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Bassett’s Dawson Lane Marquee vs. Haverty’s Wrangler brand – Which Leather Reclining Sofa is Better?

By Jeff Frank

Question:

I am looking at a Bassett Dawson Lane Marquee leather reclining sofa and recliner from Nebraska Furniture Mart vs a Wrangler leather reclining sofa and recliner from Haverty’s.

How can I compare these two sofas?

Answer:

Bassett and Wrangler are similar in quality.

The Wrangler reclining sofa and recliner are made in Vietnam.

The Wrangler sofa is exclusive to Haverty’s.

Other Wrangler sofas are also available, made by different manufacturers.

It is difficult to tell where the Dawson Lane Marquee is made.

Most Bassett sofa are made in the USA.

Both of these reclining furniture brands are using “leather match.”

They are not all-leather.

Leather match seating uses genuine top grain leather, but only for the parts of the furniture that you touch.

This includes the seat, back cushions & inside arms.

The rest of the sofas & recliners is a matching vinyl.

Using leather match, rather than all-leather, reduces the retail price by $200 – $300 for a reclining sofa in this style.

Leather match uses the least expensive top grain leathers available.

For a more detailed description of “leather match” see my blog article, Is leather match the same as bonded leather?

The Wrangler sofa describes its cushions as using 2.0 density foam.

The Dawson Lane sofa does not specify foam density. That almost always indicates the use of 1.8 density foam.

2.0 density foam usually lasts 1 – 2 years longer than 1.8 density foam.

These two reclining couches are very similar.

I would choose the Dawson Lane over the Wrangler.

The Dawson Lane is 84″ long and weighs 293 lbs.

The Wrangler is 87″ long and weighs only 229 lbs.

That is a substantial difference.

It indicates to me that the Dawson Lane will be more durable overall (except for the cushions.)

Reclining sofas in this price range have the shortest lifespan and highest complaint rate of any type of furniture.

The average lifespan for mid-range reclining sofas is 3 – 5 years.

The #1 problem is that the standard 1.8 density polyurethane foam seat cushions lose their resilience and comfort.

The loss of resilience and comfort sometimes begins within one year after purchase.

The sofa’s overall durability is affected by the size of the people sitting on the furniture and how often the furniture is used.

Reclining sofas in this price range almost always have non-removable seat cushions.

Non-removable cushions cannot be replaced economically.

The photo shown above is the Bassett Dawson Lane Marquee reclining sofa and loveseat.

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2 thoughts on “Bassett’s Dawson Lane Marquee vs. Haverty’s Wrangler brand – Which Leather Reclining Sofa is Better?”

    • None.
      You are asking about “power” reclining sofas.
      Most power reclining sofas have non-removable seats, including many of the most expensive ones.

      Last month I attended the High Point International Furniture Market. While I was there I stopped in at the showrooms for 15 of the 18 brands reviewed in my article.

      One question that I asked in every space was, “How long do you expect your power reclining mechanisms to last?”
      Most of the time I couldn’t get an answer to this question. Those who did typically said, “About 5 years.”

      None of the brands, including the most expensive, would say they expected their power reclining furniture to last 10 years.
      This included companies selling reclining sectionals priced at over $15,000.

      The leather on some of these reclining sofas will last more than 20 years.
      The attached seats will probably wear out in about 5 years.
      But it doesn’t make much difference, because the mechanisms probably won’t last much longer than that.

      I also asked how easy it was to get replacement parts for the mechanisms when they broke down.
      The answers were not encouraging.

      Power mechanisms are constantly being updated (which is not necessarily the same as being improved.)

      Although replacement parts for mechanisms are usually warrantied for 5 years (or sometimes lifetime) all warranties also included a clause stating that after the first year, the customer is responsible for all packing, shipping and labor charges.

      It is my experience that the cost of packing and shipping a reclining sofa (to and from the factory) can run over $2000 (not including labor charges) unless you have a special freight deal. (Large companies get 80 – 90% shipping discounts.)

      Replacement parts are not as much of a problem for manual mechanisms.
      Those are mostly made by just a few large suppliers and there are far fewer models. Some have been made for 20 years or more.

      It is easier to find removable seat cushions for reclining furniture with manual mechanisms.

      Power mechanisms have been rapidly growing in popularity.
      Many brands that used to offer manual mechanisms have dropped those models.

      Reply

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