New house: waiting for leather sofa to be made

[bruce phipps]

Off topic, but there doesn't seem to be a uk.soft.furnishings group!

I am moving into a new house in about 8 weeks.

I went to a few furnishing stores today to look for a leather 3 piece suite.

• Supply time is 14 weeks (they reckon -- sofa is made in Italy) and they want the money up front!

This will leave me sitting on the floor for 6 weeks in the new house. Anyone else had this dilemma?

Possible solutions:

• Look in furnishing stores for discontinued lines which will be phased out in the new year.

• Buy secondhand from local ads -- I expect there are some good condition, cheap sofas on the market. But I will have to arrange delivery and selection is obviously limited.

• Anyone know of second hand furnishing stores/auctions in West Yorks area that will deliver?

Thanks Bruce

[Peter Crosland]

Any business demanding full payment up front is to be avoided at all costs. You can probably find a decent second-hand one and hire a van.

[BigWallop]

Try asking friends and relatives for loans of chairs and tables and things, just until your own new stuff arrives.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Certainly, pay by credit card, so when they go bust in 8 weeks, you can get your money back.

[Andy Hall]

I would offer them a deposit of no more than 20%.

If they insist, and you can't find what you want elsewhere, then do pay by credit card, interest free deal or anything else covered by the Consumer Credit Act. Then, if they go broke in the meantime you are covered.

Wanting cash up front indicates that they perhaps have a cash flow problem and rings warning bells.

[RichardS]

hmmm, this sounds a little dodgy. At the very least, I'd make sure I pay by credit card, after a quick check with the card company as to what my position would be if the supplier went belly up/ slipped themselves into voluntary liquidation.

HouseDoctor programme seems to reckon that there are a plethora of companies out there that hire furniture out.

What the voracity of this statement is I have no idea.

[dmc]

When we found this problem we rang a place that we had seen at the ideal home show. I think it was sofa workshop direct or some thing. There are several of them that all seem to be in south wales.

Anyway, they claimed they could make us a couple to order and deliver in

10 days with a 14 day home trial. And they were cheaper. We took the gamble and 6 years in the sofas are still going strong.

Admittedly they weren't exactly top of the range stuff but they certainly did higher end models and they had a leather catalogue. Dunno where you have been looking but if it is the land of leather type sheds then I would assume that the quality would be fine. If during the 14 day trial you decide you don't want them then give em a ring and they come get it and give a full refund (I know one person who decided they didn't like the colour and had no problems).

Of course, the company may have vanished without trace by now :-)

Another idea. My parents bought a couple of leather sofas last year from some clearance place that claimed to sell off returns from mail order companies (possibly the returns from sofa workshop direct ;-)). It was a place somewhere near hastings I seem to recall. You go there, look around the warehouse and pay cash and take it away. They reckon there was some real crap there but also some gems. One of the sofas they picked up was less than half the price that a near identical one that they had seen in dfs was due to a small mark on the leather on the back. As thats against the wall in their house who cares!

Might be worth attempting to find a similar outlet near you.

Darren

[nightjar]

The time period matches my experience. I paid by credit card and the two sofas I had ordered arrived on time. Fortunately, I had allowed enough time not to end up sitting on the floor.

I did end up sleeping on the floor for a night last year - but that was because, when I unpacked the bed, the frame was 5ft, the slats were for the

4'6" bed I had ordered, I was in France and it was Bastille Day.

Unless they are being sold off as ex-shop stock, you will probably still find there is a 14 week wait for them to be made.

Colin Bignell

[R Taylor]

we used inflatable sofas for a week or two when we didn't have any furniture. they only cost a tenner each and went in the bin when our furniture could come out of storage.

they served a purpose although I did burst one by flomping down too hard :-)

RT

[Owain]

"bruce phipps" wrote | This will leave me sitting on the floor for 6 weeks in the new house. | * Buy secondhand from local ads -- I expect there are some good | condition, cheap sofas on the market. But I will have to arrange | delivery and selection is obviously limited.

I wouldn't worry about selection (or condition, much). You'll only use it for 6 weeks; you can sell it again afterwards or donate it to the furnitureless.

I would suggest buying furniture which you can re-use elsewhere. If you have a conservatory, then some of the cane+cushion furniture is quite comfortable. A couple of tub chairs can be re-deployed in bedrooms. Beanbags for children, which they can have in their bedrooms later.

If worst comes to worst there are folding deckchairs, plastic patio chairs from PoundStretcher, inflatable chairs, garden bench with a duvet and throw over it.

| * Anyone know of second hand furnishing stores/auctions in West | Yorks area that will deliver?

Any auction house will know of man-and-van outfits that can deliver. There are auctions on the outskirts of York near the Agricultural Museum.

Owain

[Carolyn]

I know this isn`t exactly W Yorks area, but its certainly worth a visit I live in Chester and I visited this place just down the coast, in N Wales- they make furniture for M & Sparks and they have VERY good quality reject stuff (god knows why-I`ve never been able to find anything wrong with it)

I got a chocolate leather sofa bed for £700 when it was listed in M & S catalogue for £1999 and cannot find anything wrong with it-only downside is you have to pay in full on the day (credit card at the ready !!)

HTH

[nightjar]

You should have used them in the swimming pool :-)

Colin Bignell

[MM]

Get yourself a Klippan sofa from IKEA for £199. They even have replacement covers in various colours for around 40 notes.

MM

[F]

bruce [e-mail] (bruce phipps) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Not a solution, but:

We've just bought from The Yorkshire Sofa Company and are pleased with what we got. 12 weeks delivery (that saves you 2 on the floor!) and 50% on order on credit card. They've a shop in Ilkley and one in Skipton. Best bet is the warehouse/showroom just outside Skipton on the Keighly road. Trouble is, it's coming up to Christmas which,they say, is a pretty busy time of year for furniture purchases. No connection other than a satisfied customer.

Or, how about contacting one of your local charities which takes in furniture? For example, we gave our old suite to the Salvation Army. I don't know how 'short' of furniture they are, but they may, or may not, be willing to come to an arrangement where you 'hire' the suite from them on the understanding they get it back for free when your new one arrives. You get seating, they get cash and retain the furniture. Just an idea...

[bruce phipps]

Thanks, Carolyn. I'll check 'em out. May be worth a drive over there.

Bruce

[bruce phipps]

Looking on the web:

claim delivery in 4 to 6 weeks.

How about IKEA -- what are their delivery times for leather sofas?

Thanks Bruce

[Scott]

I bought one of these 2seaters, and a 3 seater for £900 from Ikea, Picked it up straight after I'd paid for it, from Ikea bristol.

*10296Or go to and search for Ektorp.

3 seater £495, 2 seater £395, armchair £275. After 8 months ours look like new still.

Scott

[dmc]

Ah. Thats looks like the place. Yeah.

They did when we bought from them but we gave them a ring and they quoted 3 weeks - and then phoned a few days later to say it would be even sooner.

Granted just before Christmas you may not be so lucky :(

My experience (limited) of IKEA is that if it is in stock then they expect you to take it there and then. If it's out of stock then they will give you a date for new stock that bears no resemblance to the date they will actually have stock.

Maybe different on something as big and expensive as a leather sofa though :)

Darren

[Christian McArdle]

But I remember the cost quoted being similar to buying the stuff after a very short period. I remember being very shocked at the amount quoted.

Christian.

[Christian McArdle]

We got one out of a skip in perfectly reasonable condition (but appaling floral taste). The owner of said skip was extremely pleased to see it go, given that he was muttering about how he should have ordered the 8 yard skip, rather than the 6 yard when we went to ask as a courtesy.

Delivery was by 3 students carrying it across the street. We didn't even have to get rid of it afterwards, as our landlord was very happy to see it as an improvement over what they provided, which had totally disintegrated. It's probably still there!

Christian.