What do you think - used Hancock & Moore

Found this on my local craigslist and would like to see if it is a good deal. It is a four year old Hancock & Moore sofa - the seller says it was the Wedge model,, but it looks just like the Renfro shown on the Home Portfolio website (and neither of which is on the H&M site anymore).

It has the ultra down seats and back cushions (which I understand might be an issue) and is covered in Class 4 Quintessence Mink. Supposedly it is in very good shape.

My best guess is that it may have retailed new as low as 3500-4000 from someone like Duane and the sellers are asking $1200. Fair deal?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Jason

Josont... the down cushions are very nice. They give a wonderful soft feel yet retain a sense of support that one expects in a quality cushion. The softness allows the leather to relax a bit and gives the leather somewhat of a loose look while retaining the overall appearance of a quality piece of furniture. If you like the appearance of this piece then I would recommend you go for it before it's snatched up by someone else. Quality preowned H&M pieces in great conditions are not often offered.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cuse69

Josont... the down cushions are very nice. They give a wonderful soft feel yet retain a sense of support that one expects in a quality cushion. The softness allows the leather to relax a bit and gives the leather somewhat of a loose look while retaining the overall appearance of a quality piece of furniture. If you like the appearance of this piece then I would recommend you go for it before it's snatched up by someone else. Quality preowned H&M pieces in great conditions are not often offered.

---

Thank you for the feedback and I agree that preowned (much nicer word than used, LOL) H&M are rare so I am pretty excited about this find. Your thoughts are pretty much my impressions as well. I have just heard that sometimes the ultradown allows the leather to flex too much and can lead to a lot of hairline cracks - however, I think that issue would have come to light by now since the sofa is 4 years old.

I have also read about just a couple of issues regarding the leather on the back of curved H&M pieces splitting, but I do not know how prevalent that may be. That also made me wonder why they are not making this particular style any longer, so I am hoping Duane or anyone that may be more familiar with this piece will chime in with their thoughts as well.

If that is Quintessence Mink, that's a class 4 high-end German hide. It does not tolerate stains or sunlight very well, but its very elegant and soft. Price on that was more like
$ 5K or more in that leather, even four years ago. Wish I could see a better photo....looks to be more than four years old but its hard to tell. Never heard of any leather splitting issues on curved sofas, that's a new one for me. The only time I've ever seen leather split is from a cut with a sharp instrument, or from being soiled and never cleaned, eventually the hide will fail then.

If you like the form, and its in good shape, you certainly can't beat the price in that leather!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by drcollie

If that is Quintessence Mink, that's a class 4 high-end German hide. It does not tolerate stains or sunlight very well, but its very elegant and soft. Price on that was more like
$ 5K or more in that leather, even four years ago. Wish I could see a better photo....looks to be more than four years old but its hard to tell. Never heard of any leather splitting issues on curved sofas, that's a new one for me. The only time I've ever seen leather split is from a cut with a sharp instrument, or from being soiled and never cleaned, eventually the hide will fail then.

If you like the form, and its in good shape, you certainly can't beat the price in that leather!

---

Anything specific that makes it appear older or just the low quality photo? We plan to go see it tomorrow, hopefully they have the original paperwork.

Duane - do you know if there was ever an ottoman made that would fit that model?

(Oh yeah, the splitting comment was just from a single user in the gardenweb forums who said their curved sectional had to be repaired a couple of times, supposedly because the curved shape and the leather did not go together well)

That sofa was before I was a dealer, which leads me to believe its more than four years old, but maybe its not? I don't know for sure. No ottoman that I know of in that style.

Just the low quality photo is all.

Went and looked at it last night - and, of course, forgot to take my camera with me. It appears to be in amazing shape, rarely used with cushions that still seem perfectly intact.

My question - is there any way to determine exactly which hide was used? They unfortunately did not keep any of the original paperwork or the signature card. The leather looks and feels great, but I was a little surprised that it had a light sheen. For some reason I expected an unfinished hide to be as matte as something like a suede or nubuck.

I looked under the cushions and the only clue I could find was the label from H&M that said something to the effect that the leather was not stain resistant and should be treated like you would a fine silk - which leads me to believe it is unfinished, I guess I am just thrown a bit by the light sheen.

Any thoughts?

Quintessence does have a light sheen to it. The fact they knew the name of the leather and the color leads me to believe they are being honest about it. If you like the style, buy it!

Thanks for the quick reply - your assistance is MUCH appreciated! I will call them now...

That also made me wonder why they are not making this particular style any longer

That type of sofa is also called a conversation sofa and has been made by various companies for decades. It will not wear any differently than a straight sofa.

Like any unique and different design, it will appeal to fewer people. And it may not look it, but I'd bet that sofa is at least 100" inches long, making it harder to deliver and requiring more leather and becoming even more expensive, as a result appealing to even fewer customers still.

The price sounds fair. If you like it, why not?