Warranties? Confused.

When we were shopping for a living room sofa a few years ago, we couldn't decide between a Sherrill and a Rowe. We ended up going with the Rowe because of the lifetime warranty, while the Sherrill had only a one-year warranty. Come to find out later: Sherrill is a better made brand of furniture than Rowe. I'm confused: Why is it that a better brand would have a lesser warranty?

As an aside: The furniture store from which we bought the sofa had a promotion going: If the Sox won the Series, all furniture bought between such-and-such dates would be free, minus delivery charges. So, our sofa was free. I know of one person who got $40,000 worth of free furniture. The Curse of the Bambino--GONE! :)

I don't put to much faith in furniture warranties. Why? Because 99.999% of the time they things they cover don't ever fail. in 25 years of doing this, I've never had a frame failure on a piece. NEVER. Cheap or Expensive pieces, doesn't matter.

The only thing that ever seems to wear out that would matter to me on a warranty issue would be the cushion cores. They can, and do, wear out over time, and its nice to buy from a company that will send you ones at no charge.

Covers are never warrantied. Leather or Fabric. And that's your failure segment on most piece. Things either wear out , of sun fade - then its time to buy new or recover.

Cheap furniture has poor interior components, such as the gauge of the spring deck wire or the support webbing to attach the springs to. They lose their performance quickly, but its still not a warranty failure. Warranties are against workmanship or product defects, not performance of cheap interior parts. Big difference.

What you really want is a reputable dealer that will go to bat for you if need be. And you want to buy a product from a manufacturer that has a stellar reputation and takes pride in their products. I can't tell you how many times I have got on the telephone over the years to the president of a company in the furniture business and said "Hey Look Stephen - this piece shouldn't have done what it did. You know it, I know it, and the customer knows it...so don't give me any grief how its not covered by the warranty because we're going to take care of this problem one way or the other." And we do. Now of course, I have to agree that it should have not done what it did - and I don't always do - I have to believe the product didn't perform correctly. The company president will agree with me as well in most cases because I don't do business for long with suppliers that don't stand behind their product. It costs them far less money to fix a problem at a dealer's request than to lose an account. A strong dealer who cares is your best defense if a product isn't performing correctly - not a piece of paper with a warranty.

And don't even get me started on mattress and bedding warranties, which aren't worth the paper they're written on.....

Thanks, Duane. Good information to have.

Actually Duane, mattress warranties are worth exactly the paper they are written on. I was a mattress buyer for a major retailer 20 years ago. When it was time to choose a new line of mattresses we would go over to the factory. First I would choose the specifications for each mattress and box. Next I would choose what mattress ticking to use. There were always a couple of high end tickings chosen to go over cheap specs that we could put high prices on, and then lower them for the sales. After the ticking came the list prices. I could choose any list prices I wanted for each set. Last came the warranty. I could choose whatever warranty I wanted for each set, so long as it did not exceed the factory warranties on that company's top-line mattresses (Posturepedic, Perfect Sleeper, etc.) I should add that the top-end lines could not usually be manipulated like the lower priced mattresses. Posturepedics, Perfect Sleepers, etc. were completely designed by the factory. The "national" models could not be altered. However there were also private label Posturepedics, etc. These were also designed by the factory but were negotiable. Of course in most cases the specifications on these high end "private label" mattress sets were not usually the same as the "national" models.

I am not sure if the mattress industry still works like that. I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Some things have improved, though. Once upon a time the bedding buyer would design a $29 special just for advertising. The mattress would be ordered with the cheapest ticking turned inside out so that it looked terrible (and uncomfortable) and nobody would actually buy it but would step up to something nicer (and more profitable.)

Can you believe that some people don't trust the furniture industry?

I think it does still work that way, Jeff. It's the worst part of the home furnishing business, for sure.

Many years ago I bought into King Koil as a dealer. Swallowed the sales rep bait and I liked the strong warranty they came with. Our store reputation has always been one of high-quality products that are durable, and we stand behind what we sell. So my regular customers started buying King Koil because we carried the brand. At about the five years mark, almost all these mattresses started failing that we had sold. Probably 75% of these "20-year-warranty" beds were crushing down and disintegrating internally which was NOT covered by the warranty (of course!). I was livid with King Koil. Lots of unhappy customers and they would not replace the mattresses. I dropped the line immediately and tossed all the sales materials in the trash.

Then I learned about the bedding industry! I studied all that I could on bedding and came up with the only two brands worth owning that are even close to being reasonably priced are the domestically made Royal-Pedic out of California or Shifman out of New Jersey. Old school construction, handmade. I started out with Shifman because they were closed to Wash DC (and offered all my dissatisfied King Koil customers an opportunity to replace their KK's at a large discount) and carried that line until Bloomingdales demanded an exclusive on the Master's Collection series and I could not longer get the line. Then I moved into Royal Pedic which I've been selling (and using in my own home) for the past decade or so. Never a warranty claim and I haven't had the first dissatisfied customer with either R-P or Shifman. Both will last 15 years.

My experience with King Koil soured me on the bedding industry hugely. I won't go near the "S" brand beds (Simmons, Serta, Sealy, etc.) because they're made just like King Koil and have the same smoke and mirrors warranty / lifespan.

Like most things, you get what you pay for!

Do you carry latex mattresses, Duane? We traded in our Stearns & Foster for a Nature's Rest mattress set years ago and have never looked back. The difference in comfort is amazing. Plus, since my husband has allergies, and latex isn't welcoming to bedbugs and other mites, he's noticed a big difference there, too. Nature's Rest carries the type of mattress that looks and feels like a regular bed--not like Tempurpedic, that literally molds to your body. Seriously, I'm so glad we switched to latex.

Yes, Royal-Pedic makes a latex line. They are softer than the all cotton series, and I sell probably 20 of the all cottons for every latex, but everyone always seems pleased with their purchases no matter which they select.

Tempurpedic is great if you like sleeping in your own sweat <g>

Lol. When I tried out a Tempurpedic, I found it a little. . .well, creepy. Was very happy to discover that there are latex beds that look and feel just like a "regular" bed.

I agree that tempurpedics make you sweat especially during the hot months. They seem to keep body heat which can be a good or bad thing depending on the temperature you desire. I am intriqued by Royal pedic and will soon be looking to replace ours and hope Duane that you will still be carrying them.