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This same basic sofa is available at Macy's covered in Microfiber for under $3000.

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=323406&CategoryID=39070

...and at Crate & Barrel in leather for $3000 with the current 25% off Fall Upholstery Sale promotional - Regularly $4000

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=936&f=8673

is it just me, or does it look extremely lumpy and poorly made? the left back-rest cushion especially looks like somebody stuffed it full of socks.

It is not just you. Why are these places charging so much for small couches? Leather is in abundance due to the amount of beef that is farmed. It is not some rare material that needs to be hoarded for a crappy little love seat.

The added expense is the superior Comfort Sleeper from American Leather. There's no comparison to the traditional bi-fold mattress sleepers, as far as comfort.

good lord, i just went back and looked at the price. for 5K i would want my furniture to look amazing, not like a lopsided laundry bag. you're right, most, if we're not paying a premium for rare endangered baby ocelot leather OR quality construction, then what the hell are we paying it for?

You are paying for their high rent spaces, $20K/month for 80 stores each. It's a killer.

My first car didn't cost that much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AT should just stop posting things DWR does. Not because I dislike DWR, but because of all the idiotic blather that inevitably follows.

Sure - Macy's carries a sleeper sofa. So doesn't Bob's Discount Furniture. And of course, because two things look similar in a 72dpi resolution internet picture they MUST be exactly the same in all ways in real life. There's a reason why Bob's Discount Furniture sells sleepers for $400.

You're paying for something made in America - not some child-labor created POS shclepped over on a container ship from China.

You're paying for leather that isnt drenched in plastic coating.

You're paying for a sleeper system that doesnt spear you in the the spinal column.

modfan: exactly.

hmm, i don't care where it's made, it still looks like it's stuffed full of socks.

Its great that Modfan has pointed out that not all sofas are created equal, and there's good reasons why paying $5000 on the grounds of quality and ethical business makes sense.

However, as the polish chick says, it looks like its stuffed with socks, and having seen one in person I can atest to the generally mediocrae quality of this and most other DWR upholstery that gets produced by American Leather (clearly show on label seen at store). AL have a sleeper with the same mechanism and detailing yet it's $3000. The leather DWR uses, Spinneybeck, is nice but not $2K more nice!

DWR charges waaay too much for American Leather products that are really only a little bit better than the American Leather at Crate&Barrel or Room&Board.

Living Divani and Flexform have the 'best' sleep sofas.. and at a little less than $7K, made in Italy, you CAN see a difference worth paying for (if you're a $5K shopper, that is).

I bought mine in Microsuade from Scott Jordan for $1800... In leather, it would have been $2700 (it was on sale). I agree that it is not the tightest sofa. I've been slightly disappointed with that. But it more than makes up for it for being comfortable. I slept on it every day for almost three years. When it became a bit uncomfortable after about a year and a half, American Leather replaced the bed part no problem (Scott Jordan's people even came in to install it). It can be taken completely apart so it's not an issue getting it through narrow New York doorways. And best of all, it allowed my last apartment, which was tiny, to not look like a dorm room when people came over and freed up much needed floor space. It really was a lifesaver. I wouldn't spend 5K on it. The DWR price is tantamount to gouging. But for $2K or so in Microsuade (Room and Board also sells it, btw), it's definitely well-worth it for those with very tight spaces.

Modfan--

I get what you're saying, but the reason I posted those specific sleepers from Macy's and Crate & Barrel are they are from the exact same manufacturer with the exact same sleeper mechanism as the featured one from DWR: American Leather

My point was that folks don't need to pay DWR's prices to get the same functionality and build quality. In addition, my experience with American Leather as a vendor (from my days selling furniture) was very positive - they stand behind their products and the quality is rather good. (I honestly believe that what appears to be a lump in the cushion is simply a reflection of light off the leather) I would have no qualms recommending their products to anyone.