Benny's Market Monitor
The Sofa Price Index
Since July 2026, ProperSofa records sofa prices across 45+ UK brands on a schedule — the prices, the crossed-out “was” prices, and the small print underneath them. As the record grows, this page will answer the question every sofa buyer asks: is that discount real?
How the crossed-out price actually works
Most shoppers assume “was £1,049, now £949” describes a price cut from a price previously charged. On several major UK sofa sites, the reference price is something else: a future price, scheduled to apply after the current event ends — usually rolling into the next event before it ever does. None of this is hidden; it lives in the small print. Benny just reads the small print so you don't have to.
“A discount from a price nobody has paid yet is an interesting kind of discount.” — Benny
Documented, July 2026
Product-page small print on a £679 three-seater read: “Today's offer: 06/07/2026. Summer Savings apply from 08/07/2026. After Event Price applies from 22/07/2026.” The £749 reference price was scheduled to begin two weeks in the future — a price the sofa had not been selling at.
Rolling event ladder — the “was” price is a future priceNew ranges are sold at a “Launch price” against an “After Launch Price” (e.g. £949 vs £1,049) — a comparison against a higher price that applies only after the launch period ends.
Launch price vs future “After Launch Price”Sale items are presented against an “After Sale Price” — again a forward-dated reference rather than a price previously charged.
“After Sale Price” forward referenceA “50% off” presentation was constructed against a reference derived from summing individual component prices — a configuration total most buyers would not have paid as listed.
Component-sum reference pricingMethod note: observations recorded from each retailer's public product pages and small print on the dates shown. Reference-price mechanics are disclosed by the retailers themselves; we document them so buyers can compare the price actually payable. Corrections welcome via our corrections page.
What's coming as the record grows
- Sale-length ledger — how long each brand's “limited” events actually run
- Real price trends — whether sofa prices are rising or falling, by brand and tier
- Discount honesty scores — once we hold enough months of history to be fair about it
- Black Friday audit — November's “deals” measured against October's prices
We publish trends only when the underlying history supports them — no invented baselines, no theatrical percentages. That's the whole point.
Every brand page shows when its data was last verified — look for the ✓ Data verified stamp.
Browse the 53 rated brands →