Shopping remotely

So far I've been to at least 7 furniture stores and it's getting frustrating. They only have a few pieces to sit on from either H & M or B-Y and sometimes it's the same pieces.
Shopping online or remotely seems challenging. How we go about knowing that a particular chair is comfortable when we haven't had a chance to sit on it?
There's one more store to go to - would it be unusual to call & ask what pieces they have in the store? I don't need to sit on the City sofa a third time. :)
Any tips would be appreciated.

I would call and even talk to the stores about the piece(s) you want to try out but they don't have to try out. Some of the stores may offer to do it if they feel you are serious or if they have had enough requests already.

"Comfort" is subjective, of course. There is no store - anywhere - that even comes close to showing all the various manufacturer's product lines. H&M alone has 1,407 pieces in the line, for example.

What you will find is that in higher tier furniture, there are very few frames that would be uncomfortable - they simply aren't made. Having said that, there are certain pieces that fit a particular body type better than others. For example, a 5' 2" 105 lb woman is not going to like the same sofa as a 6' 3" 230 lb man, and vice versa.

Stores tend to stock what's on promotion. For the most part, thats what you will find on the floor in the typical store.

Yours is not an unusual question, I get five phone calls a day wanting to know how can they buy it if they can't try it out? Between the various lines I carry - just on upholstery, there are close to 10,000 frames. If I really cram up my store, I can put in maybe 50. That means 9,950 I can't show. And every store has that same limitation in varying degrees. If a maker has ten pieces on the floor of a typical store, they're doing good. You go try out those ten and 'average' them in your mind - looking at various aspects such as seat height, quality of the build, the tailoring, etc....and that will tell you how the line is made.

Some stores (like mine) will allow you to do a no-fault buy, where if you order a sofa and absolutely do not like it then you can re-order another piece. Ask your local store if they will do that. Good luck

Hallmart,
I absolutely have saved myself unnecessary trips to furniture stores by calling ahead and asking if they have a particular piece I am interested in. They have always been glad to let me know which pieces they have if I narrow down the brand and approximate style I am looking for. That is just being a smart shopper and definitely a gas saver!