Re: Furniture Protection Plans - Worth It?
he told me that we didn't need to worry about sunlight damage because of the leather had a protective coating on it
False. A finished leather (and semi-aniline) is coated, but that is because its pigmented, there is no UV protection in the topcoat. Any pigmented coating is - at the end of the day - a form of paint, and any painted surface will resist sun fade better than an aniline or dyed color. So yes, you will get less fade with Finished than Aniline, but the UV rays will take the color out of anything in a room, be it furniture, carpets, wall paint, rugs and even wood flooring.
he also recommended Guardsman Gold Complete Furniture Protection Plan.
Of course he did. That is almost pure profit for the store. And as far as I am concerned its a rip-off. You will almost never get a payout if you have a claim, and typically they will put you in a blame cycle where they say the dealer is responsible for the claim or the manufacturer, and both of them will deny a payout, leaving you holding the bag. Additionally, the product application of these plans can and does result in leather failure on certain hides. The chemicals they apply in these various plans are not tested on the leather and I have seen several instances where it cause the topcoat on the hide to fail, rendering the product useless. The damage appears slowly usually a year or longer after application and the top of the leather flakes off. Companies that sell these plans then blame the manufacturer saying the leather is defective. When the piece is returned to the manufacturer, its send out to a lab for testing, and if any unapproved product has been put on the leather any claim is denied. Only use the approved product on the leather. For most, it will be a kit like what I have in the store by Leather Solutions, who service the bulk of the trade in North Carolina. Do you maintenance regularly with these kits and your piece will last for years.
Sales person told me that BY has a two year warranty
False again. B-Y's warranty is published here in the forum, under LEATHER. They do not warranty the cover (leather) and the rest of the piece, with the exception of motion mechanisms has a limited lifetime warranty on it.
I really dislike salespeople that 1) Don't know their product line 2) Outright lie.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.