Leather Creations, Room and Board, or...?

I ran across this forum, and appreciate all the good info here (and the stuff Duane posted to the GardenWeb forum). I'm in the market for a recliner--actually, I have a houseful of furniture that needs upgrading, but I don't have the budget right now. My old chair has really had it, so I have to replace it.

All I'm sure of so far is that I want leather and I don't want a traditional, "heavy" looking recliner--something like a club chair style, or possibly an Ekornes-style lounger, would work better. Whatever it is has to hold up to me (I am not a small woman) and two large dogs who take turns sneaking into the chair whenever my back is turned.

I've done enough research to thoroughly confuse myself. I can't spend more than $1,500...I'm hoping to find a good recliner on sale somewhere. I'm willing to sacrifice choice in leather color, etc., for a good price on a comfortable, well made chair.

Does anyone have any experiences with Leather Creations or Room and Board? Leather Creations advertises high-quality furniture and a lifetime warranty--has anyone here actually dealt with their customer service?

R&B has very stylish stuff and advertises that all its furniture is made in the USA. Anyone know offhand who manufactures their recliners? If not, I'll call and ask them.

Any other suggestions? I've just started looking. I'm grateful, Duane, that you've steered me away from La-Z-Boy, Flexsteel and their ilk.

I've looked at the Hancock & Moore website and there are some chairs (Webster, Restoration, Ritz) that appeal to me, but I'm guessing they're out of my price range. Am I correct?

Thanks,
Virginia

American Leather makes the recliners for R&B that are "made in Texas." American Leather is considered a quality manufacturer.

Virginia, you should easily be able to find a high quality recliner in your budget. Take a look at the H & M # 7053 Recliner for example. That one in Cavalier Mocha (a rich, darker brown) I sell for $ 1,263 plus shipping. Generally there are several high quality recliners available in the $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 range.

Best deals in the H&M line are posted here on the forum, in the 2009 Town and Country Collection under the LEATHER forum. You can see the photos and download the price sheet at the end.

Thanks, Steve, for the heads up on Room and Board.

Thanks, Duane. Glad to hear my budget allows for the quality I want. I'll download the T&C price sheet.

That Statement Lounger is a handsome chair. Have to see if someone around here has one I can sit in to try it out. The dimensions are right--very similar to my current chair.

What would curbside delivery to the Chicago area typically run?

Two shipping options:

Least expensive is H&M's "Guaranteed Freight Program" which they charge 4% of the MSRP Retail COM price (in your zone) and ship it on a common carrier. It gets there quickly, but there are some caveats. 1) It must ship into a business address, no residential delivery. And by business address, that means on a commercial corridor where the truck line can pull up 9 to 5 Mon-Fri without a call ahead appointment and it can be dropped off at a loading dock or outside door. A home business or farm does not qualify. You then have to haul it home yourself. I don't have a retail price book for H&M at home (answering this on Sunday night) but I'd guess its about $ 100 for the midwest.

The other option is Home Delivery Service which does as the name implies. They come to your home and place it inside where you tell them. It takes a much longer delivery window (3 weeks vs 3 days) and they have a minimum charge of 150 lb. A boxed recliner goes out at 100 lb, so you're going to pay for the 150.... to IL it runs $ 140 (+/-).

A quick word about hauling a boxed recliner home in an open pickup truck. I can virtually guarantee you that your recliner will come out of the bed of your truck at 45 mph or more unless lashed down to the bed. I've seen it happen a dozen times so far. Even though its 100lb, the air coming over the cab is enough to fly it out of the bed. When it hit the highway at 50 mph, its ugly...and guess what? Your insurance won' cover it. Neither homeowners or vehicle. Transporting furniture requires a special coverage called "Inland Marine Freight" and unless you own a trucking company or furniture store you probably don't have it. So always use tie-downs when your self transport in open-air vehicles.

Thanks, Duane. If I go that route, it's home delivery for me.

Duane,
Have you ever looked into shipping recliners or chairs by UPS? Not the regular UPS Ground but UPS Freight. It probably wouldn't work for a sofa (too large) but a chair or recliner should be fine if it is well boxed. I ship almost everything by UPS Freight. It arrives in 2-3 days and UPS calls ahead for an appointment before they deliver. It should cost considerably less than $140 to Illinois if you can negotiate a decent shipping discount from your local UPS sales rep. There is an additional charge for actually carrying the furniture into the home (about $72) but that should not be a problem for a chair or recliner.
One word of warning. I do not use UPS Freight for shipping to New York City. They do not go into the city themselves but hand it off to a third party carrier. The cost is exorbitant and the damage rate is astronomical. For New York City I use NYCE (New York Carolina Express) which is a wonderful company (and cheaper than UPS) but they only go between North/South Carolina and New York/New Jersey (and parts of Pennsylvania.)
Jeff

Thanks Jeff,

I remember that UPS bought Overnite Freight Company are renamed it, but haven't used them since. I'll give it a look and see how it would work, for sure. I've been using Fed Ex Freight but they've become less and less competitive over the years.

All the direct ships from the factories like H&M work best on their selected carriers, I can't negotiate the rates they can get because I can't pump enough volume in common carrier goods to get a hot price, but I'll definitely look into UPS Freight for outbound from my store.

FEDEX freight is no bargain, but there's never a headache or damage claim and they deliver fast and have very courteous and accommodating drivers. If the extra $40 kills the sale, then maybe its not worth taking.