Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE AFTER ONE YEAR AT THE END OF ORIGINAL REVIEW: ORIGINAL REVIEW: I am very pleased with this sofa-- it came in a huge box that is the length of the sofa, and weighed about 100 pounds, so if ordered, I suggest having two people ready to carry it into your home. I live on the third floor, and without a very helpful neighbor, I would have had no chance to bring it in, as the UPS driver was unable to carry it with me. So, I wasn't expecting a super high quality couch for under 500$, but I was pleasantly surprised that this one is solid and comfy when put together. I think a lot depends on how well you can put it together, because it does require assembly. It can be done by one or two persons, and my husband got it together in less than an hour, although he is very experienced with such things. Still, it is nice that the customer has the option to really put it together and make a solid couch. I suggest paying close attention to tightening all the bolts. There is no heavy work to do, just screwing in bolts with the included allen wrench, putting the box springs in, etc. It comes in several pieces, and one thing that I think other customers might be concerned about is that the cover gets stuffed with the coil springs, and then just velcro-ed to the bottom. Really, it looks nice and you wouldn't know that it is just velcro-ed on, but I could see that being a bother to some people. Also, the arm cushions have a strip of velcro to hold them in position on the sides of the couch, and if you sit down vigorously, the velcro sometimes comes unfastened, which is a little annoying. I think it is necessary to have them like this so that it can fold down to a bed, but that is the least aesthetically appealing part of the whole thing. It folds nicely to a bed, and is comfy enough to sleep on. The microfiber cover is soft and nice, and looks contemporary and good. This might not be important to all customers, but I read on the company website that they are relatively environmnentally friendly--From their website: "Handy Living is building a new kind of sofa, one that can be delivered in a box to your doorstep, one that can sustain your family, and then help sustain the environment. All Handy Living sofas are designed with high quality components, but are also designed for responsible disposal after their useful life. No more sofas on the curb. Simply disassemble, separate the parts and recycle." This is really great, because I have seen so many sofas being taken to the landfill to slowly break down. Also, I want to note that there is no chemical smell with this sofa, which others complained of in reviews for other sofas in this price range, but from different brands. That is important to me as well. All-in-all, I would recommend this sofa to almost anyone looking for a quality sofa at a really great price, or to those who don't want to have to pay for expensive delivery. Delivery was free with amazon prime, which blew me away. I've never had such a large item delivered without a huge cost. One final note: It takes a bit for the cushions to "decompress"- what I mean is that when first out of the box, the cushions were compressed a lot, and have plumped up a lot after we put it together. The instructions (which were reasonably clear) said that they will fully decompress in 48-72 hours. The only people I wouldn't recommend this for would be someone who couldn't handle the construction, and couldn't find someone to help. It is not especially difficult, but I am sure some people could struggle with it, especially to get the bolts tight enough. Still, I don't think many people will be disappointed. Sorry for the long review, but there were no reviews when I was shopping for sofas, and I wanted to include as much as possible. Comment if you have questions, and I will try my best to answer. Also, I will update after 6 months or so to see how well it holds up. UPDATE AFTER 13 MONTHS: see comment below, or read the following. I would revise to give it 3.5 or 4 stars. Thanks! It's been a little more than a year since we purchased this sofa, and I am still mostly happy with it. But there is one big issue, not with the cushions going flat, but with the springs get out of shape. This is largely because I tend to read while perched on the couch with my feet tucked under me, putting pressure sideways on the springs. Yes, my parents told me not to sit like that as a child, but I didn't heed their warnings and this caused an area of the couch to be pushed out of shape. The springs are individually set next to each other, so they can get bent sideways more easily. The quick fix for this problem was to turn the spring part around so that the part that was under the seat is now along the back rest, but this is still something that is a bit of a bother. It is still a comfortable and functional couch for the price, but I would not recommend it as wholeheartedly as I did a year ago. My husband said that if the springs were tied to each other somehow, this problem could be avoided. I will add that if you do not sit on it improperly, you might never have this issue. Also, as a guest sofa, or a sofa that is not used daily, it would likely last for a long long time. In addition, we do not have children, but I can imagine that they might get the springs out of whack as well. All in all, still a decent couch for the price. Much better than a horrible futon, and still glad that it is made in the USA. If you can afford it though, it might be worth holding out a little longer for a more expensive sofa. Happy couch hunting!