Many thanks, mates! My previous couch had "natural" leather surface, and lasted for ages. I was a real fool by not paying attention to the texture and definitions right from the outset when buying this one. The manufacturer is domestic, and we tend to be trustful of countrymen (except professional salespeople). If this was only about dye vs. no dye, I would probably simply conclude that I will be smarter when buying leather goods in future. But this "plating" goes too far: can you really call that embossing? In my understanding, embossing is mechanical processing of grain structure, so the resulting texture should withstand, e.g., solvents. Isn't this more akin to "bonded leather"?
On the balance, good to acknowledge that we might not be far away from what is typical in the industry. The manufacturer takes individual orders through furniture stores and ships directly to customers. I was suspecting that they might have engaged retail people to advice on how careful or smart the receiving end seems. That would have been an outright fraud. But it seems less likely now. Maybe the knowledgeable folks just ignore the promises and walk by after taking a look at the specimen. At least in this country, going individually to a civil court is not practicable. However, one law firm sought class action of consumers (not part of our legal tradition) against the tire manufacturer Nokian Renkaat after they had "cheated" on magazine tests (supplied modified non-retail versions of their products). Wouldn't lose anything by calling them.
