Marinelli Nevada sofa from SCS (Sofas in General)

Member Name: Johigh

Product:	Sofas in General
Date:	03/05/03 (7064 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks nice

Disadvantages: Poor quality

Just under two months ago I bought two Marinelli Nevada sofas in the sale at SCS Lounge Suites - a three seater and a two seater.

My experience with the shop was OK, the sales people were nice (as you would expect). They were understanding when I changed my mind about which sofa to buy the day after I had ordered it. Delivery was earlier than expected and everything seemed fine. I was happy.

Now that I have been living with the sofas for a around six weeks I am becoming more and more disappointed with the quality. These are the sort of things that you don't notice in the shop, where everything seems wonderful and you have a helpful salesperson encouraging you to buy.

The first thing I noticed was that the arms are very uncomfortable. When you lean on them you can feel the wooden frame underneath the padding. If you squeeze them you can actually grip the wood. You don't notice this in the shop because when you're in the shop you just sit on them, you don't lie on them or recline on them in the same way that you do at home or for as long as you do at home.

The other thing that I didn't notice in the shop was that the cushions are not removable. They are made to look like separate removable cushions, but they are not. I didn't find this out until I tried to look underneath them at home. They don't come off and they can't be moved or turned over, they are all actually sewn together.

When you push your hand towards the back of the seat cushions you find that the leather is stitched to a kind of felt, which goes right back. When you get up off the two seater the bottom of the back rest cushions have been pushed back so that you can see where the leather is attached to the felt (which is a pale gray colour). It looks a mess. I am constantly pulling the bottom of the back cushions forward to hide the join.

Up to now these are things that I should have noticed in the shop. Its my own fault

that I didn't make a more thorough inspection of the sofas. Next time I buy a sofa I will know what to look for.

One thing that isn't my fault, however, is the way that the two seater seems to be collapsing in the middle. When you sit in the two seater you lean towards the middle, where the cushions seem to be sinking into the sofa. This has only just started to happen and confirms the nagging feeling that the sofas have been thrown together as cheaply as possible and are actually very poor quality.

The sofas are still under guarantee so I am going to contact SCS about the collapsing two seater, I will let you know what happens.

In the meantime, if you are buying a sofa make sure you put it through its paces before you sign anything. Kick your shoes off and lie down on it, really lean on the arms, squeeze it all over, look underneath the cushions and try to see where they have cut corners. It might be embarassing at the time but it could save you from making an expensive mistake!

QUICK UPDATE - 31/03/04
SCS came to mend the collapsing sofa with no fuss.

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