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Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:24 pm
by the knob
If you don't care what it looks like, check for a scratch and dent outlet. A guy in Columbia I used to work with bought a good fridge at a decent discount from a place in KC, blanking on which particular manufacturer it was.

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:41 am
by deadphish
I went to American and got some really good discounts from their "scratch and dent" room. Basically a complete GE kitchen. Stainless steel. Side by side fridge, dishwasher, gas stove, above range micro. Got about $3500 worth of stuff for just under $2000.

The fridge had an unnoticeable scratch on the side. The dishwasher was sent off for repairs and never made it back to the showroom. The stove was missing burner caps (they mailed them 2 weeks later". And the micro was missing the install kit ($45 from supply store). They also threw in 2 extra GE water filters ($40 ea) since I had to drive back there once.

Oh and delivery was free and everything is under warranty. Very happy so far. I seem to remember a nice selection of the higher end stuff you are interested in as well. Good luck.

Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:30 pm
by SteveO
I'll check American tomorrow....

Sears is having a pretty untouchable sale on their appliances right now. I get a 20% rebate back which basically turns into ~1200 off.

Lowe's only quoted MSRP and the guy just didn't seem to be interested in coming down at all so I'm pretty much done there.

I went to a mom and pop type store and told the guy what was up and that he'd have to beat Sears' 20% off for me to come back. He said it was going to be tough but he was going to try. I told him he's got 3 days. :) (Sale ends then.)

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:23 am
by Mark
I used to sell appliances for a few years.

Let me give you a rundown.

-Whirpool good. For everything.

-Kenmore is not necessarily Whirpool. In some cases, yes, but not in all. If you're buying Kenmore then just take a look at competing models and what their models look like physically. It's usually a dead giveaway.

-GE. Good for cooking.

-Frigidaire. Good for keeping your food warm. ;)

-Bosch. Damn good dishwashers.

-Fancy electronics. You're asking for trouble. Circuit boards for any high end appliance always cost big $$$ and it's something you never want to replace.

Now about the stores.

-Find out delivery costs.

-Find out if you're actually paying separately for delivery or if they're just skimming the delivery cost off the price of the items. It's nothing major, but some places say they'll deliver for free, but then they just take the delivery charge off the items. The point is; it's deceitful.

-Find out what delivery entails as not all stores offer the same thing with delivery.

-Find out if you'd need installation done.

-Price matching is a very good thing. Know your models before going in the store.

-Know your dimensions for your appliances before going to the store.

-To their credit; Sears does have a good maintenance organization. And, that maintenance organization often handles work for their competition like Best Buy, Lowes, Home Depot.

Working the system.

-Appliance sales is a game of numbers. At the end of the day, stores want to sell lots of appliances but they also want to bring home money in warranties and maintenance agreements. Those numbers reflect from the floor salesperson to his/her manager to his/her store manager and on up.

With that said, you can work some of the stores.

For example, Sears used to offer an "out" on their maintenance program. You buy the extended warranty, you wait 30 days, you cancel.

Now, when I used to work there, I hated it when people came in and dropped $3000 in appliances yet refused to even consider spending another dollar to "protect" their appliances. Why? Because, my job depended, to an extent, on selling those agreements. If you walked out the door and I failed to sell one then my percentage for that day was 0%. That's bad.

So, what did I do? I'd float the idea out to the customer that they could buy an agreement that they could cancel in 30 days and get their money back. In exchange, we'd take $300 off the purchase. Of course, the customer would go for it. I'd run the idea by my manager and he'd sign off on it most of the time. After all, his job performance is also judged by what I do out on the floor.

So, they'd walk out that day having purchased $3000 worth of stuff ($2700 in goods, $300 in maintenance) and I'd look golden. Meanwhile, 30 days later, the customer would call, cancel his agreement and get his money back. I didn't lose a dime out of my pocket, and the customer was happy. And did the store really lose anything? Nope. Because the $300 agreement came out of the maintenance company's budget, the store never got hit for a dime.

The point is; this was done all the time, and you can be the one to initiate it. It might be a great way to squeeze some more money off of your purchase. I guarantee you, the last thing any store wants is for you to drop a few grand on their store and not purchase one of these agreements. You can really use this to your advantage.

But, you've GOT to know how their program works. Don't depend on the employee of the store to tell you. Get their literature. Read it. And use it against them.

The key thing is; if you find an "out", don't let them know that you know.

And don't be afraid to ask to speak to a manager, and/or walk out of the store.

It's a big investment, and you might as well have a little fun, right?

Oh, and one more thing about agreements.

Water.

Water is a wet bitch.

Washers, dish washers, refrigerators with water lines.

Consider buying the warranties for those products.

Especially if you live in an area with very hard water and/or other harmful things in your water. Hard water can do some real damage to appliances.

And one more thing, and yeah, I've probably said that before within this post...

...don't buy on your first try. This is a major purchase. This stuff is going to be with you ideally for (hopefully) the next decade or so. Go to a store, collect information and don't be afraid to leave. The worst thing you can do is to go in and buy right away.

Yep, thats it.

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:58 am
by Nyghtewynd
I'm not even in the market for appliances, and I copied and pasted that post to a file for future reference. Good stuff.

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 8:55 am
by SteveO
Yeah, that was a good post!! Great information.

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:03 pm
by F Keenan
Mark wrote:I used to sell appliances for a few years.

Let me give you a rundown.

-Whirpool good. For everything.

-Kenmore is not necessarily Whirpool. In some cases, yes, but not in all. If you're buying Kenmore then just take a look at competing models and what their models look like physically. It's usually a dead giveaway.

-GE. Good for cooking.

-Frigidaire. Good for keeping your food warm. ;)

-Bosch. Damn good dishwashers.

-Fancy electronics. You're asking for trouble. Circuit boards for any high end appliance always cost big $$$ and it's something you never want to replace.

Now about the stores.

-Find out delivery costs.

-Find out if you're actually paying separately for delivery or if they're just skimming the delivery cost off the price of the items. It's nothing major, but some places say they'll deliver for free, but then they just take the delivery charge off the items. The point is; it's deceitful.

-Find out what delivery entails as not all stores offer the same thing with delivery.

-Find out if you'd need installation done.

-Price matching is a very good thing. Know your models before going in the store.

-Know your dimensions for your appliances before going to the store.

-To their credit; Sears does have a good maintenance organization. And, that maintenance organization often handles work for their competition like Best Buy, Lowes, Home Depot.

Working the system.

-Appliance sales is a game of numbers. At the end of the day, stores want to sell lots of appliances but they also want to bring home money in warranties and maintenance agreements. Those numbers reflect from the floor salesperson to his/her manager to his/her store manager and on up.

With that said, you can work some of the stores.

For example, Sears used to offer an "out" on their maintenance program. You buy the extended warranty, you wait 30 days, you cancel.

Now, when I used to work there, I hated it when people came in and dropped $3000 in appliances yet refused to even consider spending another dollar to "protect" their appliances. Why? Because, my job depended, to an extent, on selling those agreements. If you walked out the door and I failed to sell one then my percentage for that day was 0%. That's bad.

So, what did I do? I'd float the idea out to the customer that they could buy an agreement that they could cancel in 30 days and get their money back. In exchange, we'd take $300 off the purchase. Of course, the customer would go for it. I'd run the idea by my manager and he'd sign off on it most of the time. After all, his job performance is also judged by what I do out on the floor.

So, they'd walk out that day having purchased $3000 worth of stuff ($2700 in goods, $300 in maintenance) and I'd look golden. Meanwhile, 30 days later, the customer would call, cancel his agreement and get his money back. I didn't lose a dime out of my pocket, and the customer was happy. And did the store really lose anything? Nope. Because the $300 agreement came out of the maintenance company's budget, the store never got hit for a dime.

The point is; this was done all the time, and you can be the one to initiate it. It might be a great way to squeeze some more money off of your purchase. I guarantee you, the last thing any store wants is for you to drop a few grand on their store and not purchase one of these agreements. You can really use this to your advantage.

But, you've GOT to know how their program works. Don't depend on the employee of the store to tell you. Get their literature. Read it. And use it against them.

The key thing is; if you find an "out", don't let them know that you know.

And don't be afraid to ask to speak to a manager, and/or walk out of the store.

It's a big investment, and you might as well have a little fun, right?

Oh, and one more thing about agreements.

Water.

Water is a wet bitch.

Washers, dish washers, refrigerators with water lines.

Consider buying the warranties for those products.

Especially if you live in an area with very hard water and/or other harmful things in your water. Hard water can do some real damage to appliances.

And one more thing, and yeah, I've probably said that before within this post...

...don't buy on your first try. This is a major purchase. This stuff is going to be with you ideally for (hopefully) the next decade or so. Go to a store, collect information and don't be afraid to leave. The worst thing you can do is to go in and buy right away.

Yep, thats it.

That's just what I was going to post and you beat me to it.












Thanks for the tips. :okman:

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 3:47 pm
by Mark
Glad I could help. :)

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:30 pm
by deadphish
Oh yeah, and don't forget to get one of those fridges with a TV on the door. Tha tis IMpORTANT!

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:45 pm
by SteveO
I ended up going to a mom & pop type store in south city.

They'd been in business for a long time, were actually knowledgeable about the products, and were willing to match any price I got.

Free delivery, and the kicker for me: no tax since it was being shipped out of state. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. Places in IL were willing to match the same deal I got in MO, but once the tax came into play they couldn't touch the bottom line price.

I also will end up with $500 in rebates from the manufacturer.

What I budgeted 6k for I'll end up paying 4500.

I'm happy.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:31 pm
by Steve Levy Sucks
Prngr44 wrote:I ended up going to a mom & pop type store in south city.

They'd been in business for a long time, were actually knowledgeable about the products, and were willing to match any price I got.

Free delivery, and the kicker for me: no tax since it was being shipped out of state. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. Places in IL were willing to match the same deal I got in MO, but once the tax came into play they couldn't touch the bottom line price.

I also will end up with $500 in rebates from the manufacturer.

What I budgeted 6k for I'll end up paying 4500.

I'm happy.
That leaves you $1500 for a new flat screen. Cool

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:33 pm
by Steve Levy Sucks
the knob wrote:If you don't care what it looks like, check for a scratch and dent outlet. A guy in Columbia I used to work with bought a good fridge at a decent discount from a place in KC, blanking on which particular manufacturer it was.
I can understand this for maybe a washer or dryer, something that usually stays hidden, but who in the hell would want a fridge with a big ole dent in it, I mean it's only the largest appliance in the house.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:50 pm
by OS
Steve Levy Sucks wrote:
the knob wrote:If you don't care what it looks like, check for a scratch and dent outlet. A guy in Columbia I used to work with bought a good fridge at a decent discount from a place in KC, blanking on which particular manufacturer it was.
I can understand this for maybe a washer or dryer, something that usually stays hidden, but who in the hell would want a fridge with a big ole dent in it, I mean it's only the largest appliance in the house.
Depends on the location of the dent. With the way my kitchen is set up, a dent on the right side of the fridge would be a non-issue, although if I moved it could become one...

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:18 pm
by goon attack
Steve Levy Sucks wrote: I can understand this for maybe a washer or dryer, something that usually stays hidden, but who in the hell would want a fridge with a big ole dent in it, I mean it's only the largest appliance in the house.
I personally wouldn't give a shit. (Frank), with the kids trashing the house daily a dent in my fridge is the least of my worries.

:lol:

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:08 am
by Steve Levy Sucks
goon attack wrote:
Steve Levy Sucks wrote: I can understand this for maybe a washer or dryer, something that usually stays hidden, but who in the hell would want a fridge with a big ole dent in it, I mean it's only the largest appliance in the house.
I personally wouldn't give a (Frank), with the kids trashing the house daily a dent in my fridge is the least of my worries.

:lol:
Yeah, hadn't thought about that. :lol:

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:06 am
by goon attack
Steve Levy Sucks wrote:
Yeah, hadn't thought about that. :lol:
:D But yeah, if it was a designer kitchen all decked out, I wouldn't want the dent, unless it was really tiny.

Re: Appliances

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 10:16 pm
by big d note
Any thoughts on Maytag? I'm starting to shop around for new appliances for the kitchen and Home Depot has a rebate deal with Maytag right now. Is it still a quality brand?

Re: Appliances

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 12:29 am
by Mark
big d note wrote:Any thoughts on Maytag? I'm starting to shop around for new appliances for the kitchen and Home Depot has a rebate deal with Maytag right now. Is it still a quality brand?
JMHO, but I never was much of a Maytag fan. The appliances were decent enough but their products always seemed to be overpriced.

Re: Appliances

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 8:21 am
by SteveO
Big D - I'd still consider looking at a mom and pop type store. I found they were definitely more willing to wheel & deal and honor all rebates (unless it's just a home depot rebate) and even then, they'd probably match the price and you wouldn't have the hassle of the paperwork.

Have you checked into Consumer Reports at all for what you're looking at?

Re: Appliances

Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 9:02 am
by big d note
No, I haven't looked at Consumer Reports or anything yet. I might be stuck with a bigger store rather than a mom & pop place though, just because I'm looking to do a 1 year no payments, no interest type financing deal. I don't know if the smaller stores would offer that. I've got several big places near me to stop at, like Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's, Appliance World, and Appliance Factory Outlet. I'm in no hurry, so I can wait for a good holiday sale to come along too. Is there a good time of year to buy appliances?