Smith Brothers makes a quality product. I know quite a few retailers who swear by it. They have a 5/4 maple frame which is very good and a drop in coil spring unit. An 8 way hand tied unit is better but their drop in unit is fairly consistant. A drop in unit is a spring unit made outside the furniture and screwed into place. A drop in unit does not add to the torsional strength of the frame. Their tailoring is also good. All in all a pretty good choice from a price, value perspective.

I bought a Smith Brothers sofa and loveseat in 1986 and used them until 2007. Had them reupholstered in the 90's just because I wanted a change. The original SB fabric was MUCH better than what i used the second time around. When I gave them up, they were still solid - the "new" fabric had not worn so well though. Needless to say, I bought ANOTHER Smith Brothers set in 2007. It also is wearing well. I am also looking at a leather Smith Brothers rocker/recliner in the near future. Their leather is pretty pricey, so I may do some comparison shopping with Hancock and Moore.

This line is well regarded, a google search should confirm that. Why aren't you getting anywhere? You have real questions about the sofa but used most of this post to complain about the dealer and factory. What did you really want to know? OK, I'll respond to the questions you did pose. Do they want to sell furniture? Yes, through a network of retail dealers. This is different than buying a car, however, if you went to Macy's and wanted information about a name brand leather coat you were thinking of purchasing you'd probably have the same experience. Does this seem a bit over the top? On your end, yes. And what possible connection can there be between warranty service and responding to your questions? Really, there is no basis for that. If they staffed a help desk like Butterball does for turkey questions it would make their sofas even more expensive. They don't sell millions of units each year, they sell hundreds per month, and its just not in the budget. Regarding the last question, followup questions are good if you know where you're going with them. Where you're going with this isn't clear. If you want an ironclad 10 year guarantee on the fabric, well, buy HP Ultrasuede fabric or Herculon. Both look like crap (except for Ultrasuede on modern sofas styles.) If you're going to put the sofas through really heavy use (abuse) maybe you should buy the cheaper stuff and replace it as needed. Customers who ask for rub figures, compression ratios, spring gauge and other unpublished tech specs usually don't buy anyways. So maybe be surprised that you're getting treated with respect. And being treated with respect doesn't mean you'll get all your questions answered. A store that carries Smith of Berne IS a better furniture store. Use your better judgment and you'll be fine.

Both Mckinley Leather and Omnia Furniture are made in America and should price within your range if you shop at a store that offers discounts below retail. These are quality companies with a large amount of leathers to choose from.