I know what y'all think about RH, but...

I've been reading diligently on this forum for the past few days about everything I can find regarding Restoration Hardware/RH & am fully aware based on my own research about their price vrs value. With that said however, I'm in LOVE with their Capri slipcovered sofa & my tastes, style leans towards minimalist, modern, clean lined, industrial, etc.
I have spent many hours researching other manufacturers & retailers who also carry something most resembling the Capri, even a company in China who presented themselves as a direct supplier for RH that would've sold me the sofa in the exact linen/cotton color I want that RH uses as an option on the Capri for $1,475(as opposed to $3,225 direct from RH.) Unfortunately, that route means having to fork over nearly $1,000 in port fees & customs charges AND tax on ALL of that...making the final cost ~$2,850 & only just found out after months of speaking to a very well versed representative of this Chinese company that they're not actually a direct supplier for RH, but only have the sofa frames RH uses & able to acquire the exact fabrics, yada, yada: it'd only be a replica of the Capri.

Well, as you can imagine, $2,850 & a massive logistical headache for only a replica is NOT what I thought I was getting myself into & am now researching other furniture manufacturers both large & small for something not close in style to the Capri, but nearly identical, if not the same. And, obviously for under the costs of just going direct thru RH @ their $3,225 plus $200 shipping cost.

There's a fairly new company out there called TAG by Tandem Arbor that's owned by Arbor Gentry hq'd in NYC, but says their sofas are made in North Carolina. I only see them listed on Overstock, Etsy & Gilt as of right now. Their own webpage is not up yet, but Arbor Gentry's is. From what it looks like, all their offerings are dead ringers for most of RH's poplar sofas, down to dimensions & fabric options. Yet, for a company with no brick & mortar store, no functional website, etc their prices are just as expensive as RH & their build quality actually looks less than RH claims theirs to be(can't possibly conceive what their business model is or how they except it to work with that approach LOL!) Anyone familiar with this company, or been able to track down who they actually are & where they're building these subpar, similarly priced sofas??

I've contacted Monarch Sofas(formerly Sofa Craft outta Cali,) to get a quote on a custom build of the Capri, but their reviews on Yelp are turning me off quickly. Anyone know about them?

SimplyJeff, I've looked at Simplicity Sofas site, but unfortunately most of the models were too traditional for my tastes. If you're able to get a hold of the template for the Capri & do it in a 96"L x 43"D, I'd be very interested in discussing that!

Perch Furniture out of Portland is another custom sofa builder who says they've done a RH Belgian Track Arm, but not the Capri. They're looking into seeing if they can get the frame template. They're a small company, built in USA, etc & looks promising. They're not but maybe few hundred less than RH. If anyone's familiar with them I'd really like to hear about your knowledge as well?

And, lastly I've contacted both The Comfortable Couch Company(CoCoCo,) & everybody's(on here at least LOL,) favorite company to hate: Casco Bay Sofas about their pricing & availability to do the Capri. Any additional info &/or knowledge about these guys would help as well.

Before anyone begins to shout "you really should look at B&Y & H&M" I already have. I'm a single woman in my mid-30s with no children & am not particularly interested in a leather sofa. I LOVE the look of the distressed, old & worn leather couches, but living in Texas with our heat makes me nervous thinking about going that route. Besides, the models I've seen here & on their websites look like something my parents would have in their homes, NOT something I'd go for: too froo froo & traditional for me. I love the mid century modern look, but for an accent chair not my main lounging in sofa. And, I am all about the down cushions & that sink in, deep feeling.

So, LONG story short lol: y'all know my style, look & feel I'm going for. You know I'd ideally like to not go the ridiculous retail route of purchasing directly thru RH & yet, I'm hitting major road blocks on finding a supposedly "custom" sofa manufacturer able to actually make a sofa based off the pictures of the Capri I've sent them...?

I'm stumped & any info would much be appreciated.
Incidentally, I've read what has all been written here about Casco Bay, but looking at ALL their info on their site, they seem like the real deal as far as construction & materials go; just cause the owner's a bit of a jerk, everybody's writing his product off?? I must be missing something...

Thanks again & sorry for the length of the post :(
Andrea

I have to say, I'm confused. If what you want is the RH Capri, why don't you just get it?

Chasing a one-off custom in the hopes of getting one for less is tilting at windmills. Should you find someone to agree to scratch build you a one-unit custom for less than buying from Restoration Hardware I can pretty well assure you it will be a disaster - it's impossible to build a one-off inexpensively, because you have to engineer the whole thing and amortize that work into just one unit. Anyone that tells you otherwise is setting you up for a fall.

Now, if you said "I Love this Capri and want a higher quality build than what RH can offer and am willing to spend up to $ 10K to get it", now you can get a better piece and do a custom. As Jake8 suggests, just buy the RH model from them and save yourself a lot of headache and dead-end research. Good luck.

Lol, I see y'alls reasoning: all of this time & effort just to get the same sofa for a tiny bit less? I'm almost there myself, trust me! Especially after learning all the port fees & customs charges I'd be responsible for if I purchase the Chinese copy. Can anyone comment on if that is in fact true, that I'd be coughing up that much in port fees & customs charges just for purchasing a sofa? The quoted price on the sofa is $1,475(compared to $3,225 + $199 in shipping via RH.) So, obviously this looked like a VERY sweet deal. I've bought small things directly from China before, like phone cases that took months to arrive & don't remember numerous additional costs associated with those transactions. Perhaps with larger, freight items it comes into play?

Some of these companies I mentioned in the OP actually claim their build is superior to RH & American made, & they're still able to come in much lower than RH. CoCoCo has numerous frame templates for other RH models, as does Casco Bay. That's why I contacted them: in hopes of getting an identical looking product made in America & of a better build quality for either the same cost, or less. If they're doing it with other RH, Pottery Barn, Arhaus & Anthropologie pieces, this sofa shouldn't be different.

I, of course am interested in quality of the piece, & I'm afraid to admit this, but in home decor I'm bit of a style over substance person. My only concerns with ordering thru RH are that I've read too many negative reviews about products taking much, much longer to arrive than quoted & now, after reading this forum, the fact that that $3,275 price tag is mainly paying for their brick & mortar "galleries" & those large, useless catalogs(they don't list specific dimensions or pricing in their 'source books'.) Nobody, whether they've got money to burn or living paycheck to paycheck wants to pay for something that's not REALLY what they're getting. If that sofa really is only worth $1,500, but I've got to pay ANOTHER $2K on top of that just for the extras that benefit me not one iota, why wouldn't I look elsewhere?

I'm going to give the several companies mentioned in the OP till the end of this week to reply with price quotes on their most similar models, or their ability to do a one off, such as Perch Furniture claims they're capable of. They're priced at or little above RH, but quality is better & all their sofas are made in Cali.

I'd really like to dig a bit deeper into this TAG by Tandem Arbor company that's solely making lesser quality RH lookalikes & selling them for RH prices WITHOUT catalogs, a functioning website or a single brick & mortar location. If only to just to ask them wth & how are you rationalizing THIS business model?? Lol, oh & why an entirely e-commerce based mid tier furniture company is taking months to get a basic website up & running, yet they're able to churn out product for Overstock, Etsy & the flash sales giant, Gilt?! Hello, it's 2016...not, 1996!! Don't worry, I'm savvy enough to recognize a huge red flag when I see one :)

Just an update: got reply back from Perch Furniture outta Portland, OR(built in Cali,) that they do have/can get frame template for RH's Capri sofa. Their main customer service rep, Audrey is checking with the factory on what the price will be for the frame in the 96"L with the specs I requested.

Based on their fairly well laid out website, their build quality is noticeably superior to RH & their prices are about on par with RH. So, it should be a better value for the dollars spent. She said they've done a lot of RH sofa copies in addition to their own frames, so this isn't a huge task for them to undertake.
Once I get the prices, I'll update again :)

Do not buy a RH replica from some random Chinese factory lol. I'm Chinese, and I can tell you, no one I know does that, and we're much more familiar with the language, customs, laws, etc. It's not a good idea. Imagine if it arrived damaged - how are you going to return it? What if they completely mess up your order and send you a purple polka dotted table lamp instead - what recourse do you have? Call them? Leave them a bad yelp review? Fly over to complain? Sue a company in China?

I'm a huge comparison shopper too, but you really don't want to risk this with a sofa. Unless you're planning to stick this in a guest room or something, it's not "decor" - it's the one piece of furniture that gets worn harder and used more than any other piece in your house. Buy the one you saw in person, sat on, and loved. The "sat on" part is particularly important. I can't tell you how many sofas I fell in love with on sight, only to have it not be comfortable in person. Even if you just change the upholstery and keep the same frame, the feel can be very different.

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Originally Posted by Jenny

Do not buy a RH replica from some random Chinese factory lol. I'm Chinese, and I can tell you, no one I know does that, and we're much more familiar with the language, customs, laws, etc. It's not a good idea. Imagine if it arrived damaged - how are you going to return it? What if they completely mess up your order and send you a purple polka dotted table lamp instead - what recourse do you have? Call them? Leave them a bad yelp review? Fly over to complain? Sue a company in China?

I'm a huge comparison shopper too, but you really don't want to risk this with a sofa. Unless you're planning to stick this in a guest room or something, it's not "decor" - it's the one piece of furniture that gets worn harder and used more than any other piece in your house. Buy the one you saw in person, sat on, and loved. The "sat on" part is particularly important. I can't tell you how many sofas I fell in love with on sight, only to have it not be comfortable in person. Even if you just change the upholstery and keep the same frame, the feel can be very different.

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Jenny,
I thought about all of that too when I found out that this admittedly major Chinese manufacturer wasn't a direct supplier for RH, but had access to RH's sofa frame templates enabling them to make replicas.

For mouths they had presented themselves as a direct supplier & had led me to believe I was getting some great deal by going direct thru the manufacturer. When the truth unfolded, it left a bad taste in my mouth & honestly soured the entire deal.

Even if they'd sell me the sofa for shipping, taxes, etc for $1,000 total, I'd be too hesitant to go thru with it. They also initially only offered wire transfer as means of completing the transaction & only after I asked why such a large, multinational corp didn't have the capability to process a credit/debit card did they agree to do it that way.

Thank God I never went thru with giving them the 30% deposit to begin the order!