I know this thread is really old, but can anyone comment on Franklin Furniture? Made in Houston, MS. We just purchased a sectional sofa from them with power recliners, lights, and massage/vibrating chairs. It will be delivered in 9 days and we have 30 days to return it for a refund. I'm usually a big researcher and am kind of freaking out now because I didn't do my homework and know nothing about Franklin. The salesman assured us it was a good quality, in line with Lazy Boy - but really, what is he going to say? This stuff is junk?? Can anyone put my mind at ease?

Noocha, you wrote: 'All the articles (or nearly all) were written by Rick Ross! Who is this guy?' .......... No, 'all the articles' about the FLDS were NOT written by Rick Ross. It clearly states at the top of the linked section: 'This page contains information The Rick A. Ross Institute has GATHERED about Polygamist Groups.' When looking at the list of collected articles regarding the FLDS, the source document and its author are clearly provided in large print from the oldest: 'Deliverance Day for One Group of Polygamists, Salt Lake Tribune/November 29, 1998, By Tom Zoellner and Greg Burton' to the most recent: 'Sect Children Will Undergo Genetic Tests Next Week Houston Chronicle/April 20, 2008, By Lindsay Wise' A quick check of the section on FLDS by anyone not having a reading comprehension problem will reveal that each document provides the source whether it be The Gazette newspaper, Canada; CBS 8 TV in Las Vegas; the Associated Press; the New York Times; the Deseret Morning News and the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, etc., etc., etc. Noocha, you asked 'Who is this guy?' Well, if you had bothered to click on the 'home' page as I suggested you would have read the following: 'Welcome to the Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey An Internet archive of information about cults, destructive cults, controversial groups and movements. The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey (RI) is a nonprofit public resource with a vast archive that contains thousands of individual documents. RI on-line files include news stories, research papers, reports, court documents, book excerpts, personal testimonies and hundreds of links to additional relevant resources. This Internet archive is well-organized for easy access and reference.' As I earlier stated some of us have no little or no prior knowledge of the FLDS prior to the current happenings in El Dorado, Texas. In wanting to read more about the FLDS I came across the referenced Institute via Google and decided to share it as a source of information with other interested persons reading here. So, Noocha, if you want to dismiss over 400 articles about the FLDS spanning almost 10 years as all being 'yellow journalism' feel free to do so. ............ Children Health Issues / Severe Birth Defect in FLDS: As for the referenced document by RONM80, here is a partial quote from Part II of the lengthy article... "More than half the worlds cases of a severe birth defect called fumarase deficiency have been found in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colo­rado City, Arizona, controlled by the polygamous Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints Church. The towns have a total population of under 10,000, yet Dr. Theodore Tarby has seen twenty children with fumarase deficiency in these towns since 1990. By comparison, only thirteen cases have been reported elsewhere in the entire world. The actual total in the FLDS may be much higher than twenty since babies may have died before they were diagnosed with the condition by a medical doctor. None of the FLDS children with fumarase defi­ciency has an IQ above 25. Many cannot sit up. Some can barely even move their head and eyes. Frequent and powerful seizures are common. Por­tions of brain matter are replaced by water. An MRI of the brain of one fumarase-deficient child showed that more than half the brain was missing."

DO NOT BUY FURNITURE FROM MACYS AND THEIR FRAUDULENT WORRY NO MORE INSURANCE PLAN. Bought a a large sectional and an 8 seater dining table set with chairs from Macys furniture and was forced to buy their worry no more protection plan assuring it would give us "peace of mind" for 5 years, would cover accidental damage, stains, rips etc etc etc and repair or replace it "immediately". Below is the aftermath of the purchase: The leg of the dining bench came off twice and worry no more sent a technician each time to stick it back up with glue....yeah you read that right, just glue it all the way back for it to come off again. We gave up on this one. The sofa part of my sectional had a tear and I have been waiting since July 2023 to get a replacement! Transferred between innumerable worry no more departments to get a simple technician visit that was outsourced to one of their third party vendors and then had to get on calls between worry no more and their third party vendor to know the date of the technician visit and the outcome of the visit. The technician was very unprepared and rude and neither worry no more nor their vendor had any professionalism to let the customer know of their decision. Then made calls to Macys and Worry no More to get information on their sales check for replacement of the sofa. Please notice how none of the business entities have the basic professionalism or courtesy to keep the customer informed! It is March of 2024 and I am still waiting for my sofa! The dining chairs had accidental spills on the same day, one was covered because I didnt try to clean it but other, which I tried to clean was not covered because according to worry no more, it appeared "blotchy". Then why are they giving us solutions to clean fabric? Try talking to Macys furniture customer service and you will be treated to the biggest scam and arrogance of your life - their first line of defence is "you will have to speak to worry no more for their decisions". They have no empathy for what the customer is going through, defend themselves foolishly, are vey delusional because they have no idea of best practices in the industry and claim boisterously that customers wait for years to get their furniture delivered (because Macys is just a middleman) and have no influence with manufacturer or insurance companies on behalf of whom they are selling. They can do nothing for the customer. They dont have the power to even raise a simple escalation to higher authorities. In the digital era, we have to write a "letter" to their PO Box in Ohio to make a complaint or get any resolution!!! Even emails wont work for any complaints! Then at the very least they should stop selling any protection plans because they wash off their hands the moment a sale is made. So yes, from my personal experience and reading those of others, I strongly suggest NOT TO BUY FURNITURE FROM MACYS OR THEIR PHONY PROTECTION PLANS.

Jan Moyer you are right on the money. Every single manufacturer knows how to build an upholstered piece the right way, it's not a secret and it's not rocket science. However this is a price-driven industry and the consumer demands lower prices, so most these companies respond accordingly. There are only two ways to lower the cost of the build 1) Reduce you labor costs 2) Reduce your material costs. You take it out of the craftsmanship or the materials. A manufacturer will decide what level they want to produce at - and then target the build to that price point. This is very much a time-business as well, so they are always looking for ways to make it faster to save on labor cost to meet target goals. The result is shortcuts and elimination of time-honored techniques and materials. How much can they eliminate in the cost to build is a meeting they have in staff every single week? Dealers demand it because they have the pressure from the retail consumer. However, everything they reduce - takes away from the quality of the build in one form or another. At some point down the line, they're are producing junk that goes to the landfill rather quickly. Companies that are publicly held and traded on the stock market are under enormous pressure to maximize profits for stockholders. Those that are privately held much less so, depending on what the owner wants to do. Best example I know of this is Hancock and Moore, which was started by Jack Glasheen and Jimmy Moore when they were fed up with the cutbacks at Classic Leather in the early 1980's and decided to go out together and build a new company that doesn't take shortcuts. I know both of them quite well personally and they have never wavered in the quest to build the best in the industry and also take care of any issues that may pop up from time to time. They very soon took over from Classic Leather as the # 1 builder in the USA. Jack and Jimmy retired a few years ago and sold the company, but not just to anyone. There were many who wanted to buy it, but they would only sell to someone who has the same beliefs and would continue the legacy of the build. That was Alex Shuford at Century, who runs his companies the same way. That's why H&M is now a part of Rock House Brands, the parent holding company. I don't carry poor or mediocre brands in my store. I know what makes a good piece of furniture in the 34th year of doing this and I build relationships with both my suppliers and customers, not just "make sales". I know that cheap sofas go to the landfill quickly, good ones actually cost less over time as they are serviceable for many years. It's my job to show clients what makes a good piece of furniture and what they are getting for their money so they can make an informed decision. Knowledge is Power. Empower the consumer through education, which is also why I participate in forums like this and run one myself. How strongly do I believe in that? I even have a cut-away of a Hancock and Moore chair in my store that I had custom made to show those interested how its made. Once you know the right way to do it, it's easy to spot the poorly made stuff. For the most part "you get what you pay for" in this industry. - Duane Collie