Coja Leather

[Dr_jitsu]

Is anyone familiar with this brand?

I ask because a store local to me has a dual (2 seat) Coja Romeo Analine HT floor model on sale for $2.5K. Some research suggests that this company produces very good quality products, and others claim that the company was composed of crooks.

I am going out looking at chairs this weekend (my local Louis Shanks has Hancock and Moore Chairs "50% off" that are still more expensive than what Duanne has...figured I would test them there and then order from here) and was wondering how Coja compares to H and M.

[drcollie]

I'm not familiar with 'Coja" brand, but I can tell you that "50 % off MSRP" is a normal, everyday retail selling price for most stores. MSRP's are set so ridiculously high in the furniture industry because 1) interior Decorators want to be able to show that price to their clients and 2) It lets stores run everything "On Sale" all the time. Makes no sense to me at all to have unrealistic MSRP's.....

[Matthew]

my local Louis Shanks has Hancock and Moore Chairs "50% off" that are still more expensive than what Duanne has

Louis Shanks is funny. They have commercials on here all the time that advertise buy 1 at listed price, get 1 at 50% off MSRP. Basically, they're saying that if you overpay for 1 item, they'll give you another item for normal price.

[Dianne47]

I would be leery and reluctant to purchase a brand that Duane has never heard of. He's very knowledgeable about mainstream brands, quality, etc. You can make some furniture in China, slap a brand name on it, and market it any way you want. Caveat emptor.

[Dr_jitsu]

Thanks everyone...yes Louise Shanks marks stuff way up and then has a "50% off" sale. Their sale price is more than the quote I got from Duanne.

I have read some review and forum discussion that posited that Coja is very high quality, but that their business practices became very corrupt.

[drcollie]

I would be leery and reluctant to purchase a brand that Duane has never heard of. He's very knowledgeable about mainstream brands, quality, etc. You can make some furniture in China, slap a brand name on it, and market it any way you want. Caveat emptor.

Those are great accolades, but truth be told there are a lot of 'brands' that I'm not familiar with. There are simply too many and some are regional based as well, not national concerns. Also, I don't get out as much as I should since I'm in the store six days a week, and on my day off guess where I don't go....FURNITURE STORES! When I go to the High Point Market, I see all the brands, but even there I can only cover maybe 20 % of the Market since its so massive and spread out. After doing this for so many years however, you can 'see' quality that interests you just on a fast walk. So much looks like it came out of the same mill, that I simply don't break stride when I see those lines and only stop at places that have 'the look' I seek. However, a visit to the factory where they make the pieces is the only sure way to see how things are made, and I try to get into all my supplier's workshops as time permits.

[Dr_jitsu]

I am giving The "Leather Shopppes" in Houston the dumb business award.

I have done enough research to conclude that Coja furniture has excellent leathers...the particular seats I was looking at, the Romeo HT seating has aniline leather. However the frames are not 8 way hand tied, I believe they are something called "sinuous." All in all they are very good quality, but the frames probably will not last as well as H and M.

In any case, I was ready to go down and take a look at the chairs (dul HT seating) and if they felt good I was going to buy them. They were clearance priced at $2.5K, shipped anywhere in the US.

I suggested that, since shipping was at least $250 if across the country, that they could credit me back $150 to cover part of the tax I would have to pay. The answer I got was "no, we are already selling below cost, the only reason they are so discounted is because they have been on the floor so long." Also, since I was local I would have to pay $139 for shipping ()

I asked "How long have they been on the floor?" The salesman said, "before I was here, which is 2 years....and actually they are not on the floor anymore, they are in storage". Bottom line I would be looking at about $2.9K delivered.

I was ready to go buy them, but certainly am not going to do so now. I will be interested in how many more years they will sit in storage.

I think I now understand why so many furniture stores have gone out of business. Add stupidity to the recession and there you have it.