Transparency, honesty and equality are essential to Sofa Selector’s culture and rating criteria.

 

We created this site to help sofa shoppers find the couch they are looking for in the easiest way possible and increase transparency in the furniture industry. Quality reviews is essential to meeting these objectives.

 

There are literally thousands of sofas to choose from and each sofa has a wide array of specifications. That’s why we developed a standardized set of criteria to analyze each couch.

 

There are two types of reviews on this site; Sofa Reviews and Brand Review.

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Sofa Review Criteria

 

Every Sofa Selector sofa review is based on personal experience. That means a member of our team has ordered the sofa online, lived with it in her or his home.

 

Additionally, we do in depth interviews with sofa owners who’ve been living with a given couch for some time. To make sure we are comparing “apples with apples,” we use the same set of considerations in every review.

 

Each sofa is assigned an overall rating ranging from 1 to five stars. The overall number of stars is derived from the average number of stars given for the following 7 subcategories:

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Style & Design: This section focuses on the aesthetic appeal of each sofa. We consider things like historical reference, stylistic details and nifty functional elements.

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Comfort: This section is based on things like the depth of the sofa, the number of people that can realistically sit on it, cushion firmness, back support and how comfortable it is for sleeping.

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Customization: The rating for this category is based on the number of options available for any given sofa. How many fabric options are there? Is there a matching chaise lounge? Can you buy ottomans and sectionals?

 

Quality: Quality is based on materials and craftsmanship. We assess things like where the sofa is made, the types of materials used and the way joints are bound together.

 

Health & Sustainability: This section is based on how materials are sourced, the chemicals used to treat and stain the materials and related certifications.

 

Delivery and Assembly: This metric is based on the shopping experience and process of getting the sofa into your space. We consider things like the cost of delivery, scheduling convenience, delivery speed, and the amount of time it takes to assemble each sofa.

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Value: To rate overall value, we consider the aforementioned criteria against the list price. We also assess comparable products on the market and consider things like warranties and price fluctuation.

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Additionally, we include another section to help in your evaluation:

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What Customers Are Saying: For this rating we compile a representative sample of customer reviews from the company website or other places around the web. We do not write these reviews; this section is meant to give the reader a wider spectrum of opinions.  Stars are base on the average of third-party customer reviews.

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Brand Review Criteria

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The brand reviews are written by Sofa Selector team members.  Not all sofas have been purchased, so, unlike the Brand Reviews, our approach is more heavily based on research.  Our research approach includes reviewing websites, reviewing product category detail, checking better business bureau, reviewing customer reviews, calling customer service, and ordering our own Sofas.

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We assign an overall star rating to each brand (5 stars max), which is based on the average of the following five considerations. 

 

Quality: Sofa Selector considers the materials and craftsmanship throughout each brand’s portfolio of sofa product offerings. Some brands offer a variety a quality within their catalogue, which we also consider.

 

Design: Design is based on the creative direction of the brand itself. We consider things like whether the brand develops its own styles as well as the overall suitability for different types of living spaces (ie office, home, family friendly…)

 

Customer Experience: This metric considers customer service, shipping, comfort, delivery, assembly, additional fees, financing options, return policy, warranty.

 

Sustainability and Safety: This rating is based on where and how materials are sourced, packaging, corporate policy, certifications and chemical treatments.

 

Customer Reviews: This is a compilation of reviews that we have found on company websites, forums, in the news and other third party references. We do not write or alter these reviews, we seek to provide an honest spectrum of consumer insight and base the rating on that.

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We are constantly striving to improve our ratings and reviews. If you think we left something out or want to comment on our review criteria we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach and and share your thoughts via the contact us page.