It can sell massive furniture and online. Solid Oak demonstrates it

I personally know Călin Pop for almost 3 years, but I've been reading him since he started writing on Massive Oak. He is the one who showed me that you can sell solid oak furniture online. I know young people will say "why not?", as they buy everything on the net. But solid furniture is bought more by middle-aged and older people. They're the ones who feel the need to get their hands on it, see it and think for a few days afterwards whether to buy it or not.

The surprise is even bigger knowing that Mobel Amadeus, The online store through which solid oak furniture is sold, sells mainly tables and chairs. How can you buy a chair, an armchair, without seeing if you're comfortable in it! How could you not want to sit on it in front of a massive table, 3, even 4 meters long? Yet Calin sells them. They can be returned, you'll tell me. Yes, but can you imagine what it means for the beneficiary to return such massive and bulky pieces of furniture? And I don't think people who buy furniture don't think about that. And yet they buy it! Why? The reasons, from my point of view, I have explained them in full below.

Călin is very close to the wood world, I can say right in the middle of it

Călin writes about wood on Massive Oak for more than 7 years. She lives in the world of wood, loves it, and when she wants to know something, she researches. When you're looking to buy a table or some chairs and you want to research beforehand what they should be like, what pluses or minuses they may have, you may come across articles in Massive Oak that explains how to build a table, how to place the legs for maximum usable surface area or the minimum space a person should be given. All this information, which you get for free, gives you confidence that the man knows what he's selling.

The wood Călin talks about is from all fields, not just furniture. Reading the articles you realize that he appreciates well-crafted solid wood, craftsmen who prefer old-fashioned hand-made joints, decent innovation, interesting combinations, work well done. He promotes companies and craftsmen who work well whenever he gets the chance. All of this makes you think of someone who appreciates things well done, and you know that in very few cases would such a person agree to sell something he doesn't appreciate in the first place.

Direct relationship with the factory

Online sales are made directly by the manufacturers or a retailer. Mobel Amadeus is somewhere in the middle. Călin doesn't work in the factory, but the factory in Baia Mare, where much of the furniture he sells is made, is in the family. He has permanent access to the factory and knows exactly how the furniture is made. Furniture that is mostly made for export.

I remember a conversation with him some time ago. He was telling me how selling furniture online was kind of a gamble. He wanted to prove to his uncle that this type of furniture could also be sold online. His uncle told him he was sure he wouldn't sell anything all year, but let him "play". Even after a year, when he showed him the results, the uncle didn't want to accept the idea. He told him he was lucky. Except that "luck" goes back a few years.

His family relationship with the factory allowed him to know everything about how furniture is made. This gave him "ammunition" when talking to customers, as he could answer any question. Or, when the salesperson tells you everything you want to know about the product that caught your eye, why wouldn't you buy it?

Flexibility and willingness to find solutions or solve problems

I appeal to another memory. When we first met I was writing mainly about wood finishing, having been involved in it for a long time. Călin had a problem with some tables in a client's restaurant. In trying to solve the problem, he came across articles about finishing defects and contacted me. I understood from our discussions that the problem was due to improper storage of tables by the beneficiary. He had bought the tables long before they were put in the restaurant and by the time the restaurant opened, he had stored them in an inappropriate space. Although he was not at fault, he did everything in his power to solve the problem, even paying out of his own pocket.

In my opinion, this is the recipe for success. If you show a willingness to solve people's problems, especially in this world of ours where you are often on your own, you gain a lot. Those you help will feel the need to share this because, I repeat, with us it is not considered normal. And so others will gain confidence.

Customisation of the offer

Customizing the offer is another side of flexibility. The message on the website tells you that you can choose the colour and finish you want from a catalogue, that there are standard sizes, but the offer can be perzonalized on request. Everyone who comes to visit the site understands that they have multiple choices. There is no rigidity, just a desire to find the optimal solution for everyone's home or restaurant. Colors can be matched and sizes adapted. You can choose another table leg for the one whose top caught your eye, or replace a wooden leg with a metal one.

Lots of combinations are possible and Calin is willing to tell you this from the start. You don't feel confined, you don't have the feeling that if you don't want it that way, that's it, otherwise it's not possible, you can go somewhere else. And you see that in reviews received.

Honest public presentation of successes and problems

Among the topics addressed on Massive Oak are also related to the furniture sold by Mobel Amadeus. Not only to talk about designs, finishing possibilities, standard or custom sizes, but also to present both successes and problems and what he has done to solve them.

He sometimes talks about satisfied customers, shows photos of the furniture in his home and you realize that he has created a relationship with the customer. And that helps, it gives confidence to others. But he also tells us if he has encountered a problem and what he did to solve it. Acknowledging mistakes, contrary to what some people think, makes you more human and brings you closer to the customer. The message is "I'm human and I can make mistakes. But I'm doing everything I can to fix that mistake". Who does not give credit to such a man?

A formula for success

Over the years I've followed several businesses selling furniture online. We have seen the success of the big international manufacturers, and the best-selling furniture is the simple, Scandinavian design favored by young people. We've also seen how massive furniture companies have closed their online shops for lack of sales. Călin has succeeded, despite selling hard-to-sell furniture. And that's because he didn't let it sell itself, but invested heavily in informing the market. He talked about oak wood, solid wood furniture, joints and construction solutions and thus convinced people that he knew what he was selling and what a quality product was.

People need to be convinced and what convinces them is information, honesty, transparency and availability. If you only know and don't tell the customer, you don't know. You have to find channels to reach the customer and through these channels convey as much information as possible. This is how you will manage to sell even things that are impossible to sell online, as Călin has managed to do. Congratulations and good luck, Călin!