Discount furniture is definitely the name of the game right now. In a struggling economy and falling housing market, US consumers, as a general rule, do not want to drop tens of thousands of dollars on the furniture for one room. In fact, a quick peak at sales around the world will tell the story that most furniture shoppers are interested in discount furniture.
In my personal furniture experience, though, there is more to it than just getting discount furniture. The key for most furniture buyers is value; that is, discount furniture needs to also provide a certain level of quality and style.
When it comes to both quality and style, there is little out there that matches leather. Leather furniture offers the ultimate in both durability and cleanability (is that a word? Oh well, it is now). At the same time, leather is stylish and offers flexibility in terms of what can be used with it.
So can the two come together?
Is there such a thing as true quality discount leather furniture?
Believe it or not, the answer is a resounding yes.
How can discount leather furniture exist when my leather jacket cost over $300?
Good question. The fact is that I have no idea about the manufacturing process involved in leather jackets. On the other hand, I am quite familiar with leather furniture and why the prices of it continue to fall or at least have over the last decade or so.
First of all, you need to know that any discount leather furniture you purchase is going to come from outside the United States. Even US companies like Ashley and Lane get most of their leather furniture from overseas to some degree or another. If you want to buy only US made leather furniture, that is noble; you just need to know that you are going to pay for it.
Where does discount leather furniture come from?
Most of the discount leather furniture out there originates, to some degree, from China. In many cases, a small factory in China will specialize in one piece of furniture; say, a leather sofa. They will get really efficient at making that one leather sofa, crank them out rapidly, and then allow US retailers to buy them and import them under their own brand names. You end up with a $500 leather sofa that would cost three times that if made in the US.
The other way the leather comes here is through what is called a cut and sew program. In such a program, a factory in china will specialize in only making the leather covering of a certain sofa. They will cut the leather and sew it into the shape needed for the sofa frame. The cut and sewn piece is then shipped to the US (or Australia or Great Britain, etc) to be placed over a sofa that is completely ready except for the leather covering.
And This is Quality Discount Leather Furniture?
It can be. Like any other type of furniture, you have to do your homework. Feel the leather, ask about it (you definitely want top grain leather), and sit on it to be sure. There are good pieces of discount leather furniture as well as high quality discount leather furniture pieces all over the place.
In my own home, I have a leather Ashley sofa (retail $669) and leather vinyl match recliner (retail $599) in my family room that would definitely qualify as “discount leather furniture.” It has held up well under the assault of two dogs, two cats, and a pair of kids. However, there are imported discount leather furniture pieces out there that are not good, so again, make sure you do your homework.
Hopefully this helps you gain a little better understanding of where discount leather furniture comes from and why it is possible to get real leather at a great price. Tomorrow I will be back to give you helpful tips on both finding quality discount leather furniture and making sure it carries the value that you desire.
Hope this helps,
The Furniture Guy
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