Beware of Blockers / Beware of " leather "
 

We have two identical "leather " recliners purchased from Blockers in Ocala three years ago. Cost $1740 with "FIVE year warranty" . One of them has the leather peeling off like paint on an old ,old house; the other is pristine . It turns out that contrary to what we were told, the warranty says " chipping of veneers or laminates" are covered and in the next column near the bottom, it excludes " cracking or peeling of leather" . Now, we discover that the covering of "leather" is called " bonded leather" a .002 " thick covering of vinyl over a base of bonded leather scraps and chips of leather . Total thickness where unpeeled is .029" . Newspaper is .003" thick , so the vinyl is pretty comparable to a spray painted coating !
They did offer to redo the armrests and back for $ 250 , but why would anyone waste more money ? I'm looking for a craftsman to reupholstery my recliner - - .
Buy Naugahyde or vinyl, or cowhide , but beware of " bonded" and most of all ; Beware of Blockers ! ! !
My phone number is (352) 751-3003

We made a similar mistake in 2011, but with Kanes in Ocala, which is located between Blockers and Rooms to Go. We bought 2 matching recliners and sofa with reclining end seats in dark brown leather, or what we thought was leather. A year later I gave the sofa to a neighbor because I wanted two armrests and went back to Kanes and bought a console loveseat that was powered.

By 2014 all three pieces began peeling. I began reading online and found out what we had was bonded leather. I soon received a letter from Kanes in the mail that had good news. Kanes was sued by a group in Tampa and I was part of the class action suit. The bad news, if I don't do anything and go along with the settlement I'll receive $70 in store credit, that's it.

By this past April we were so tired of looking at that furniture we went to Babettes and Havertys looking for only real leather furniture. A console loveseat with power was going to cost about $1700 and a recliner almost a $1,000. These were a little more than we could afford, but we just so happen to get a flyer in the newspaper for Badcock Furniture. They advertised vinyl console loveseat for $698 and matching recliner for $398, but not powered. They had power but for $200 more for each piece. We went over to their Wildwood store and took a look, tried the manual reclining and felt the poly material and we liked what we saw. They had cream or dark brown, so went with the cream and bought two recliners and a loveseat all total for $1500. The fact that it wasn't real leather didn't really matter as much as it looked clean, had nice lines and was comfortable to sit in, and we hadn't invested a whole lot of money.

Hamilton Cream Gliding Console Loveseat | Badcock &more

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There are several stores selling BONDED leather, so the buyer needs to make sure that what they are buying is REAL leather. If the sales person was stating real leather and selling bonded, then this is wrong. It appears many sales people maybe just saying 'leather' without providing the clarification to the buyer.

Thank you so much for your reply ! Both pieces look very nice . I have much better feelings for Naugahyde or vinyl . They are both proven . Like you, we can't afford to do this twice , so we'll wait a bit and look first . Sorry you got bitten also. Gary

Thank you also "Village Tinker ". They should not be allowed to call this leather since it bears no resemblance . Hope my post may warn someone else before they get taken in . Thanks again ! Gary

Re: Bonded leather
 

It seems from your post, you were aware that you were buying bonded leather. Perhaps, they offered real leather upholstery but that would have been far more expensive.

Bonded leather is basically ground up leather waste that is glued, bonded, together and then it is spray painted over.

RE: Naugahyde
I don't think it is even made any more. It became popular for car interiors about 1963. There are some good looking vinyl materials used to cover chairs but they do not breathe as real leather does.

RE: getting your seats recovered
Sadly, if they were inexpensive quality pieces it is probably not worth the cost to recover them.

Beware-a lot of what is sold as leather upholstered is as you found bonded leather or if it is real leather the sides and bottoms are matching bonded leather or vinyl.

Beware of Blockers / Beware of " leather "
 

The Nauga beast has been extinct since 1969. Too many GTO's were equipped with this rare natural upholstery.


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Don't have it reupholstered. It is cheaper to buy new and I say avoid leather and get something still durable and surprisingly wipe-able like velvet.

Beware of Blockers / Beware of " leather "
 

Wipe-able velvet Elvis, to go with the velvet chairs.

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After reading Gary's post, I don't see how you can say that. When we bought our furniture from Kanes in 2011 we also went to Blockers and Rooms to Go since they are all side by side. When we went to Blockers, we liked their leather console recliners but left because it was $500 more than Kanes, and at that time both stores told us it was leather. We didn't buy from Rooms to Go because they didn't have power in the loveseats, and we liked that feature.

Gary: that sale at Badcock is still going on now. It's great material, wipes off easy, and looks just like it does in the photo. They also have a darker brown if the cream color is not what you like. For $398 I don't think you can beat this. I've seen cheap recliners at Walmart and Sam's Club and they look cheap, this looks much more expensive.

Hamilton Glider Recliner | Badcock &more

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We also bought bonded leather furniture from Kanes a few years ago and it all peeled within 2 years. We threw it away. Then I found out about the class action suit and joined it. They asked for my documentation on dates and all and price but haven't heard from them. I received two letters the second saying the amount I would receive which would be the purchase price in store credit. I am still waiting. I will be placing a call to them on Monday as I read the suit had been settled. I think there was more than one suit against them.

If I remember correctly, the letter said if you had called and complained within the first year you could receive up to full price back. However, after the first year it said something like 3% of the price in store credit. Two recliners, a love seat and a sofa for about $3000 total, I figured probably $70. I don't even want their store credit, I don't ever plan on walking back into a Kanes ever again.

I sold furniture for a short time back int he 80s and was educated on what bonded leather is.

Don't make the mistake of believing that it has anything in common real leather furniture.

I think you will find that if it says "Top Grain Leather" it will be leather... otherwise it will be bonded.. those pieces of furniture advertised as Top Grain Leather are almost always double the price of bonded leather... just a little hint for you when shopping for leather.

Had a similar peeling experience on a recliner from Ashley, however when I notified them, they sent a repairman and replaced the covers at no cost.