If you have a little room for flexibility, you can save a lot of money on appliances with these tips.
1. Scratch & Dent usually this means fully-functional floor display items or items that arrived with minor cosmetic damage. If you don’t mind a small scratch on the side of a door (which will probably happen at some point during your ownership of it anyway) you can save a good 50% or more! Scratch & dent items are still protected by the manufacturer’s warranty – with the exception of cosmetic coverage. Many local retailers will host a scratch and dent sale toward the end of the year. For those who live in Texas, check out the FBS annual Scratch & Dent Appliance Sale for Austin, College Station, San Antonio & Houston.
2. Shop in the fall August & September is generally when appliance dealers are looking to get rid of excess inventory and make room for next year’s models. This is a group of overstocked items or customer returns because of a mistake somewhere down the line. From an appliance dealer’s point of view – these items are just tied-up cash, hogging valuable warehouse space and they’re ready to make a deal to get rid of it.
3. Use Manufacturer rebates Gotta have pristine, un-touched appliances? Need a whole set? Buying them together, from the same manufacturer, is by far the best deal. Many manufacturers offer incentives such as a VISA/MasterCard gift card from $100-$1000 or instant rewards such as cash discount or free appliances when you purchase 2 or more items. Of course, the more items you purchase the more you save.
4. Research reliable manufacturers/brands This is a long-term strategy, but still valuable. Saving $500 on a refrigerator isn’t so cool if you end up having to spend $1000 to repair it just 1-2 years later. A good place to start is checking out the manufacturer’s warranty. The longer the warranty, the more reliable the product – otherwise manufacturers would be paying tons to cover your repairs. When researching online, take everything with “a grain of salt” – the average consumer posts 3-5x more negative reviews than positive. Ask your friends and family first. When you’ve narrowed down your wish list, ask your appliance sales rep. the percentage of service calls they typically see for that brand. You might be wary of taking a sales person’s advice but keep in mind – service issues are a headache for them as well – so it’s in their best interest to sell you a reliable product.
5. Shop local retailers Aside from supporting your local community and economy, smaller retailers are much more likely to negotiate as they don’t have contracts with manufacturers. Moreover, they can’t afford to have excess inventory (tied-up cash) sitting around.
Best of luck on your appliance search! If you’re in Texas, stop by one of our 7 showrooms in Texas to experience products in person, or save big at our annual Scratch & Dent Appliance Clearance sale on Saturday, August 15, 2015 for Austin, Houston and San Antonio & Friday, August 14, 2015 for College Station.
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