How long should a sofa last

Murphybear

I’d not come across bonded leather before so found this on buyleatheronline.com

“ Bonded leather (also called reconstituted leather) is not full leather. It is created by shredding leftover leather scraps and fibers, mixing them with polyurethane or latex, and pressing them onto a fiber or paper backing. The final result is then embossed to mimic the look of natural grain.

• How bonded leather is made: leather dust and fibers combined with chemicals and adhesives.
• Is bonded leather real leather? Technically it contains some leather, but only in minimal percentage.
• Can bonded leather be 100% leather? No. It is always a composite material.”

We bought 2 large riser/recliner leather chairs about 17 years ago.  They were expensive but we got them in a sale, about 30% off.  They get used a lot and show little wear and tear apart from a few cat scratches, it seems our late cat loved leather 🙀. The mechanism still works perfectly.  

GDB2222

We have leather seats in our 19 year old Volvo. They have worn a bit, but nothing like that shoddy sofa. I’m not surprised the OP is livid. The question is whether he is going to do anything about it?  Ultimately, that’s what the courts are for, and issuing a claim through MCOL is not all that hard. 

sheramber

GDB2222 said:

We have leather seats in our 19 year old Volvo. They have worn a bit, but nothing like that shoddy sofa. I’m not surprised the OP is livid. The question is whether he is going to do anything about it?  Ultimately, that’s what the courts are for, and issuing a claim through MCOL is not all that hard. 

Bonded leather is nothing like “leather”and is cheaper to buy.
 

You will not get the years of wear from bonded leather as you will from real leather. 

Bonded leather is susceptible to body oils, direct sunlight, It will wear much sooner than real leather. 

The OP will have to show that her bonded leather sofa is sub standard for bonded leather. 

born_again

Comparing the photos from 2024 to 2025, OP looks like they wear sandpaper..

pinkshoes

misuel1955 said:

Thanks for your responses! Still not happy as whether bonded or not, I would have expected the sofa arms to last more than 3 years. Everytime I move bits fall off! The company known as The Sofa Collection in The Mail online are cowboys!

I can see why you're really annoyed, but ultimately it is a cheap sofa at under £700 AND... it does clearly state on their website that it is bonded leather and faux leather:


Saying that, they use the word "durable", and this clearly hasn't been durable, so if you get an independent report stating the sofa has failed due to poor quality rather than mis-use then you will be entitled to a partial refund, dependent on how long a cheap sofa should last. I would expect to get 5 years use out of it so would be pushing for a 40% to 50% refund. 

I would suggest then taking your refund and buying yourself a second hand leather sofa from eBay or local Facebook selling groups, then hire "man with van" to transport it to your house. Second hand leather sofas are often brilliant value as they're a hassle to collect! 

Grumpy_chap

I was thinking of this thread while looking at dining chairs in JL yesterday.

Essentially very similar chairs are offered in fabric or "leatherette" upholstery.

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-brooks-ii-dining-armchairs-set-of-2/p110617642

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-toronto-dining-armchairs-set-of-2/navy/p111535523

The store assistant explained that the fabric ones would wear far better than the "leatherette" ones, particularly if in the sun or anything spilt on them.

("Leatherette" is my term - JL use "faux leather" and " bonded leather")

No particular help to the OP but just sharing the observation for interest.

GDB2222

If the seller describes the material as durable, then it needs to be durable. The consumer is entitled to rely on the seller's expertise, and there may well be different grades of bonded leather. 

A durable sofa should last 10 years, say. This one has lasted 2-3 years, and if I were the op I’d be claiming 75% of the new price and issuing proceedings if I didn’t get offered that or something pretty close. I’d probably accept 50% just to avoid the hassle of a court case, but that works both ways and the seller would find it uneconomic to defend the case. 

Grumpy_chap

As an alternative to the proportion of life of a sofa, an alternative way to determine the value of the loss suffered would be the costs for reupholstering.  I suspect, given the value proposition of the sofa, any labour expended to make things better will be higher cost than 50% or 75% of the new price.