Getting a discount on buying a new sofa?

henmuffin

Try this company. It sells M&S , John Lewis, Laura Ashley etc. I think they are oldstock or store returns. I have not used them myself but I am looking for a table and will probably try soon.

www.trade-secret.co.uk

olykun

Anybody ever tried www.leathersofaworld.com they seem to be quite reasonable and have fast delivery. Just ordered a sofa and an armchair for my folks, but would love some reassurance.

sueonetwo

This is my first ever MSE post so please be gentle!

In Long Eaton, which is about 2 miles from M1 J25, there are loads of sofa manufacturers and upholsterers. There are often factory sales by the big manufacturers e.g. Duresta

In addition some factories offer the chance to just drop in and see what they have available.

You could try to combine your trip with a sale day for curtains - sometimes a tenner a pair for ready made but will also do made-to-measure by Drapes UK

Or visit the 7-day-a-week factory shop of 'intimate apparel' manufacturer Intimas

full-time-mum

A bit off topic but it might make you smile

I saw a company called Sofa King advertised in a local paper last year. I can't believe their advert was allowed. The whole advert contained lines like this
"At Sofa King our prices are Sofa King cheap":rolleyes:
It wasn't april 1st but I did wonder if it was a wind up. However, just last week, I saw a van emblazoned with the Sofa King Logo.
:eek::eek::eek:

TJJ

Hello, I was very interested in this post as I am a sales consultant for the leading Italian leather sofa company in the world (or so they say) and I previously worked in the big blue box, so I thought I'd share some things that many of you probably know but just in case....
*The mark-up on all furniture (in most places) is phenomenol, at least 70%. Do remember though that you have to take in to account the cost of overheads and not just the production value of the goods, i.e. running fancy shops, importing the goods from wherever (and obviously the further away the higher the cost - so if your buying goods made in China you could reasonably expect the cost to be more expensive than Europe for instance, but I could be wrong) and of course VAT.
*If you ask for a discount - and do ask, the worst they can do is say no - don't be conned by an offer to throw something else in for free instead, eg an extended warranty, because a discount off the cost of the furniture itself will undoubtedly be more valuable to you than the "freebee". If they wont budge on a discount at all then of course take whatever's going for "free" anyway.
*As many people have said in this thread already, don't be fooled by places like DFS offering 'double discounts' - the prices are of course over-inflated for the soul purpose of conning people in to thinking they're getting a good discount - you'll notice places like these are permanently in sale.
*Speaking of places like DFS, SCS, usually their goods are cheap rubbish, and you'll be lucky if they last longer than your interest free period. If you like to change your sofa every 5 minutes then that's fine but if your looking for quality then you'd be looking in the wrong place.
*Interest free credit is provided by a financial company that charges the sofa company for the service, and they will pass that charge on to you. If you can afford to pay your goods off in full then do that, because you are likely to get a better discount that way. You could pay using an interest free credit card - have a look at MSE's info on cards. It is a very old-fashioned idea now that if you pay in cash rather than cards you will get more money off - at least with bigger companies - because it really makes no difference to them, other than perhaps a 70p charge for taking payment by credit card.
*Generally speaking, any sofas that are made in China (these are goods with a 16 week lead time) are of infinately inferior quality than those made in Europe, and from an ethical point of view the people who make them are getting paid tuppence to do so.
*When choosing a sofa that you are likely to sit on every day for 5 years, it's really important that you try it out to make sure it's comfortable. After 7 years in the furniture industry I am always amazed by people who pay for things like mattresses and sofas without even trying them out - have you any idea how much time you actually spend using these goods, and what damage your doing to your health by choosing the wrong ones???? As for buying stuff over the internet, this is great if it's cheaper but do try and make it to a shop to try it out. Also for sofas, a good quality one will be a sturdy one, usually heavy. If you are buying recliners make sure you try it out by sitting in it and leaning forward, you don't want a chair/sofa that is going to tip over!
*If you're buying a leather sofa and you want good quality make sure it is top grain leather and not split. If the sales person does not know the difference then walk away.
*Warranties - usually these only cover manufacturing defects and not accidental damage - check your home insurance policy to make sure you are covered for repair for accidental damage. Also find out if you are still covered by the manufacturing warranty if repairs for accidental damage are carried out by a technician not recomended by the manufacturer. These are things to think about when deciding if any extended warranty on offer is worth it or not.
*If there is a problem with your sofa when it arrives, eg it's damaged, you have the right to refuse delivery of the goods. If any defect only becomes apparent after the delivery has taken place, it's a good idea to contact trading standards to find out your rights, because no customer service department is going to tell you them. For example, if you are so unhappy you just want a refund, you have to notify the manufacturer/shop by letter within 7 days from date of delivery stating that the goods are not made to an acceptable standard and you want a refund, and they have to comply. But please check everything with trading standards before contacting customer services.
*On a final note, having worked in Ikea I can tell you that most of their sofas are of a good quality, basically you get what you pay for and of there is the added advantage that with most of them you don't have to wait months to get them. In fact, some of Ikea's leather sofas are made by a subsidiary of my current employer, these are the ones with a 12 week lead time.

I hope this was of some use to some people and not just a very long waste of space!
Happy sofa shopping

froggy27_2

olykun wrote: »

Anybody ever tried www.leathersofaworld.com they seem to be quite reasonable and have fast delivery. Just ordered a sofa and an armchair for my folks, but would love some reassurance.

Olykun, i had a look at that website and their prices are good but was wondering if you've received your goods and what quality is it? thanks

happylifenow

I wanted some sofas this Jan but didn't want to go to the high street for all that imported stuff. So after doing some homework I found that Long Eaton was the place to go it made some of the best furniture in the county.
Duresta, goundreys and Gascoigne Designs came up as very high Quality companies that did things the old tried and tested ways. e.g hardwood frames and coil springs.
The only problem was they would not sell directly to me I had to go to the high quality shops, that put them out of my price range.
Then I had a bit of good luck I came across a company called The Designer Sofa in Long Eaton. They said they could make any size sofa in any fabric i wanted to the quality I wanted I did start to get worried about the price because it was bespoke but then i found out we could buy them straight from them and cut the shops out.
Then after a bit of haggling I got £230 off the price and a free footstool, I would have still had my sofas even without the free footstool which was worth £250.
just goes to show bit of homework and some good luck, I got what i wanted with no compromise on quality and a better Price than i had hoped for.:j

Lugh_Chronain

henmuffin wrote: »

Try this company. It sells M&S , John Lewis, Laura Ashley etc. I think they are oldstock or store returns. I have not used them myself but I am looking for a table and will probably try soon.

www.trade-secret.co.uk

There's one problem with this company; you have to be a member if you want to view/purchase anything from them. Membership is £10. I’m not sure I want to join something like this because if I don’t like what I see or if I think the prices are above my budget then I’ll have lost £10.

Slapps

i got my 2 sofa's from a localish factory store and it was on sale @ £600 but with plenty of blagging i got them down to £360. the worst that can ever happen while blagging or asking for discount is them saying no. i gave them the whole i'm on benefits and a single parent story line and it was the last one in store. they can never check up on how much you have or if your employed or not if your paying by cash, debit card or credit card so you can pretty much say what you want.
in my world i say if you don't ask you don't get!!!!!!!!!

flyp

jus task them you want a lower price and tell them you are going to mfi or somthing like that