If you are thinking of buying a leather one the backs come of most of them so that they can get in doors.

If in doubt and you are buying one ask them if it will go through your door and give them the measurements of the door and if it does not fit it would then be their responsibility for selling you it and I would imagine they would have to take it back.

Find out how long it is going to be to get delivered.Some firms take up to six weeks and a lot can happen in 6 weeks. so maybe best to give as small a deposit as possible or even better pay on delivery if you can.

I am sure there are other ways of safeguarding your payment but not sure what.

This is taken from T&C of a furniture company. Most companies would have the same or similar in there T&C.

1. Access We will do our best to place the goods in the desired location, provided there is reasonable access. It is your responsibility to ensure that the product can be delivered into you home and into their chosen location. It is essential therefore that you discuss any possible restrictions on access into your home so that we can perform a risk assessment with you. You should think in particular about vehicle access, lifts and tight stairs etc. If windows or doors need to be removed in order for access to be gained it is your responsibility to arrange this at your cost and risk.

I remember that once we bought a sofa that the delivery people could not get in to the house. We had done our level best to measure the space etc. Luckily the shop agreed to take it back as long as we bought the next one from them, which we did (slightly smaller). One thing I will say is that of the two delivery people, at least one was a temp hired on the day from an agency. Previous sofas had had no problem being delivered. I think a lot of the time it is the experience of the delivery people that is important. the most recent sofa we got from a small independent shop. They visited the house, bringing a "mock up" in cardboard of the side of the sofa (can't describe it better than this) and this proved that the new sofa would come in, which it did. They used their own long serving delivery people and there were no problems, and the sofa was no smaller than the one the previous shop couldn't deliver.