The questions we are asked most. If yours is not here, WhatsApp us — you will get a person, not a ticket number.
What exactly do I get for the price?
It depends which suite you are looking at, and the product page spells it out piece by piece. The Cordoba, for example, is a complete three-piece suite: a 3-seater, a 2-seater and a single chair, six seats in total of which five recline — the centre seat of the 3-seater is fixed. Whatever you choose, there is nothing else to buy to complete it.
What does a recliner suite cost in South Africa?
Ours are priced openly: the Cordoba three-piece suite is R19 799 in air leather and R49 999 in top grain genuine leather. Both are complete suites — a 3-seater, a 2-seater and a single chair — with nothing else to buy.
The price includes the part you cannot see: a solid pine and plywood frame, glued and fixed with both screws and staples, pocket springs under high-density foam with zig-zag springs beneath, and an imported steel reclining mechanism fitted in our Johannesburg factory. Delivery is priced by province and shown before you pay, from R999 in Gauteng; collection from Johannesburg South is free.
When you compare prices elsewhere, ask three things: which panels are hide, what the frame is made of, and what sits under the seat foam.
Are the recliners electric? Is manual or electric better?
The Cordoba is hand-operated, with a handle on the outside of each reclining seat: no motor, no cable, no transformer and nothing to plug in — which means nothing stops working when the power does, and you can put it anywhere in the room rather than near a plug point.
Neither type is simply better. A manual recliner has less to fail and works in a power cut. A powered recliner is easier for someone with limited strength, and each piece needs a plug point within reach. The product page always says which action a suite has. If you want a powered recliner, ask us what we can do.
Will it fit through my door?
Yes. Your suite is delivered boxed with the backs and wings detached, so it goes through standard doorways, up staircases and around tight corners in pieces, then assembles in your lounge.
Can the backs come off again later, for moving house?
Yes. Each back and wing clips onto its base. To take one off, press the release tab first and then lift — do not force it. That is how your suite arrived, and it is the easiest way to move it to a new house or through a difficult doorway.
What colours do you have?
Air leather — Black, Grey, Brown, Biscuit and Blue. Genuine leather — Tan. Stock changes, so message us to check what is on the floor today.
What is the difference between air leather and genuine leather?
Air leather is a hard-wearing man-made upholstery. It is not animal hide, and we say so rather than letting the word do work it has not earned. It wipes clean, it takes daily punishment from children and pets, and it costs a fraction of hide.
Genuine leather is real hide — ours is top grain, the outer and strongest layer of the skin — and on the Cordoba it is on every panel, including the backs — not leather where you sit and vinyl where you don’t look.
Air leather or genuine leather?
| Feature | Air leather | Genuine leather |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Man-made upholstery. Not animal hide | Top grain hide on every panel, including the backs and sides |
| Look and feel | Consistent colour and finish | Natural grain and tone; varies from hide to hide |
| Everyday care | Wipe with a warm, damp cloth and dry off | Damp cloth, water only; condition every 6 to 12 months |
| Warranty | 1 year | 2 years |
| Colours | Grey, Brown, Black, Biscuit, Blue (sold out) | Tan |
| Price, 3-Piece suite | R19 799 | R49 999 |
Both are built on the same frame, springs and mechanism. The difference is the covering, and the price follows it.
Is air leather real leather?
No. Air leather is a man-made upholstery: a polyurethane surface on a fabric backing, with no animal hide in it. We say so on every product page. It wipes clean with a warm damp cloth, every panel matches, and it needs no conditioner. It is the range most of our customers choose, and the chair underneath it is the same chair we put under hide: the same solid pine and plywood frame, the same pocket springs and high-density foam, the same imported steel mechanism. The full comparison is in our Leather Buyer’s Guide.
Does air leather peel or crack? How long does it last?
Sunlight, heat and harsh detergents are what damage a coated surface, and damage to a coating is permanent, because it cannot be re-finished the way hide can. Keep it out of direct sun, a metre from any heater, and clean it with a warm damp cloth and water only.
We do not publish a lifespan figure for any covering. We have no laboratory abrasion test to point at, and we would rather say so than invent a number. Wear to the covering is not a warranty item — with us or with any manufacturer we know of. The warranty covers the frame, the mechanism and the stitching.
Look after it the way our air leather care guide describes — water only, no harsh detergents, away from heat and out of direct sun — and expect it to last. Most of what shortens a coated surface’s life is done to it, not by it.
Is top grain leather good for a sofa? Does it peel?
Top grain is the outer, strongest layer of the hide, lightly sanded to even out blemishes and sealed with a protective finish. That is what our genuine leather range is, on every panel, including the backs and outside arms. Hide itself does not peel. Peeling is a coating coming away from its backing, which is what bonded leather and worn man-made surfaces do.
What top grain asks of you is a pH-neutral conditioner every six to twelve months, or it dries and can crack; that is a condition of the two-year warranty. It marks more readily than a coated surface, most marks settle into character, and a specialist can usually clean it back and re-colour it years later.
What does “leather uppers” mean on a couch? And what is bonded leather?
“Leather uppers” means the parts you sit on and lean against are leather, and the parts you are less likely to touch — the outside arms, the back panels, sometimes the cushion sides — are something else, usually a man-made material chosen to match. It is a disclosure in the smallest words available. Ask which panels are hide. On our genuine leather suites the answer is every panel, and you can check by tipping a piece on its side.
Bonded leather is leather fibre ground up and bonded with polyurethane onto a fabric backing. It is closer to chipboard than to timber, and it is the material most often behind a peeling sofa.
Why might the colour look different at home?
Screens vary, and leather varies naturally in grain and tone from hide to hide. If exact colour matters, ask us for extra photographs or a live video call before you order — both are free, and both are better than guessing.
Can I see one before I buy?
Yes. Our showroom is in Johannesburg South and you are welcome to walk in during opening hours — Mon–Thu 7:30–16:00, Fri 7:30–13:00 and 14:30–16:00, Sat 9:00–13:30. Message us first if you want a particular colour out and ready.
Too far to visit? Ask for a live video walkaround. One of us stands at the suite with a phone and shows you whatever you want to see — the grain up close, the stitching, the back panels, the mechanism opening and closing. Free, about ten minutes.
Is there a Glyde-X showroom near me?
There is one showroom, in Johannesburg South. What is standing on the floor changes from week to week, and there is more on it than this website lists — so if you have a colour or a design in mind, message us first and we will tell you what is in. If you are anywhere near Johannesburg you are welcome to walk in during opening hours, and you do not need an appointment.
If you are nowhere near Johannesburg, nothing about buying changes. We deliver to every province in South Africa on our trucks, priced by province at checkout, and collection from Johannesburg is free if you would rather fetch it yourself. Before you decide, ask for a live video walkaround so you are not buying from photographs alone.
How long does delivery take?
In Gauteng, usually within 5 working days. Everywhere else your suite travels on our next scheduled run to your area — we send our trucks on planned routes rather than handing your furniture to a courier.
Once your payment reflects we email you a three working day window rather than a single date, because a hold-up at one stop moves everything behind it. For the exact day, WhatsApp us on 083 378 7864 a day or two before.
What does delivery cost?
It is priced by province and shown at checkout before you pay, from R999 in Gauteng for one suite. Because it is one trip, each extra suite on the same delivery adds only 30% of that rate — a second suite to Gauteng adds R300, to the Western Cape R2 100. Collection from our Johannesburg South premises is free. Farms, smallholdings, rural addresses and anything beyond 1 200km are quoted individually — see Request a Delivery Quote.
Can I get delivery cheaper?
Often, yes. If you are not in a hurry, ask about a shared load — we put your suite on a truck already heading your way. It takes longer and we cannot fix a date up front, but on a long-distance delivery it is usually the biggest saving available.
How do I pay?
By card, by instant EFT, or with your phone. At checkout you can pay by card — Visa, Mastercard or American Express — by instant EFT straight from your banking app, or with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay in a single tap. Capitec Pay, SnapScan, Zapper, QR-code apps, Mobicred and RCS store cards are there too. All of these run through Payfast, and your order is confirmed as soon as the payment clears.
Prefer a direct EFT? Place your order and we send our banking details. Pay from your bank app or internet banking using your order number as the reference, send proof of payment to accounts@glydex.co.za, and we confirm your delivery window.
Do you charge VAT?
No. Glyde X (Pty) Ltd is not a registered VAT vendor, so no VAT is added to your order and none is included in the prices you see. The price on the product page is the price you pay, plus delivery.
It also means we cannot issue a VAT invoice. You will receive an ordinary invoice showing no VAT, which cannot be used to claim input tax. If you need this for a business purchase, please speak to us before you order.
How do I look after it?
Both: no harsh detergents, solvents, bleach or saddle soap. Keep out of direct sunlight and at least a metre from heaters. Blot spills immediately rather than rubbing. Do not sit on the arms or the footrest, and close the recliner fully before moving it.
Full care instructions specific to your material are on your product page.
What is the warranty?
It depends on the material and the mechanism, and the period that applies to your purchase is on the product page — currently one year on air leather and two years on genuine leather. It covers manufacturing defects in the frame, mechanism and stitching. See our Warranty page.
How much weight can a recliner hold?
Every seat on the Cordoba is rated to 130 kg. That rating sits on a solid pine and plywood frame, glued and fixed with both screws and staples, with high-density foam over pocket springs and zig-zag springs beneath. Six seats in total across the three pieces, five of which recline. The arms and the footrest are not seats: please do not sit on them.
Not every mechanism is built the same. Thinner steel and lighter rivets save a manufacturer money, and show up later as play in the footrest and a seat that will not hold its position. Ours is imported steel, fitted in our Johannesburg factory, and the 130 kg rating is for every seat with it.
How long should a recliner last?
We do not put a number on it, because we have no laboratory test to point at and would rather say so. What decides it is use and handling. Close the footrest by pushing it back steadily with your legs until it locks, rather than kicking it shut, and do not let it bang closed. Do not sit on the arms or the footrest. Keep the covering out of direct sun and away from heaters. Feed hide every six to twelve months; wipe air leather with water only. A suite treated like that is what the frame, springs and mechanism were built for.
Can a recliner be repaired? Can the mechanism be replaced?
Yes. The mechanism is imported steel fitted in our Johannesburg factory, and a fault in it is ours to put right, inside the warranty and after it. So far, no Cordoba has come back to us with a mechanism fault.
We also use a common type of pull handle and release cable on purpose, so a replacement is easy to find — from us, or even from Takealot — rather than a part only one importer holds.
Why does my recliner squeak, or not stay reclined?
First check that every clip on the back and the wings is seated properly. A back that is not fully home is the usual cause of a creak or a wobble. If the footrest will not lift or will not stay up, the two common causes are a broken handle or a release cable that has come out of its socket or gone loose. Both are quick fixes with common parts. Send us a short video on WhatsApp and we will tell you what it is.
Are recliners good or bad for back pain?
A recliner takes your legs up and your weight off the base of the spine, which many people find comfortable for an evening. Whether it helps a particular back is a question for your doctor or physiotherapist, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we can tell you is what you would be sitting on: a seat 560 mm wide and 540 mm deep, 500 mm off the floor, arms at 650 mm, high-density foam over pocket springs so the seat pushes back rather than sinking. The best test is to sit in one. Our showroom is in Johannesburg South, or ask for a free video call and we will recline it for you on camera.
Do you supply trade or bulk?
Yes — hospitality, offices and developers. Email hello@glydex.co.za with quantities, timelines and delivery locations and we will quote you.
How do I reach you fastest?
WhatsApp 083 378 7864 during business hours. Call the sales team on the same number, or email hello@glydex.co.za for anything with paperwork attached.
Last updated 1 September 2026. Nothing on this page limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. Where anything here conflicts with those Acts, the Acts apply.