Sofas

[L3nny]

Anyone know anything about sofas? Moving into a new gaff in a cpl of weeks and need something to sit on.

Looked around SCS, DFS Furniture Village etc.

Stuff seems okay, if bit expensive but I don't trust the slimy sales staff.

Anyone had any experiences buying from the above places? Or recommend any others?

Seen some cheap things on ebay but don't fancy shelling out for something before I've tried it out for comfort.

[maviczap]

I wouldn't buy online, I'd sit on a few first before deciding.

Yes the sales folk aren't great, although you might find them ok.

Go to Ikea, they don't have slimy salespeople.

Me I like leather sofas, just for that plush feel

[L3nny]

Last lot of sofas I bought were from Ikea and although cheap, fell apart in about 5 years.

Looking for leather as well.

[maviczap]

Our last Ikea leather one we gave away and was still going strong.

Our current leather one was bought from a local independent shop, and has survived a child using it as a springboard and trampoline for the last 6 years.

But there can't be that many manufacturers of leather sofas in the world, maybe go to an independent shop, won't be as cheap, but that maybe a good thing in the long run.

Apart from being used for sporting purposes, the one thing this sofa has suffered from is a lack of care, the leathers still pretty good, but if it had been cleaned and fed with leather stuff it would still be in tip top order

[Wideboy]

Nothing ikea sell is built to last thats why its cheap.

I think we went to DFS. It was a relatively painless ordeal but we picked out the ones we wanted online and went to try them before buying. They'll try all the usual **** of throwing stuff in for X amount and then try to get you to take it all out on finance. We paid cash and it allowed for haggling. Turned up only a day after they said it would but the delivery guys were ****ing useless. They couldn't get one of the sofa's in but I managed to when I got home from work.

[granty92]

go for dfs, all our sofa's have been purchased there :) annoying staff but all the sofas are good quality

[454697819]

I have just ordered another sofa from Harveys - both times been helpful and I haven't ever felt ripped off.

The current sofa lasted 5 years - moved house several times, left in a storage locker for 6 months - and had my fat **** on it far too much -

I felt a bit chav using the 0% finance but I have just sepnt 40k on an extension so its not like there is actually any money left and hey its 0% so it doesnt actually cost me anything :-)

[Bibio]

unless your willing to pay good money then you will get carp furniture. yes i used to sell the stuff and mainstream stuff is carp. they are designed to last about 3-5 years.

cheep leather is just that and while the stuffing/frame might last the leather will stretch and go saggy within about a year. don't buy white leather whatever you do as the dye from jeans etc.etc turns it mucky looking very quickly.

i have one of those ikea sofas that you can change the covers and replace the cushions and it's not bad for the money.

[Jackie_Black]

Got my electric leather reclining sofa from CSL. Service was excellent. Price was good (less than a grand) and tick was 4 years free so thirty quid a month. Painless. They even came out next day when a part of the wiring loom failed and replaced it no questions asked after 2 years. Spot on.

[Bibio]

there is no such thing as interest free, it's lumped on with ticket price. if your paying cash then try your local independent for a haggle. put it this way the places i worked took cost price then doubled it and added interest for ticket price, cash customers usually got a good 30% discount.

[maviczap]

Got my electric leather reclining sofa from CSL. .

Now that sounds like something somebody of my age should have too.

I regret selling my reclining chair, so that we could have 2 sofas

[timwilky]

Bought my first suite 20 odd years ago from DFS, talk about being ignorant. 0% interest over 3 years.

Can I pay it over 6 months. Fool me not realising the interest was preloaded they must have been laughing at me.


For smarmy though, it is my local posh furniture shop. Little brother pops in there in one of his work vans and is intercepted by a sales man.

You do know we don't do finance?
yes
Well we don't take credit cards either.
What are you trying to say?
Just that we are probably going to be over your budget.

Brother gets out his wallet, pulls out £2,800 and says "You see that dining table and chairs", well I was going to buy it. But I guess you don't want my money" and walks out. Still we got our Lazyboy sofas from there and smarmy they may be, but they do decent furniture and replaced a TV unit I rejected without a quibble.

[Dave20046]

Anyone know anything about sofas? Moving into a new gaff in a cpl of weeks and need something to sit on.

Looked around SCS, DFS Furniture Village etc.

Stuff seems okay, if bit expensive but I don't trust the slimy sales staff.

Anyone had any experiences buying from the above places? Or recommend any others?

Seen some cheap things on ebay but don't fancy shelling out for something before I've tried it out for comfort.
When I first moved in I bought online some well reviewed leather sofas and sold them a couple of years later at a profit.

I then bought a nice comfy suede suite off a friend for £100. They paid dfs thousands for them two years before. I really don't see the worth in it!

I'd never buy dfs, my sister recently did against my and even her own advice, to some it up 'never again'

[Ninthbike]

When I first moved in I bought online some well reviewed leather sofas and sold them a couple of years later at a profit.

I then bought a nice comfy suede suite off a friend for £100. They paid dfs thousands for them two years before. I really don't see the worth in it!

I'd never buy dfs, my sister recently did against my and even her own advice, to some it up 'never again'

We have now bought two lots of sofas from DFS and the service has been excellent. The first ones got wear in the edge of the fabric after a year. We called them and they inspected, confirmed a fault and offered new cushion covers. These arrived and did not match the rest of the sofas so they ultimately recovered both sofas and lent us some display ones to sit on while they were doing it. We really couldn't have asked for more and bought gifts for the two young ladies who had helped to sort it out. I guess everyone's experiences will be different.

[L3nny]

Here was me expecting mostly bad reviews of major shops saying that their never ending sales and 0% finance was a con and it turns out most people are happy. :)

The sofa I've liked the best is about £1200 and is a leather electric recliner thing, seen ex display models on ebay for about £800 though so might go for that instead but seeing as it has moving parts the extra money might be worth it for the guarantee.

[Dave20046]

Here was me expecting mostly bad reviews of major shops saying that their never ending sales and 0% finance was a con and it turns out most people are happy. :)


To be fair despite my dad always claiming it was a con AND knowing my sisters experience too my dad bought some sofas from them!!
He is actually happy despite the 3 or 4 month wait, I'm not sure i would've been but if it helps with perspective..



They've done nothing but deliver the product (£1000s of pounds) though (late) to make him happy

[Specialone]

I bought our last sofa from dfs, £2.5k for a fabric sofa, lasted about 5 years or so, faded very fast, we dyed it to prolong its use, cushions didn't retain their shape.

I'd never buy anything from there again tbh, our leather sofa we have now is over four years old, it's as tight as when we first got it, it's by far the most comfortable sofa I've ever owned, we got this from scs, I would buy from them again.

[Dave20046]

I bought our last sofa from dfs, £2.5k for a fabric sofa, lasted about 5 years or so, faded very fast, we dyed it to prolong its use, cushions didn't retain their shape.

I'd never buy anything from there again tbh, our leather sofa we have now is over four years old, it's as tight as when we first got it, it's by far the most comfortable sofa I've ever owned, we got this from scs, I would buy from them again.

It's the thousands I don't get (to explain my service aside comment). I bought a brand new genuine leather sofa online for £140. After a year of abuse; beers, food etc. and generally not giving a **** about it it still looked brand new when I sold it.

It was sturdier (to lift) than the DFS one my dad has, you can feel that twist in the middle if you lift one end.

[600+]

I think that high street shops will sell what they have and if you want an easy purchase they are probably your bet.

On the other hand if you need to make most of your space I would strongly recommend that you take into account how thick arms and the back is of the DFS, CSL etc mainstream shop sofas.

My 2p is that you need to find a sofa that is easy to clean if there is a spillage, has thin arms and back to take up less space while the seating area is maximised....and above all try to sit on it and see how comfy it is.

[L3nny]

It's the thousands I don't get

That's exactly what I am thinking, the ones on ebay, groupon etc are a third of the price £2-300 for a sofa I can understand but when a sofa costs the same as a track bike I wonder if I can justify the price.

[Amadeus]

The original sofa company has some beautiful chesterfields. 50 year frame guarantee.
I have 2 Parker knoll sofas which have 25 year frame guarantees and they're still in great nick after 15 years. Fabric on one is worn on the corners but in fairness it always said for light use.

[Dave20046]

That's exactly what I am thinking, the ones on ebay, groupon etc are a third of the price £2-300 for a sofa I can understand but when a sofa costs the same as a track bike I wonder if I can justify the price.

I want to know how much they cost dfs!

[Specialone]

A mate of mine had friends of him and his wife that went to china (or Japan, can't remember which), they have whole towns just dedicated to furniture for western buyers, this couple was that shocked at how little the stuff cost, they looked in to buying enough stuff to fill a couple of containers even though they no experience in this game.

We westerners are paying £500 for a £50-£100 sofa or table or bed etc etc, and don't believe the rubbish about they are made in the uk, they all buy from the east.

[Bibio]

not just the far east but Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy etc.etc are all at it even here in the UK there are huge factory's pumping out cheep carp which all the main furniture places sell at grossly inflated prices.

your large chain stores strike deals with the main furniture makers for certain lines.

one of the places i worked with used to buy about 200 end of line leather suites from Germany that cost peanuts but were very good quality. we would get a delivery of about 20-30 at a time till they ran out then the boss would strike another deal.

Holland of all places actually make very very good quality leather suites.

yes there is a huge markup to be had but at the same time there is a lot to be lost, buying containers from China can be dodgy and not as cheep as you might think. you also have shop front, overheads warehouse, wages etc.etc and it all stacks up. get a good name and your laughing all the way to the bank.

[a_monkey_hint]

I bought a gorgeous corner couch from DFS. Apart from the salesman trying to add all the extras, it was a trouble free experience.

Remember that you're accidental damage that they sell is normally covered by your contents insurance (and don't believe the whole 'any slight bit of damage we will repair free of charge' spiel. He seemed surprised that I'd done my homework on the subject.

Unfortunately, that couch wouldn't fit into my new livingroom when we moved house, so we bought a 2/3 seater set from DFS. Nowhere near as comfortable though, but still another trouble free experience!

[Littlepeahead]

Sitting on it is one thing, but I never sit on my sofa I lay flat out on it. So when I shopped for one I wandered around and then laid out on the ones I liked full length for at least 15 minutes (I did take my shoes off but resisted turning up in my pajamas). That way I knew what I was buying would actually be comfortable for the way I was going to use it. Never mind the funny looks you get from the sales staff.

I bought my leather sofa as an ex display 15 years ago from Courts who no longer exist. It's incredibly squishy and comfy, has survived 3 cats and 2 nephews jumping on it, spills and crumbs and pizza grease. The biggest problem is not falling asleep on it straight after dinner.

Just make sure you measure your doorways before purchasing - Mr LPH thought that the sofa being 'a couple of inches' wider than the door wouldn't be an issue - wrong! We had to take the doors off to get it in.

[Specialone]

That was another thing with dfs, they didn't advise what the minimum doorway width we needed as it was a large sofa, I didn't know if it came apart or anything, so after waiting 14 weeks for delivery it turned up they couldn't get it the house, so had to go back to be made in to a split frame at our cost (£80 I think I was) and we had to wait another 2 weeks, had we known of the dumb ass salesman that they sometimes needed split frames we would've ordered it that way.

Overpriced, stupid staff and not brilliant quality in my experience anyway.

[johnnyrod]

Both my last two sofa purchases have been from SCS, these days they seem a lot more like DFS etc. in their salespeople though. First one as on 2000, still got it (though going soon), leather is looking mighty fine, but it was good quality full grain so you'd hope so. We repalced this with a pair of leather ones for the same reason. Not sure who made these but the old one was made by Evans I think, whoever they are. Understandably a bit soft now but moved house a few times and had what you might call an interesting life!