Getting a discount on buying a new sofa?

flipcat

just to add with all the slagging off DFS are getting here,we got ours from there and its the best sofa we have ever had,quality is superb and service was 10/10 so a very happy DFS customer here.

scottie100

Hi,
Reading the faq, sofas through out the year are on sale, although when it gets to october more room for haggling. Christmas is coming so retailers are quite in the furniture industry.
I picked some bargains at ikea for a few things, although its the low budget.
I Bbought a beautiful corner sofa in italian leather from www.denelli.co.uk which was kinda pricey but the quality was fantastic. I get compliments about it.There was some room for haggling. got about £150 off a 2k sofa.
If you are thinking low budget then argos and ikea are good options. Although i find these are poor quality. Dont really like the standard dfs stuff!
Also have a look at sofaworld, not sure the web add. really low budget.
oh yeah guys when buying a sofa make sure its not leather match on the side. Thats pvc. fall apart after a few years. Thats why you get 3+2 for 699 etc.
Always demand 100% leather. Last longer, quality is far superior.

pinkdrink

I got a fantastic deal from Reid furniture. They had a store specifically for ex-display and damaged stuff. I got 2 leather sofa's for £800 which retailed for £3200 in their main stores, they were reduced because they said the packing had made an indent on the arms. Seriously, you couldn't even see it!! It was priced at £1,000 and i haggled and got them both for £800 including delivery!!! I'm not sure if other big furniture stores have a seconds outlet but Reid definately do so i recommend it for a great bargain.

rammy007

We had our leather sofas from DFS 4years ago,and they are rubbish the cushions on them have sunk and have a massive split i would never buy from them again and they werent cheap either.

tracyburt

never been to this place but they got a good write up in our local newspaper and they stock cancelled and returned furniture from a number of the major department stores and sell at half price

PS I found m&s furniture by looking online and comparing the range name to the m&s website, for sofas, dining tables and beds

https://www.homebrands.co.uk

Voice_of_reason_5

GeeJay41 wrote: »

May I offer some advice..
DO NOT BUY FROM SCS OR DFS. Basically they sell you a Sofa at a highly inflated price. Tell you it's interest free so you are tempted. The quality is poor at best. From experience I have had two from SCS and both have ended up on the scrap heap. I eventually got my money back.
To coin a phrase " Aint no such thing as a free lunch" and this is def the case with these two firms.

Please do your home work and go to John Lewis or Marks and Spencer. At least if you have a problem they will sort it out. I can tell you that both SCS and DFS have very poor customer Service and I really would not want anyone to go through all the hassle I have. Nearly TWO YEARS to get my money back.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED..

Having just taken delivery today I agree. I was told that that delivery men would take my old sofa outside but when they arrived said they couldn't due to 'health and safety' (Why taking OLD sofa out is dangerous, but taking NEW sofa 'in' is not - beats me.


I had to battle and nearly bust a blood vessel with stress persuading the store manager to get them to do it. I had paid £40 for the delivery and the guarantee of said sofa being deposited the 12 footsteps from my lounge to the front of the house!!!! (but its too heavy for me) :mad: Grrrrrrrrrrrr

I then discovered a scratch and was tolds to call number on delivery note. I did. Its not the branch I bought it but another somehere else, where clearly they all sleep for extended periods becuase they weren't answering their phones.

I then called store sofa purchased from and was told - sorry we cant help ring customer service. Number is on delivery note. I said wrong number and she gave me an expensive 0870 number to call!!:mad: . I refused to call them saying I had already wasted 4 hours ringing the number where all the telephone answerers were asleep, or filing thier nails. She refused to give me an normal 'fixed' line too saying their wasn't one! :mad: (There was! I got it from saynoto0870).

In the end I asked her to sort it out. After all I had paid £1400 for this sofa!!!!! She clearly couldn't be bothered because she said she 'couldn't' and that 'only customers could ring this line - not stores. What!!?? I said. Is it blocked because its an expensive 0870 number? (ha ha ha) She didn't get the joke. She'd get the sales manager to call me. Who then agreed customer service would call me within 48 hours (Hmmmmmmmmmm!!!!).

Verdict: SCS DONT GIVE A DAMN ONCE THEY HAVE YOUR MONEY!! Buy anywhere but SCS!!!

I am so angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Voice_of_reason_5

TJJ wrote: »

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

Thanks TJJ.

I am dismayed though to learn my £1100 sofa that took 3 months is probaly crap from China. :eek: Also we tried this sumptuous lovely comfortable sofa in the shop, so bought it, and had an 11 week wait that turned into 4 months! .. but the one thats been delivered looks less luxurious, and its as hard as rock. How can this be when its the same sofa? Have you heard of this?

Also, the sales man told me it was Italian leather - but sofa contains no info on country of origin. How can I find out if I've been lied to?

Voice_of_reason_5

flipcat wrote: »

just to add with all the slagging off DFS are getting here,we got ours from there and its the best sofa we have ever had,quality is superb and service was 10/10 so a very happy DFS customer here.

... and how long have you been working for DFS's. :rolleyes:

lawrie28

Just a word of, there has been lots in the paper about sofa companies being short on cash and maybe trying to refinance:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/16/bcnscs116.xml

If you have to order from SCS or Land of Leather, you can't take the goods away, then don't pay cash!!!! take the finance, or do it on a credit card. That way if they go pop, you don't lose money.

SCS shares halved in value in a week!!

Out of interest, I have a DFS sofa, it's been ok, but the main benefit has been the Guardsman protection. Yes we paid for it, but have claimed about 4 times, with another one to ring about from a bad weekend (the kids party, nothing of my doing) and are now of 1st name terms with the lady who does the cleaning. But then we bought it when eldest was 1 and the second was on the way, so we expected a few spills etc. etc. And no I don't work for them, and I probably wouldn't buy from them again, but that is just cos of the comments on here.

Inactive

flipcat wrote: »

just to add with all the slagging off DFS are getting here,we got ours from there and its the best sofa we have ever had,quality is superb and service was 10/10 so a very happy DFS customer here.

You are one very lucky person then.. :rolleyes: