Designer and Trade Program
The Uptown Sebastian Trade Program gives design professionals trade pricing on every product, with no minimum order and no project threshold. Applications are approved within one business day and you are sent your own trade discount code -- no account to create and nothing to sign into. On upholstery you can also send us your own leather or fabric. Everything is made to order in America.
To talk a project through rather than read, call 833-566-6526 or email operations@uptownsebastian.com.
What does the trade program include?
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trade discount | trade pricing every product, including sale prices |
| Minimum order | None |
| Project threshold | None -- one chair qualifies |
| Approval | One business day |
| How pricing applies | Your own trade code, entered at checkout |
| Customer account | Not required |
| Sales tax | Tax exemption available for resale buyers -- tell us when you apply |
| Your own material | Accepted on upholstery |
| Swatches | Free |
| Returns on listed sizes | 30 days, and the restocking fee is waived for trade |
| Delivery | Free curbside, continental USA, no minimum |
Who is eligible, and how do I apply?
The program is open to interior designers, architects, home stagers, builders, developers, purchasing agents and hospitality buyers. You do not need a storefront or a showroom.
Email operations@uptownsebastian.com with your business name, your website or portfolio, and two of the following:
- A current business or state professional license
- A W9, EIN or federal business ID
- A resale or sales-tax exemption certificate
We reply within one business day with your own trade discount code -- a code issued to your firm alone, which you enter at checkout on every order. There is no account to create and nothing to sign into.
If you buy for resale and need to be invoiced without sales tax, say so when you apply and send your resale certificate. Tax exemption is handled per account, so we will set that up with you directly rather than through the code.
Can I use my own leather or fabric?
Yes, on upholstery. Send us your own material and we will build the piece in it. This is the part of the program worth planning around: if a client has settled on a specific hide or a specific mill's fabric, the piece does not have to be a compromise between that choice and what is in a supplier's book.
Own-material orders are upholstery only. We cannot accept customer material for pillows, throws, rugs or outdoor furniture.
Call before you ship anything. We will confirm the yardage the frame needs, whether the material is suitable for the application, and how it affects the build time -- three questions that are much cheaper to answer before a roll is in transit than after.
What can I specify?
Every configurable choice is made on the product page, and the product page is the source of truth for a given model -- options vary from piece to piece rather than applying across the whole range.
Leather
Five grades: Standard, Premium, Signature, Elite and Supreme. Standard is the base grade and each step up carries a price increase, so grade is a budget decision as well as an aesthetic one. The color and finish palette changes with the grade, so specify grade first and color within it.
Most of the range is full-grain or top-grain leather. Full-grain keeps the entire outer layer of the hide with no sanding, which makes it the strongest option and the one that develops the most character as it ages. Top-grain has that surface buffed to remove flaws, giving a thinner, more uniform and more stain-resistant hide at a lower price. Neither is a downgrade of the other -- they answer different briefs, and which one a model uses is stated on its product page. The distinction is covered in choosing leather color, finish and feel.
Frames and construction
Frames are kiln-dried hardwood on most upholstery models. Suspension and cushion construction vary by model -- eight-way hand-tied and no-sag systems both appear in the range, as do coil-on-coil, foam and down-filled cushions. Because it varies, check the individual product page rather than assuming a house standard, and call us if a specification depends on it.
Outdoor
Outdoor furniture is manufactured in Michigan and uses all-weather resistant fibers and handwoven wicker. Cushion grades run Signature, Elite and Supreme.
How do I get samples?
Swatches are free on the trade program. Email or call with the model, the grade and the specific colors you are presenting. Tell us it is for a client presentation and give us your date -- it changes what is worth sending and when. Full detail on requesting leather samples.
One expectation to set with clients: leather is a natural material, so shade, grain and markings vary panel to panel and hide to hide. A finished piece is a close relative of the swatch, not a photocopy. Say that at presentation stage rather than at delivery stage.
What are the lead times?
| Category | Time to ship |
|---|---|
| Made-to-order furniture | 8-10 weeks on average |
| Pillows | 48-72 hours |
| Rugs | 48-72 hours |
| Wall art | 6-9 working days |
These are build-and-dispatch times; freight transit and the delivery appointment follow. On a staged install the fast categories are genuinely fast -- pillows and rugs in 48-72 hours are a practical way to finish a room while upholstery is still in production.
If you are working to a fixed install date, count back from it and call before ordering rather than after. See lead times and the order process.
What order terms should my client know?
Building to order has consequences that belong in the conversation early, not in a delivery-week email:
- Returns depend on what was ordered, not on how it was built. If you ordered a size, color, grade or configuration listed on the product page, it can be returned within 30 days of delivery -- and on the trade program the 20% restocking fee is waived. If you asked us to build a size or specification that is not offered on the page, it is custom to the project and cannot be returned or refunded, except where it arrives damaged.
- Own-material orders are not returnable. Once your leather or fabric is cut, the piece cannot be resold.
- 24-hour cancellation window. Orders can be canceled within 24 hours of placement, subject to a 5% cancellation fee. After that, production has begun and cancellations are not permitted.
- Access is the client's responsibility. Measure doorways, hallway turns, stair width and the pivot into the final room, and check them against the dimensions listed in inches on the product page. If a listed-size piece cannot be brought in, it is treated as a standard return; a custom piece that will not fit cannot be returned.
- Damage has a clock. Visible damage: refuse the delivery and note it on the delivery document. Damage found afterwards: notify us within 48 hours with photographs.
- Address is fixed at dispatch. Once an order has shipped the delivery address cannot be changed -- a real constraint on a construction schedule that slips.
How does delivery work?
Free curbside delivery is included on all continental USA orders, with no minimum. That means a freight truck, a signature, a call about 48 hours ahead, and the piece left on its pallet at the curb or driveway. Indoor placement to a ground-level floor is a paid upgrade, it does not include unboxing or assembly, it does not do stairs, and the fee is non-refundable. Packaging removal is not included at either level.
Specify site labor accordingly -- on a multi-piece install this is usually the line item people forget. Full detail in how furniture delivery works.
Where is it made, and what is guaranteed?
Leather furniture is designed and benchmade in North Carolina; outdoor furniture is manufactured in Michigan. Everything is designed and produced in America, and our leather furniture carries a 10-year guarantee on the frame and suspension system. That guarantee covers structure; the natural change in a hide's appearance over time is normal wear rather than a defect, which is a distinction worth making to a client at handover.
Do you handle multi-unit and commercial projects?
Yes, and there is no threshold to clear before we will quote one. Send the piece counts, the configurations and the date you need to be installed by, and we will come back with pricing and a schedule. Volume pricing above the standard trade discount is quoted per project.
For multi-unit work we can stage delivery across a schedule or consolidate it into a single appointment, whichever suits the site.
Uptown Sebastian's own line is specified as contract grade. That applies to our line rather than to every product carried on this site, so confirm the individual piece with us before writing it into a hospitality or commercial specification.
Common questions
Is there a minimum order for the trade program?
No. There is no minimum order and no project threshold. A single accent chair qualifies for the same 25%.
How long does approval take?
One business day. Email operations@uptownsebastian.com with your business details and two forms of documentation.
Do I need to create an account?
No. You are issued a trade discount code that belongs to your firm, and you enter it at checkout. There is nothing to sign into and no password to keep.
Can I buy tax-exempt for resale?
Yes. Tell us when you apply and send your resale or sales-tax exemption certificate. Because tax exemption is handled per account rather than by discount code, we will arrange it with you directly.
Can I send my own fabric or leather?
Yes, on upholstery. We cannot accept customer material for pillows, throws, rugs or outdoor furniture. Call before shipping so we can confirm yardage, suitability and the effect on build time.
Are swatches free?
Yes, swatches are free on the trade program.
Can trade orders be returned?
A listed size, color, grade or configuration can be returned within 30 days of delivery, and the 20% restocking fee is waived for trade accounts. Special sizes, specifications not offered on the product page, and anything built in your own material are not returnable.
Does the trade discount apply to sale pricing?
Yes. Your 25% applies to the sale price on a piece that is already reduced, so a clearance item is 25% below its clearance price.
Can you deliver to a job site rather than a residence?
Yes. Give us the site address and any access constraints when you order, and remember that the address cannot be changed once the order has shipped.
Ready to start? Email operations@uptownsebastian.com or call 833-566-6526. Meanwhile, browse leather furniture, browse outdoor furniture, or read the buying guides.