The first step to buying a pellet stove online is to research which corn, wood or wood pellet stove is appropriate for your home heating needs. Take into account the size of your home, its floor plan (is it open or divided?) and the existing heating system.

A rule of thumb for sizing a wood or pellet stove is 30 Btus per square foot. So a 350 square foot room would require a 10,000 Btu stove. (350x30=10,500)

Now go online and type in buy wood pellet stove or buy corn stove.

Youll get 344,000 pages of results from Google. You only need 2 pages worth. Basically there are only three online sellers of corn and wood pellet stoves: Homeclick, MoreHome and NorthernTool.

Check out the over all reputation of the online store youre considering for your purchase. I like BizRate shopping search for this.

Once youve decided which stove to buy, and from whom, there are a few more factors to consider:

Discounts and Credit Sales
10% discounts are frequently available to online wood or pellet stove buyers. Most online stores offer free shipping, zero down and/or extended payments. Some will offer all of the above.

Sales tax
With the exception of a few states, buying online will save you sales tax of 5% or more. For the most part, only online stores with a physical presence in the state where you reside, like Wally Mart, are obligated to collect sales tax.

Delivery
Many stoves bought online include free shipping. However; due to its weight, your stove will be delivered by truck. Dont count on the truck driver for any help offloading. So unless you have forklift in your garage, youll have to recruit some help.

Hopefully, the trucking company will be able to accommodate your schedule. Also, online stove retailers will not deliver to a Post Office box or APO address.

Installation
Dont bother ordering vent pipes, elbows, etc. from the online store where you purchased your stove. Let your installer order the parts that conform to local building codes. Estimated installation costs will run $400 - $700+. If you dont know an approved installer, companies such as Service Magic can help you locate one in your area.

Support
Online support can be trying at times. No matter how knowledgeable the person on the other end of your emails is, the information you get is only as good as the information you give.

Substantial savings can be had by buying a wood pellet or corn stove online. It also requires substantial planning, preparation and patience.