Hi all! Do any of you have experience buying furniture from sites like Chairish.com or Kaiyo.com?

I've been searching for a genuinely high-quality sofa that I can afford and love--and looking at new furniture is driving me crazy, especially after reading columns and posts from furniture-makers explaining what to look for and what "tricks" to watch out for (like, who knew there were "fake" 8-way hand-tied springs????). I grew up with old, old furniture and that's what I've always had--solid, indestructible, worn but beautiful stuff, pretty much all pre-1950s. So my standards are unrealistically high, and sadly, my budget is vastly lower. For example: I hate polyester, and I don't like foam cushions--I'd really like a good-quality cotton upholstery and down (or at least partly) cushions. I also just have a prejudice (if that's the right word) about things like being made of solid wood, 8-way hand-tied springs, etc. Not easy to find--or, what I'm learning, there are often cheaper versions of these things that can still advertise as the real deal. I also tend to have kind of definite preferences like: I prefer loose, reversible cushions; and a deep enough seat that I can sack out on it without falling off, but not so deep that it takes up the whole room. (Hello, I'm Goldilocks, pleasure to meet you!)

I'm happy to buy used furniture, but it's exhausting--I'm either driving all over the place to look at stuff listed on Facebook MP, or trying to assess pieces based on the info and photos I can see online. Every time I find something on one of these websites, I plunge into hours or days of research on the brands and try to figure out if it's worth it. Some of these sites allow you to ask questions, but others, like Kaiyo, don't. I tend to look for brands I've read about, but then I learn that often those brands are not what they seem (like Thomasville, Henredon, RH,etc.).

So I guess my questions for all y'all are:

1) Any experience with these sites, and if so, what do you think about them?

2) ARE there any brands you'd say are consistently high-quality enough that they would (probably) be worth taking a chance on buying without seeing in person? I see sofas by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Kravet, and others that seem like they'd be good quality. But then I wonder if it would be better to get something older that seems really solid, and just have it reupholstered if it needs it.

3) Any general advice for searching for (or finding!) a good sofa would be met with a lifetime of gratitude!

Thank you all so much!

Cheers--Eli