Barstool Direct Review

Thursday, March 30th

2023 Barstool Store Reviews

Barstool Direct

• Free shipping on everything
• 30-day returns with no restocking fees
• "Price Beat" Guarantee

The best way to describe the experience when shopping at Barstool Direct is this: "Just when you think it can't get any worse... it does." We've evaluated this retailer several times over the years, hoping to see some improvements - because, really, with a name like "Barstool Direct" , you would think it would offer a superlative selection at the very least, and maybe even excellent service with a strong focus on this particular type of furniture. Unfortunately, that's not even remotely the case.

Your order will likely come from overseas

When you first land on the site, it already starts out a little sketchy: you see at the very top that you'll get free shipping on everything... buuuuut, you should also expect a "potential port container delay" . That's your first clue that anything you order is not coming from a warehouse in the US or Canada. Barstool Direct is a subsidiary of Peazz, whose stores also include Home Goods Center, TSC (Home, Toys, Pets), the intriguingly-named Puppet Hut, and more - and from what we can tell, all of those companies ship their products from China.

Lots of "sold out" items

Your next clue will be when you scroll down to see some of the featured barstool selections and see that almost half of them are already designated as "sold out" . That tracks with what we've found each time we've tried to shop using the Barstool Direct site. You might have better luck if you use the dropdowns at the top of the site to shop by counter or bar heights or by material/design (wooden, metal, backless).

Some high-end barstools on offer

Just for fun, we clicked on the "Over $400" category to see what Barstool Direct carries. Most items were - you guessed it - sold out, or they consisted of an entire table-and-chairs set. But, in the Counter Stools section, we did spot the Zuo Modern Latte Bar Chair in bright orange and chrome: a set of two was priced at $878.75, a 17% discount from the advertised retail price of $1,054.50. And, in the Bar Stools section, there were several Stone County Ironworks designs for over $1000 each, all with more than 10 chairs available in the inventory.

Information is hit-or-miss

So, let's say you find something on Barstool Direct that is exactly what you have in mind, and you're lucky enough that it's in stock. What can you expect next? There's a decent amount of information on most product pages: multiple views of the barstools, dimensions and weight, and so on. You might get a laugh out of the site's "Frequently Bought Together" recommendations: somehow, we don't think people are exactly stocking up on barstools and buying stainless steel counter chairs along with wood swivel stools and walnut-toned bar chairs, but okay. And, in theory, customers can leave reviews or put something in the Q&A, but we didn't see any barstools that had either of those.

Orders may never arrive

Now the "fun" part: each piece of furniture has an estimated arrival date, and on many of the barstools we checked out, we were told we could get them within two weeks. Fantastic! However, in reality, Barstool Direct has a beyond-bad reputation when it comes to delivering customer orders. It's so bad, in fact, that the Better Business Bureau gives Peazz (the parent company) an "F" rating, issuing alerts for both the retailer's licensing (or lack thereof) and "patterns of complaint" among the 80+ filed there in the last three years. Here's what the BBB says: "Customers have made a purchase and never received the items ordered... and are also experiencing communication issues with the company." Those issues include Peazz' failure to respond to refund requests for those undelivered items - and they haven't responded to the BBB's requests for follow-ups on complaints either.

Avoid this store

Barstool Direct talks a good game, with a "Price Beat Guarantee" and supposedly a 30-day return policy with no restocking fees, on top of free shipping on all orders. Sadly, "talk" is all that is when the retailer goes completely silent as orders go undelivered and customers can't get their money back without filing a credit card dispute. No thank you! We can't think of a single reason why you'd want to spend your time or risk your money here.