How to sell furniture online: variants, delivery, assembly and returns

To sell furniture online, every model needs exact dimensions in centimetres, variants for colour and upholstery, a clear delivery price to the door and assembly the shopper can add in the cart. Small items go by parcel courier, sofas and wardrobes by pallet or your own van, and made-to-order pieces need their own return terms, because EU law treats them differently.

This guide is for manufacturers, furniture showrooms and resellers who sell to consumers anywhere in the EU. The admin paths are from CloudCart, the ecommerce platform used by stores across Europe. The legal rules come from EU directives that every member state applies; national law can add to them, so have a lawyer confirm your terms.

How to start a furniture online store: 7 steps

The order matters: first the data for each model, then the delivery price, then advertising.

1. Choose your business model. Own production, a furniture warehouse with stock, imports or dropshipping, or second-hand furniture.
2. Build the catalogue with variants. Colour, upholstery and size are variants, each with its own stock and SKU.
3. Add the options that do not split stock. Assembly, removal of the old piece, a custom length.
4. Photograph and measure every model. Width, depth, height, seat height, the size of the largest box and the weight.
5. Set up delivery by weight and by category. A parcel courier for small items, pallet or your own van for sofas and wardrobes.
6. Write your terms. Delivery time, the cost of returning a bulky item, made-to-order pieces, guarantee and assembly.
7. Switch on payments. Cards, wallets, local payment methods and paying at the showroom.

Own production, furniture warehouse or second-hand furniture

Your business model decides how the catalogue looks, how long delivery takes and whether the 14-day right of withdrawal applies.

Model	What the catalogue looks like	Delivery time	Watch out for
Own production (fitted kitchens, made-to-measure wardrobes)	Few models, many sizes, materials and options	Weeks, agreed with the customer	Pieces made to the customer's specifications have no 14-day right of withdrawal (Art. 16(c) of the Consumer Rights Directive)
Furniture warehouse with ready stock	Many models, stock per colour	Days, if the item is in stock	Stock must be accurate, or the customer waits
Imports, or a supplier who ships for you (furniture dropshipping)	Catalogue from the supplier's file	Depends on the supplier	You answer to the customer for the delivery time and for damage in transit
Second-hand furniture	Every piece is unique, quantity 1	Usually your own van	Photograph every defect: the legal guarantee also covers used furniture sold by a business

Ask your supplier for an XML or CSV file with dimensions, weight, stock and images. More in what is dropshipping.

How to enter sizes, colours and upholstery as variants

Everything that has its own stock is a variant: the upholstery colour, the bed size 160×200 or 180×200, the side of a corner sofa. A corner sofa in 4 colours and 2 sides is one product with 8 variants, each with its own price, SKU and stock.

In CloudCart you create a parameter once for the whole store in Products → Variants. In the product editor you choose Product with variants and enter the price and stock of each combination in Manage variants. One product has up to 3 parameters and up to 500 combinations. The full guide is in product catalogue management: variants, properties and brands.

Parameter	Option type	Why it suits furniture
Upholstery or veneer colour	Image sample (a swatch with a photo)	The texture of a fabric or the grain of wood cannot be shown with a coloured dot
Bed or mattress size	Radio button	All sizes are visible in one row and picked with one click
Corner side (left or right)	Radio button	The most common mistake with corner sofas, so the choice has to be explicit

The measurements every product page should show

• Overall size: width × depth × height in centimetres.
• Functional measurements: seat height and depth, sleeping area, inner shelf height.
• Size of the largest package: the shopper checks whether it fits through the door, the lift and the staircase.
• Weight: the delivery price depends on it, so enter it accurately.

Material, style and size can also be filterable properties (Products → Properties).

Assembly and custom sizes: product options in the cart

Assembly, removal of the old piece and a custom length are product options, because they do not split stock. The shopper picks them on the product page and their price is added to the order.

Product options are an app in Products → Options, with the + Create new option button. Each option has a type, can be required, has a price and a scope: one product, a category, a brand or a collection. There are 10 field types, including checkbox, select, length and area.

What you sell	Option type	How the price is calculated
Wardrobe assembly	Checkbox with a value and an amount	A fixed amount; with Calculate the price for each it is multiplied by the quantity
Worktop cut to length	Length	Price per metre × the length entered
Upper floor without a lift	Select with several values	A different amount for each floor

A required option blocks add to cart until the shopper fills it in, so make "Door opening side" required on a made-to-measure wardrobe. The number of options depends on the plan: 5 on Baby Pack, 10 on Starter Pack and unlimited on CC Pro and CC Master, as listed on the plans page.

Important: the assembly you sell is part of the contract. Under Article 8 of the Sale of Goods Directive (EU) 2019/771, a lack of conformity caused by incorrect installation counts as a lack of conformity of the goods when the installation is part of the sale and was done by the seller or under the seller's responsibility. The same applies when the customer assembles the piece and the mistake comes from incomplete instructions. Put clear instructions in every package.

Photos, video, 360° views and a 3D configurator

Shoppers buy furniture online when they can see scale, material and detail, so every model needs 6 to 8 photos, and the expensive ones a video or a 360° view.

• A main photo on a light background, from the same angle for every model.
• A room shot, so the size is clear next to a room, a person or a door.
• Details: fabric close up, stitching, legs, the sofa bed mechanism, the inside of the wardrobe.
• One main photo for each colour, linked to the variants with Modify images.

In the product editor, the Media section has three buttons: Add image, Add video (a YouTube link, one video per product) and Add 360° image (up to 36 frames, one 360° view per product). How to shoot on a white background with a phone is covered in AI product photos and background removal. If you edit photos with AI, check that the upholstery colour has not changed.

For makers of fitted kitchens and wardrobes, CloudCart has the IMOS-3D app. It connects the store to IMOS, a 3D furniture design software: the shopper configures the piece in a 3D configurator, and the order in the admin gets a Download XML button with the production data. The app needs an IMOS subscription and four connection details (API key, Shop ID, Integration ID and Country) in Apps → IMOS-3D → Settings.

Furniture delivery and assembly: courier, pallet or your own van

Furniture is delivered in three ways: by parcel courier for flat-pack boxes, by pallet or freight for large and heavy items, and by your own van with assembly in your area.

Method	Best for	How to set it up in CloudCart
Parcel courier to the door or a pickup point	Chairs, bedside tables, lamps, flat-pack boxes	Courier apps such as DHL or GLS, or Sendcloud for several European couriers with one contract; the price shows at checkout
Pallet or freight across the EU	Sofas, wardrobes, dining sets	EuShipment, an aggregator for larger and palletised shipments; each courier in your contract becomes its own shipping method
Your own van with assembly	Your city and the area around the warehouse	A Based on weight or Based on price method for a geo zone with a radius around the warehouse
Collection from the showroom	Customers near your location	The Local Pickup app, with a pickup method and pay on the spot

How to set up your own van by weight and distance

1. Draw the zone. In Settings → Geo distances pick a point on the map (your warehouse) and a radius in metres, for example 30 000 m for the city and nearby towns. Then in Settings → Geo Zones create a zone with a distance rule that uses this radius.
2. Create the method. In Settings → Shipping → + Add shipping method → Custom choose Based on weight and set the geo zone from step 1 as its scope.
3. Enter the rates. From-to rows in kilograms, each with its own price. An empty "to" field means no upper limit.
4. Price by category. Switch on Different price for categories and give separate rates to "Sofas" and "Kitchens", where two people are needed.
5. Offer a day and a time. The Delivery time app adds time slots to shipping methods without a courier integration, with a limit on orders per slot. With Time Intervals in Product Categories, the first available slot moves by the category's technological delivery time, for example 72 hours for "Kitchens". The app is paid and depends on your plan.

Selling into Bulgaria as well? There, the Econt courier app sends orders from chosen categories as a pallet on its own (Apps → Econt → Settings → Pallet shipment). Printing labels for Bulgarian couriers is covered in shipping labels for Econt, Speedy and BOX NOW.

What EU law says about delivery

• The price is the total price. Under Article 6(1)(e) of the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, the shopper sees the total price including taxes and delivery charges before ordering, or is told that delivery costs will be added when they cannot be calculated in advance.
• Delivery within 30 days. Under Article 18, you deliver without undue delay and no later than 30 days after the contract, unless you agreed otherwise. For made-to-order pieces, state the delivery time at checkout.
• Damage in transit is your risk. Under Article 20, the risk passes to the customer when they receive the goods. Protect the corners and photograph the shipment before it leaves.

Returning furniture and made-to-order pieces

In every EU country, a consumer can withdraw from an online purchase of ready-made furniture within 14 days without giving a reason. The period runs from delivery, and when an order arrives in several parts, from delivery of the last part (Article 9(2)(b) of the Consumer Rights Directive).

Situation	The rule	Where it comes from
Ready-made furniture from stock	14 days to withdraw, no reason needed	Art. 9, Directive 2011/83/EU
Furniture made to the customer's specifications	No right of withdrawal	Art. 16(c), Directive 2011/83/EU
Who pays for the return transport	The customer pays the direct cost if you told them beforehand	Art. 14(1), Directive 2011/83/EU
Furniture that cannot be returned by post	You state the cost of returning it before the purchase	Art. 6(1)(i), Directive 2011/83/EU
Withdrawal through the website (applies from 19 June 2026)	A clearly visible "withdraw from contract here" function, available for the whole withdrawal period	Art. 11a, added by Directive (EU) 2023/2673
A defect after delivery	The seller is liable for at least 2 years from delivery; a defect that appears within the first year is presumed to have existed at delivery (some countries use 2 years)	Art. 10 and 11, Directive (EU) 2019/771

The key row for furniture is the fourth: a sofa does not go back in an envelope, so your terms must state what returning it costs. The 2-year legal guarantee also covers second-hand goods sold by a business, although a member state may allow you to agree a shorter period of no less than one year for used items (Article 10(6)). Some countries set a longer guarantee. Refund deadlines and the withdrawal form are in returns and consumer rights for online stores, and how to write your terms is in terms and conditions for an online store.

The made-to-order exception is narrow. A ready-made sofa where the shopper picks one of your 4 colours is a standard product, and the 14 days apply. The exception covers a piece made to the measurements or requirements of one specific customer. Mark clearly on the product page which items are made to order.

Selling furniture to other EU countries: VAT, language and delivery

Three things change when you ship furniture to another EU country: VAT, language and delivery cost.

• VAT. Since 1 July 2021, once your cross-border sales to consumers in other EU countries exceed €10,000 a year in total, you charge the VAT of the customer's country and declare it through the One-Stop Shop (OSS) of your own country. The details are in OSS and EU VAT for cross-border sales.
• Language and currency. With the Multilang app, each language gets its own store linked to your main one: products are copied, texts can be translated with AI and prices adjusted with a multiplier. See multilingual and multi-currency stores and the multistore page.
• Delivery. Set a geo zone per country with its own rates, so a shopper in Vienna and one in Warsaw each see the correct pallet price at checkout.

Showroom and online store: pickup, paying on the spot and shared stock

The Local Pickup app adds any number of locations with address, phone, opening hours and a map. On installation it creates a pickup shipping method, a pay-on-the-spot payment method and a public page with all your locations. If your till or warehouse software is connected to the store, a sale in the showroom also reduces stock on the website. The feature is described on the page online store for a physical shop.

Paying for furniture: cards, wallets and instalments

Furniture is a large purchase, so offer the ways your customers already pay.

• CloudCart Pay: Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay built into the store, with no separate bank agreement.
• Stripe and PayPal: the providers that many shoppers across Europe already know.
• Mollie: local payment methods such as iDEAL, Bancontact and SEPA, for selling in Western Europe.
• Instalments in Bulgaria: for shoppers in Bulgaria, CloudCart connects TBI Bank (through Fusion Pay), BNP Paribas Personal Finance and UniCredit Consumer Financing. The lender approves the customer and pays the store the full amount. How each type of instalment works is explained in buy now, pay later in an online store.

Furniture sales: how to announce a discount

Under Article 6a of the Price Indication Directive 98/6/EC, every announced price reduction shows the prior price, which is the lowest price you applied in at least the 30 days before the reduction.

• How to show it. The new price next to the crossed-out prior price, or the percentage next to the crossed-out price. The prior price must be the 30-day lowest, not the highest price the sofa ever had.
• Progressive reductions. Member states may allow the prior price to be the price before the first reduction, when a sale gets deeper step by step.

You sell on a fixed monthly plan with 0% commission on sales, so even on a €2,000 bedroom set the platform takes no percentage of the order. How to set up discounts and promo codes is in discounts and promo codes, and the whole catalogue setup, from variants to CSV import, is on the product catalogue page.

Frequently asked questions

Questions about variants, bulky delivery or selling in other countries? Write to us at support@cloudcart.com.