Fortress Seating

gazza982 · 28-06-2006, 9:33 AM

I'm looking for a new HT sofa for the family room and spotted www.fortressseating.com. They have a range called the Matinee with deco retractable center arms which can have reading lights and whole array of options fitted. I'm hoping that the seats recline as well as it would be perfect for this room.

Has anyone imported from them or any other US company? Would appreciate any advice!!!

ballavarkish · 30-06-2006, 7:16 PM

I don't know much about Fortress seating, but they are obviously high quality and have a very good reputation. I did though import a set of Berkline chairs into the UK, so can tell you how we got on.

You preferably need to find a dealer who has exported to Europe before; we couldn't find a Berkline dealer who had. They should then know which shippers to use, how to specify UK voltage (if you get auto-recline), how to fill out the export forms, etc. The dealer we went with had never exported before but was willing to try. He got a quote from his normal shippers which was very high. We asked him to check out the shippers that SVS and Carada used, Bax Global, and managed to halve the original quote. In the end the shipping cost wasn't as high as we had feared, at a little under $300 per chair (beginning 2004).

One thing we found very difficult was choosing a colour, as you can't see a complete chair in the material/colour you want and choosing from photos or small samples of leather is a bit of a lottery.

Incidentally, there is no import duty on chairs, so all you're liable for are the chairs, shipping and VAT.

Good luck,
Gerry

gazza982 · 30-06-2006, 7:53 PM

Thanks for that Gerry, several useful pointers there.

They have emailed me prices/options and are very helpful. They are checking out shipping so I will suggest BAX global thanks to you.

How have you found the Berklines over the last couple of years?

ballavarkish · 01-07-2006, 10:04 PM

We've been very impressed with them. All the chairs have auto-recline, and no problems at all. No apparent wear so far, and very comfortable.

And Fortress are reputed to be quite a bit better.

28-06-2006, 9:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
gazza982 Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 205 My movie collection iTrader: (0) Thanks: Gave 0, Got 0	Fortress Seating I'm looking for a new HT sofa for the family room and spotted www.fortressseating.com. They have a range called the Matinee with deco retractable center arms which can have reading lights and whole array of options fitted. I'm hoping that the seats recline as well as it would be perfect for this room. Has anyone imported from them or any other US company? Would appreciate any advice!!! __________________ Bryston SP1.7,2 x Bryston 7B SSTs,Bryston 6B SST,B&W 800s/HTM2D/803D,Arcam DV27A(SDI).Pioneer 50MXE-1 & 503MXE,Lumagen VisionPro HDP,Marantz CD7, Nordost Valhalla I/Cs/Speaker cable.

30-06-2006, 7:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
gazza982 Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 205 My movie collection iTrader: (0) Thanks: Gave 0, Got 0	Thanks for that Gerry, several useful pointers there. They have emailed me prices/options and are very helpful. They are checking out shipping so I will suggest BAX global thanks to you. How have you found the Berklines over the last couple of years? __________________ Bryston SP1.7,2 x Bryston 7B SSTs,Bryston 6B SST,B&W 800s/HTM2D/803D,Arcam DV27A(SDI).Pioneer 50MXE-1 & 503MXE,Lumagen VisionPro HDP,Marantz CD7, Nordost Valhalla I/Cs/Speaker cable.

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30-06-2006, 7:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
ballavarkish New Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 9 My movie collection iTrader: (0) Thanks: Gave 0, Got 0	I don't know much about Fortress seating, but they are obviously high quality and have a very good reputation. I did though import a set of Berkline chairs into the UK, so can tell you how we got on. You preferably need to find a dealer who has exported to Europe before; we couldn't find a Berkline dealer who had. They should then know which shippers to use, how to specify UK voltage (if you get auto-recline), how to fill out the export forms, etc. The dealer we went with had never exported before but was willing to try. He got a quote from his normal shippers which was very high. We asked him to check out the shippers that SVS and Carada used, Bax Global, and managed to halve the original quote. In the end the shipping cost wasn't as high as we had feared, at a little under $300 per chair (beginning 2004). One thing we found very difficult was choosing a colour, as you can't see a complete chair in the material/colour you want and choosing from photos or small samples of leather is a bit of a lottery. Incidentally, there is no import duty on chairs, so all you're liable for are the chairs, shipping and VAT. Good luck, Gerry

01-07-2006, 10:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
ballavarkish New Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 9 My movie collection iTrader: (0) Thanks: Gave 0, Got 0	We've been very impressed with them. All the chairs have auto-recline, and no problems at all. No apparent wear so far, and very comfortable. And Fortress are reputed to be quite a bit better.