Trace Convert-a-Couch Brown Microfiber Futon Sofa Sleeper

I purchased this futon/sofa bed for my casual living room/family room, and so far, it's performing well. It gets plenty of use on a daily basis and is holding up nicely. I have a guest staying for a week, and it goes from sofa to bed to sofa again very easily, and is comfortable to sleep on. It's very firm, but that's my preference for sitting and sleeping. I placed the order on 7/27, it shipped on 7/30, it was delivered on 8/02. The sofa arrived in one very large and heavy box; if the UPS guy didn't bring it into the house, I would have had to unpack the box on my front porch and bring the pieces in one by one, but I wouldn't have minded doing that. However, if you live in an upper level apartment/condo, you will either need assistance bringing the entire box up the stairs/in the elevator, or unpack the box and bring the pieces up one by one. The box was banged up in many places, but the contents were protected by very rigid cardboard pieces placed in the corners of the box. There was some thin padding material throughout, but it was unnecessary. The sofa pieces were held together tightly with several wide nylon straps (think luggage straps) which have to be cut. You MUST BE CAREFUL when cutting these straps because they can "snap back" at you if you're standing too close and you can get hurt. The back and seat cushions are in a vacuum-sealed bag, so they're very compressed. Once you open the bag, they will expand to their regular form. The other sofa components are in plastic bags as well. Assembly was very simple, but I've assembled many pieces of furniture over the years. Although, even if you've never assembled a piece of furniture, just take your time reading the instructions, lay everything out, and you'll be fine. A hex-wrench tool is included and it's all you need to put the sofa together, but if you have a ratcheting driver with the appropriate hex-bit, it makes the process go faster. I wouldn't recommend a drill for this because it would give you less control. For most of the assembly, I worked alone, but a second person would be very helpful, and again, it would make the process go faster. The pieces and parts were clearly labeled and the instructions with illustrations were clear as well. Some parts already had their hardware installed, and on one of them, the wrong hardware had been installed. I made it work and I don't foresee a future problem as it's a cosmetic fix and will not affect the functionality of the sofa, but if you're not handy, you should have Overstock send out a replacement part, which they will do at no additional charge to you. Another slight con is with the wood feet that have to be screwed into the armrest sides. The screw in one of the wood feet was installed at an angle and did not screw into the armrest straight, but I screwed it in as far as it would go and it will hold up just fine. You may also have a slight problem screwing the wood feet all the way in because of the way the fabric is stapled onto the undersides of the armrest. The fabric and staples create some bulk which may get in the way of the wood feet being screwed in as far as they will go. The only future problem I can imagine is, if you frequently move the sofa by pushing it around then the wood feet will loosen. But, if you and a helper lift and carry the sofa to move it, that simple step will eliminate the problem. At the very least, if you have to move the sofa by pushing it, use furniture "movers" that you put under the feet of the sofa to slide it around with ease. Once fully assembled, you will notice a small gap between the seat cushion and the armrests. There really is no way around this as it's necessary to have that little space for ease of movement in switching from sofa to futon. It's barely noticeable and is not a problem for me. The padded sofa cover slips on easily and stays on securely. The microfiber fabric is durable, a beautiful chocolate brown (think Hershey Bar), and easy to keep clean; spills remain on the surface and are easily wiped away with a damp cloth. The two standard 18-inch square throw pillows that come with sofa are nicely filled, and while I'm not thrilled with the fabric of the pillow-covers (shiny polyester that snags easily), alternate covers can be purchased at any number of retail stores. The seat cushion will obviously get more wear than the back cushion, so I will rotate them at some point for consistency, and the configuration of the sofa allows for that to be done easily. All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase. The price was kind to my budget, delivery was speedy, assembly was simple, and it will serve it's purpose quite well. For how long? We'll see!