If you look at the manufactures suggested by spolina (Baker's Milling Road Collection, Hancock And Moore, Bernhardt, Lexington Brands, Swaim) then you can definitely buy below MSRP. Check Boyles in NC and Lexington Furniture Company in Lexington, KY. I have never gotten a better price locally. The best price has always come from these two stores. You just need to find what you want by looking in your local store, then contact Boyles and Lexington for a quote. I have purchased a Kindel dining room set; Hancock & Moore sofa; chair, & ottoman; Hickory Chair sofa, chair & ottoman; EJ Victor chair; Hekman table; Baker bed; Hickory Chair nightstands; Century sofa; Stickley desk; Wildwood lamps; and a Bernhardt bed in the past 5 years. Only the Stickley desk was cheaper locally as I got it on a double sale. The price difference depends on the brand. Manufactures by law cannot dictate the 3rd party retailer's selling price. The way they get around the law is to make it clear that they will not supply a store that sells below a certain minimum. They claim doing so ensures the "value" of the product brand. One brand my tolerate a minimum of 25% below MSRP; another will tolerate 30% below MSRP. Stores like Bassett and Ethan Allen hold the line on their price. If they have a sale, you get the sale price. Otherwise, the price is the price. Bassett will probably not give you the quality and look you are after.

I had checked out their website already and it sounds good. I just want to make sure that it's a quality product and not one of those "you get what you pay for" things. Have you gotten your sofa yet and are you happy with it? What about the quality of the fabric and the feel of the cushions? I want a sofa that is pretty cushy and I was going to upgrade to the down option. Please let me know your impressions - it would be really helpful. I was also researching a sofa from Carolinachair.com. They seem to have a little bit better quality and better fabric choices, but the sofa I want is also about $2,000 more and I don't know that it's worth spending the extra money. Any input is appreciated.

I can suggest what we did -- we went with a moderately priced leather (leather match -- the back and sides are actually a matching vinyl but 12 years later they still look like the seats -- just less worn) when my youngest was probably in 1st grade -- he's in college now. We have two boys and they grew up with the sectional, DH came and took breaks from working in the yard, and two dogs acquired along the way sometimes came in and hopped up before we noticed they'd been in the pool or dirt. I can't think of anything else that would have lived with us so well, been so comfortable that I fell asleep on it the first day we had it and it's still comfortable. Our sectional is a Lane and I've been surprised to see people calling them junk, but we bought it 12-13 years ago and things may have changed since then. It wasn't top of the line -- the leather match takes it out of that category, but the leather and the vinyl have not given us any problems, Everything other than the Sharpie mark left when my youngest fell asleep while working on homework cleaned up easily, and I even got out the Sharpie. I will stop short of recommending Lane because the reviews now seem universally poor, but I do think it makes sense to go with a modest (not cheap) to mid-range sectional. I wouldn't look at top dollar or maybe even your top budget unless you know you aren't going to be moving for a number of years (the size of configuration might be all wrong for the next house). We are looking at Omnia at a local dealer. If you don't have a local dealer, there are some locations you can purchase online (including limited models from Wayfair. They are full leather -- not match and made in USA. They have non-reclining sectionals in your price range. All the ones we've sat on have been very comfortable. We have ruled a few out because the backs are shorter. Your DH may like the split cushion back -- they sit 2" taller. My 6'4" sons liked them. Macy's also has some leather sectionals that are sofas and loveseats with a corner wedge. That means have two arms on both sides and can separate them -- even use them separately or in the reverse configuration if you move. I prefer not to have the arms inside the sectional and they don't fit our space anyway, so they aren't an option for us, but I've sat on them and they are very comfortable too. Hope that helps.

It would be better to have empty space near the slider than to have a sectional all the way up to and in front of the slider, or a sectional with a short seating side in the open part of the room to keep the sliders clear. But I agree with others that a sofa and chair is much more functional.