. Some will at least lower any delivery or assembly costs, she says.

KNOW THE RETURN POLICY Even if you plan ahead, you may still need to return an item, so read the site's policy carefully. Some may offer free shipping, but charge if you don't like it and want to send it back. Typically, items damaged in transit can be returned for free.

Another thing to watch out for: if you choose a special fabric or customize an item in any way, the store might not take it back, says Girard.