Where Should I Buy New Carpet?
By Alan
Fletcher - Carpet Expert & Consumer Advocate
Depending on where you live, you
may have only a few good choices as to where to shop for carpet. Some carpet
retailers are unscrupulous and are only out to get your money. They could care less about you and
what carpet you select.
Then there are the home improvement
retailers. I
would never suggest you buy carpet from big box retailers. They charge extra
for everything. They want all their money upfront and usually have lousy
customer service. They also lack industry experience. They often hire people who are not experts in the
flooring field. With a lack of carpet knowledge and experience, you may not
get the correct answers you need to make wise choices. And good luck
getting help if you have a problem.
Another problem these big stores
have is finding qualified flooring installers. When they send out a
sub-contractor to install your flooring, it is your responsibility to be
sure they install your flooring correctly. If they do a poor job and you
call the store to complain about it, they will simply refer you to another
company who handles the hiring of sub-contractors. They in-turn will send
out the same installer who will try to fix the problem that he created. The
problem is, the installer that created the problem may not know how to fix
the problem. That leaves you holding the bag, calling and calling to try to
resolve the issue again and again.
Private Labels
Many large carpet retailers have
special arrangements with the carpet mills to provide private labels. These carpet retailers
change the style and color names of the carpets and place their own labels
on them. They do this to make it difficult for consumers to comparison shop
at other stores.
So if you find a carpet you like
at one store, you can't just call a different carpet store to see what their
price would be for the same carpet. The style name or color from one store
would not be known to a different store. This is called "Private
Labeling". Both stores may have the exact same carpets but with
different names on the labels.
Comparison Shopping
Comparison shopping is not as
easy as it once was. If you were shopping for a new Sony 40" flat
screen television, you could call around to different retailers and ask for
their best price or look in the newspaper. But not with carpet. They
withhold critical information you need to make wise choices. Here are
some common problems you might encounter with carpet retailers...
-
They change the carpet
names. They change the color names. They remove the labels that have
important information about the construction of the carpet. When
you ask about specifics, they don't know.
-
They give you a total
package price, and they won't give you a cost breakdown. You need
to have a cost breakdown.
-
They do everything they can
to make it confusing and frustrating for you. They won't tell you
how much carpet you are ordering, and they won't give you the
measurements.
-
Just write the check. They want you to
close
your eyes and make an expensive home improvement without getting
complete and accurate answers to your questions.
Reputable Carpet Dealers are out
there! There are plenty of good places
to buy carpet where you can still get good deals. But you need to know more
than just where to go, you also need to know what to look for, what to avoid and
what to ask when you get there. Visit my Preferred Carpet Dealer
Directory at AbcCarpets.com to see who I recommend near you.
