Buying a sectional set: Palliser vs. Southern Motion vs. Flexsteel vs. Klaussner

Hi all,

We are completely new to this and just looking for a decent quality microfiber/suede-like fabric reclining power/manual sectional in configuration loveseat-console-wedge-loveseat. Our budget is $2000-3500. We are hoping to get at least 7-8 years out of it.

We started looking at several brands that we saw locally and they included Palliser, Southern Motion, Flexsteel and Klaussner. Of course, every sales person said their brands are the greatest and it is hard to understand which brand makes a better product. Overall we like the selection and style of Palliser products the most, however we wanted to check with the experts on this forum first.

What is your opinion about Palliser and the other 3 brands I mentioned? Is it true that all Palliser sectionals are built in Mexico? they advertise themselves as Canadian owned company but not clear where they make it.
Assuming it is made in Mexico, will it make it more difficult to get a repair (if needed) or exchange, compared to US made product?

We came across some negative reviews on Palliser and reading them was kind of scary. Finding good reviews was actually harder.

Other brands have quite a few of bad reviews as well. It almost sounds like negative reviews are posted only by people who actually had an issue while those who actually enjoy it (I bet its a majority) don't take time to write any positive reviews.

Also, what is more reliable power recliner mechanism or manual recliner? I always thought manual is more reliable but one sales person said power recliners tend to break less overall....

I don't think you are going to find a good-quality recliner sectional in that price range, that's a lot of real estate (motion Sectional) and good ones cost twice that. Sectionals as a general rule of thumb are the price of two sofas.

I'm not fond of recommending 'brands' per se, because its nearly impossible to know the construction of each and every piece from various makers - who has time for all that investigative work? Other than that, it's heresay as to what one brand does vs another. The key is to learn what makes a good piece build and then use your eyes when shopping to see how its made. And that's what I have buried in all the posts here - guidelines on what to look for in the construction. You have to some searching, but its all here.

Did you know that Microfiber's are just 100 % Polyester in a super-fine weave? They are not longer lasting, just the fibers are so thin that dirt tends not to adhere to the material - in other words great if you have a lot of soiling on your pieces, but you won't get a longer lifespan out of the fabric than any other 100 % Polyster (and they all pill over time).

Power or manual reliability - not really much difference if the mechanism is decent. There are different brands of mechanisms however. Most recliner mechanism are damaged because they are stressed hard when fully opened (i.e., teens wrestling in the recliner when extended, or getting in and out of the unit when its in the recline mode). Very few failures on any better mechanisms when used normally.

Good luck in your search.

[QUOTE=jellysat77;21141]Hi all,


"One sales person said power recliners tend to break less overall...."

You can't make something more reliable by throwing more parts into the design. That sounds like a salesman willing to say anything to get the sale.

With regard to brands, I always tell the story about a famous speaker company that begins with a "B" and has 4 letters in their name. In the '80s they were one of the top speaker companies and their product was very good, cutting edge and relatively expensive. But they weren't satisfied because they were only controlling the top end of the sales market. So they expanded their product line to include a full range of medium-priced and lower-priced speakers. To maintain profit margins, they had to make some concessions to quality. Obviously, the top-end speakers were superior to the introductory-level speakers. But many people I know still jump at the chance to buy these speakers, never realizing that at the more manageable price points, there are many better choices out there. So yes, they've got the "B" word on their speakers, but that doesn't make them great speakers.

To me, Hancock and Moore is like a speaker company from the '80s who never made a decision to appeal to all levels of the market by cutting corners on quality. So anything that says Hancock and Moore is quality-built. And anything from any other furniture company becomes "buyer beware".

Don't underweight the negative reviews. Many of them decided to pay extra money (this time) to buy something better than the run of the mill garbage furniture. So they paid good money for a brand name, assuming they were going to get quality furniture. And then that quality furniture broke. If a review is well-written, knowledgeable and even-handed, it weighs more to me than a couple of dozen clueless positive reviews.