Would you buy a sofa you haven’t sat on?

[TooleyVanDooley]

I love the shape of it, it meets all my criteria (no loose back cushions, arms low enough to lie comfortably on it, arms not so wide that precious sofa space is wasted) and it will fit perfectly.

But the nearest showroom is about a 5 and a half hour round trip away. And I don’t even know if they definitely have it there. I can phone to find out, but even so it’s a long drive and I’d rather not use a whole day doing it. But, it’s a lot of money and I would like to see it in the flesh and sit on it.

I can’t decide what to do. Would you take the risk and order it?

I bought one from Sofasofa - just the one showroom, in South Wales

It’s fine (& the photos/ swatches were dead on). But they do allow returns if not happy.

I have one very similar. There is now a triplet group here. Mine is so brilliant to lie on (low arms) and small arms too.
Hmmm just from the photo I can imagine that being comfy but also quite hard maybe too hard for me - I wouldn’t buy that particular one from a photo.

@othervoicesotherrooms

This is mine. I got 2 sets of covers (1 grey, 1 green) plus arm caps - a big plus point for me 😊

sofasofa.co.uk/newport/newport-2-seater-sofa.html

Their terms state you can return it in the event you don't like it. might cost you £40 to do so though.

No way.

I saw a sofa online that looked perfect for the living room. I live rurally in Australia, the shop is a 2 and a half hour drive away so it was tempting to just order it online. Decided to drive down for look and check out other shops and thank god, it was the most bloody uncomfortable thing ever.
I actually ended up with one from the same shop that I'd completely overlooked online.
Sitting on it now.

I did however buy a Nissan Patrol from a different state. Mind you, it was on good recommemdation but I didn't test drive it. Flew up and drove it home over 24 hours.

Spend a grand on a sofa without sitting it on it- nah.
Spend a few grand on a car without test driving- yeah, no probs

Hi OP,
The sofa looks nice but personally I couldn't spend that kind of money without trying it first.
I would check it's in stock and make the trip to try it out. I know it's a long journey but could you turn it into a night / weekend away and stay somewhere nice? Make it into mini break so it doesn't feel like a waste of your time.

It's a pain but I wouldn't - having all but decided on a couple of potential sofas recently having 'decided' they looked comfy- leapt on them with gay abandon in the showroom and both were like a block - you know that feeling when you sit down suddenly and its harder than you expected.

No I wouldn't. Also I'd want to see the fabric on a whole sofa, not just a swatch. I'd have to suck it up and do the trip to see it, I afraid. I couldn't afford to make a mistake.

No. My parents bought one online from SofaSofa and it looks nice but is solid as a rock and nobody sits on it unless they have to. I don't know why they didn't replace the seat cushions with foam but I guess they never got round to it. They were too far from the showroom to 'test drive' it, as it were.

Mine is a similar style to yours but from IKEA and I love it, it's so comfy.

TooleyVanDooley I really like that. Maybe there's someone lives near the showroom that would test it?

I did. It was awful, and after enduring it for six months, during which time it gained the name 'the misery bench', we gave it to charity (even the guys who came to collect it commented on how uncomfortable it was!) and forked out for a lovely squishy replacement that we'd actually tried.

Fairylightsandwine that is very similar, but I am a long way from York!

I'd want to see the fabric on a whole sofa, not just a swatch. I'd have to suck it up and do the trip to see it, I afraid
Quite unlikely that the showroom would have the sofa style in the fabric you wanted available, even in the showroom. Most sofas are available in half a dozen (and sometimes several dozen) different fabrics.

And really, to appreciate the fabric you need to see it in situ (ie your living room) at different times of day, so seeing it in the showroom will only give you so much information.

So, I can see how the comfiness is a risk that you can overcome by seeing the sofa in the showroom, but the fabric is less of a worry/risk that can be overcome in any practical way.

No I wouldn't! I spent ages in a sofa showroom recently and it was definitely worth it!

I wouldn't. We spent hours sitting on sofas before we found the right one. (I still don't think it's quite as comfortable as its predecessor though)

I once bought a sofa which seemed comfy in the shop (I think it was just a relief to sit down after long day of shopping). The seat foam was so hard that in the end I chucked it and replaced it with smaller foam inserts wrapped in old (cleaned) feather duvets. Bliss.
Made mental note to only choose sofas at beginning of any day when hyper critical ( as if sofa buying is regular thing !).

I did, from MADE.com.

It was far too firm and I sent it back even though it was perfect in every other way. To be fair had I read the description and reviews properly I would probably have realised this before it arrived but I was swayed by the colour, size and style.

I probably would, but my husband would not. It is a huge gamble, my friend did it, and it just wasn't comfy.

You should maybe look around for something similar that you can sit on and go for that instead.

@othervoicesotherrooms - we have a 3 seater sofa bed and 2 seater sofa from sofa sofa. Both really comfy. Dh did go and see in the Cardiff showroom though. Both about 7 years old and still going strong.

Not Cardiff. Near Newport - doh!

Bought a sofa from Argos once. It was cheap and I was desperate.

It was tiny and comfier to sit on the floor. I learned my lesson.

Next sofa was bought after sitting and lying on every sofa in every showroom. My DFS beauty cost a pound a day for three years and I still love it irrationally. Probably wouldn't have chosen same one just from pictures.