Hi John, I think we spoke on the phone a couple times about this one. Just to clarify a few of your questions (then I'll step aside and let others answer): Hancock and Moore Grades start at Grade 1 (least expensive) and then go up to Grade 5 (most expensive). They vast majority of hides sold are Grade 1 and 2, and then a few 3's. The grade has nothing to do with durability or protection, its strictly a pricing category. Any hide coming out of Europe will be a higher grade due to the strength of the Euro in relation to the US Dollar, and specialty leathers like Buffalo will always be a Grade 5 for the fact that there are not that many Buffalo hides to be sourced. There is a Serviceability index on each H&M hide showing suitability of use. This is also a numeric index series of numbers and a 1 is commercial, a 2 is residential use, a 3 is limited durability and a 4 means you better not touch it except in your pajamas with no food, drink of newspapers within ten feet of it. 1's are pretty rough looking, plastic-feeling and not very handsome. 2's are where most people buy, its 'wipe and go'. 3's are suitable, but don't expect the piece to remain looking brand new, it may absorb some grease stains or show scratches. 4's are the Lambskins and Suedes .. be careful. The Buffalo hides are priced at 5, and have a 3 Serviceability. They are very cool hides, a real treat. Tears/splits/rips are really a non-issue for the most part. You have to have a knife or screwdriver etc. in your hand or pocket to rip the hides - they're tough. It should be noted that H&M to the best of my knowledge is the ONLY leather house that will accept a sofa back for repair in the event of a damaged hide, and they do not charge labor to repair - only the cost of the materials. Thickness of the hide is really only a concern on tailoring. Thick hides like the Buffalo don't lent themselves going around tight, stylish corners as well as thinner hides. Its all about your lifestyle and what you can accept as the piece ages. Everyone has a different tolerance for wear and tear. Regardless of the hide, the piece will easily go twenty + plus years in my experience, and it will just be the visuals of the furniture as it ages. About 1 in 100 of my customers that buy a 'un-protected' leather (in reality, they all have a teflon coating on them so they're not totally unprotected) come back at a later date and tell me they wish they had gone with a protected hide. On the other hand, about 3 of 100 that went with the protected hide tell me later they wish they had gone with the more luxurious, more natural hides! Hope that helps explain it some. Duane Collie

That's a fairly common concern. Hancock and Moore has over 1,300 unique furniture frame styles under that label so theres no dealer on the planet that has even half of them, nor does the H&M Showroom during Furniture Market. Sometimes you simply cannot find the model you are seeking and have to try a catalog order. Call H&M direct at 828-495-8255 and ask who your local dealers might be. I suggest you call ahead to see how many pieces they have on the floor. Its not unusual to find even the larger stores displaying only 2 to 4 pieces. I counted 20 H&M pieces in my store today - and I'm a small operation. Usually (but not always) if you are comfortable in three or four pieces of the maker's line, you will be comfortable in most all of it. There's no way to get a guarantee other than to ask your local dealer if they would be willing to let you reorder a different model should the one you first catalog-selected come in and you didn't like it. That's a reasonable request as a customer. Prices...too many unknowns to make an estimate much good. $ 1,000 to $ 3,000 depending on the chair model and hide selected. Duane Collie

Red Ahh that lovely H&M Chancellor sofa I feel fortunate to be the owner of that sofa - It is 4yrs old purchased at local furniture store in Stamford Ct - I have the receipt somewhere, I think the orig purchase price was nearly 9K & we got it for $4,500 Outdated living room pic - I think color is cognac it took several weeks once we placed the order This is a super comfy, durable, well made sofa Here is a link that might be useful: safavieh furniture

I bought what I thought was a quality leather recliner from our local high end furniture store in 2004, paying $2200. It was one of my worst decisions. The mechanism to recline(gas cylinder) and bring the back up stopped working in a few months. Store "claimed" they fixed it. It stopped again. We ended up grabbing the back and pulling it up when we need it up. We have found another store that would sell us another recline(gas cylinder) mechanism and my husband put it in. Again it worked for a short time... Do not buy this Austin Tilt chair - gas cylinder recline mechanism doesn't work! And annually, I have to keep putting new stain on it to cover the scratches or it looks horrible.