Buying a Sofa where to go and how much to spend !

macabethiel · 20-09-2017, 10:51

It sound simple enough our old leather 3 piece suite is 16 years old in November and starting to get a bit tired especially the sofa,we need to replace it.
We bought it from a now closed Farm Warehouse place called Bysum that sold end of line type of stuff and returns we paid a whopping £1495 for it in 2001 but the wife loved the colour, I liked it's hefty weight it seemed well made with good looking leather. The selling patter at the time was that it was a cancelled order from a local high end store but that was probably fiction.

Our suite seems to have lasted 3 or 4 times longer than those of our friends and family. We have no kids but our Chihuahuas jump on the Sofa and it has survived undamaged!

Yesterday we had a look at some Sofas at S.C.S. and the sales guy seemed to know his stuff and was not pushy. When I got home I did some research on the store and the La-Z-Boy product and we will not be buying that brand or from S.C.S. They had an in-store "Williams" product that looked good and had an option to upgrade the leather quality but they appeared not to know where it was manufactured or did not want to say. Online search indicates it's probably from China.

Anyone here got any inside knowledge or recent experience with purchasing a Sofa ?
TBH we are now looking at a substantially more expensive range by Parker Knoll as it is really a last big ticket item for us. Also interested to know if electric recliners are worth the bother. Our original budget was going to be circa £3k for a 3 seater sofa and one chair but we could up if we were sure of good quality.

RJL Services · 20-09-2017, 11:11

my experience with the electric recliners it go for quality not price also if you go the recliner route make sure it has battery back in case of power cuts etc also buying online is a no no unless you have seen a model in flesh as they look good online but are generally rubbish my last one was supposed to be leather but was not and fell apart after 18 months are recent leather sofa we bought from afh furnishing does seem to be a good build quality sofa with two builtin recliners with one reclining armchair was £900 in their sale happy with them so far 6 months on

macabethiel · 20-09-2017, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJL Services

my experience with the electric recliners it go for quality not price also if you go the recliner route make sure it has battery back in case of power cuts etc also buying online is a no no unless you have seen a model in flesh as they look good online but are generally rubbish my last one was supposed to be leather but was not and fell apart after 18 months are recent leather sofa we bought from afh furnishing does seem to be a good build quality sofa with two builtin recliners with one reclining armchair was £900 in their sale happy with them so far 6 months on

Thanks for your input one of our existing chairs is a manual recliner but we hardly use it. Also find positioning needs thinking about as we have to move it away from the wall. Our lounge is not massive and we are only having one chair not two this time. Interesting about battery back up had not thought about that! We will not buy online for the reasons you have stated plus hard to get any customer service if things go wrong. Sounds like you got a good price too.

RJL Services · 20-09-2017, 12:42

yes the price was good with the electric recliners the ones i have had have not had the battery back and the problem is when there is no power ie power cut is that they tilt if you try and get out from them which i found out the hard way but my neighbour has one with the battery backup and its great if you lose power it still works i am in the process of thinking to get a new one as the ones we have ie like the sofa and matching arm chair are manual and i bit to low for me i miss my electric riser/recliner plus if you are like me with health issues makes standing a lot easier to with the rise function

Banshee · 20-09-2017, 22:47

I've got all this to come, will need to purchase a sofa for the new house we're moving into in Feb, currently renting

rayf3262 · 21-09-2017, 13:58

I purchased a Furniture village ex display leather recliner corner suite from here over three years ago, no complaints so far and saved a packet.
http://www.housegoods4u.co.uk/Produc...x?catItemId=42

20-09-2017, 10:51	#1
macabethiel Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Derby Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0 Posts: 4,416	Buying a Sofa where to go and how much to spend ! It sound simple enough our old leather 3 piece suite is 16 years old in November and starting to get a bit tired especially the sofa,we need to replace it. We bought it from a now closed Farm Warehouse place called Bysum that sold end of line type of stuff and returns we paid a whopping £1495 for it in 2001 but the wife loved the colour, I liked it's hefty weight it seemed well made with good looking leather. The selling patter at the time was that it was a cancelled order from a local high end store but that was probably fiction. Our suite seems to have lasted 3 or 4 times longer than those of our friends and family. We have no kids but our Chihuahuas jump on the Sofa and it has survived undamaged! Yesterday we had a look at some Sofas at S.C.S. and the sales guy seemed to know his stuff and was not pushy. When I got home I did some research on the store and the La-Z-Boy product and we will not be buying that brand or from S.C.S. They had an in-store "Williams" product that looked good and had an option to upgrade the leather quality but they appeared not to know where it was manufactured or did not want to say. Online search indicates it's probably from China. Anyone here got any inside knowledge or recent experience with purchasing a Sofa ? TBH we are now looking at a substantially more expensive range by Parker Knoll as it is really a last big ticket item for us. Also interested to know if electric recliners are worth the bother. Our original budget was going to be circa £3k for a 3 seater sofa and one chair but we could up if we were sure of good quality.

20-09-2017, 22:47	#5
Banshee Moderator Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: West Midlands Vehicle: 04 2.7 SWB Terrano II Van Posts: 13,526	I've got all this to come, will need to purchase a sofa for the new house we're moving into in Feb, currently renting __________________ Moderator 04' Terrano II SE 2.7 TDi SWB Commercial in Silver - Project Thread Toyo Open Country M/T 33's on 10J Steels, Super Strong Steering Job Navara D22 Snorkel, Front LOKKA, Maunal Hubs, EGR Blank TunitII ECU Chip, 3" Body Lift, 2" Suss Lift, Heat Exchanger Black Interior, 3.0 Borg&Beck Clutch, Eckes Heated Fuel Filter 99' Y61 Patrol GR SE 2.8 TD6 LWB in Blue/Silver - Project Thread Engine Transplant - In Progress!!!

21-09-2017, 13:58	#6
rayf3262 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Norfolk, Poringland NR14 Vehicle: Terrano 3.0 SVE 2002 Posts: 1,549	I purchased a Furniture village ex display leather recliner corner suite from here over three years ago, no complaints so far and saved a packet. http://www.housegoods4u.co.uk/Produc...x?catItemId=42 __________________ Remember what the dormouse said: Feed your head....

20-09-2017, 11:11	#2
RJL Services Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: southwest gloucester Vehicle: Nissan Terrano 2.7 2003 Posts: 615	my experience with the electric recliners it go for quality not price also if you go the recliner route make sure it has battery back in case of power cuts etc also buying online is a no no unless you have seen a model in flesh as they look good online but are generally rubbish my last one was supposed to be leather but was not and fell apart after 18 months are recent leather sofa we bought from afh furnishing does seem to be a good build quality sofa with two builtin recliners with one reclining armchair was £900 in their sale happy with them so far 6 months on

20-09-2017, 12:42	#4
RJL Services Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: southwest gloucester Vehicle: Nissan Terrano 2.7 2003 Posts: 615	yes the price was good with the electric recliners the ones i have had have not had the battery back and the problem is when there is no power ie power cut is that they tilt if you try and get out from them which i found out the hard way but my neighbour has one with the battery backup and its great if you lose power it still works i am in the process of thinking to get a new one as the ones we have ie like the sofa and matching arm chair are manual and i bit to low for me i miss my electric riser/recliner plus if you are like me with health issues makes standing a lot easier to with the rise function