Click here to view the entire list of Free
Carpet buying information on this website.
Where Should I Buy Carpet?
©2002-2007 Alan J. Fletcher
Back | Next
Depending on where you live, you may have only a few good
choices as to where to shop for carpet. Most carpet retailers are only out to
get your money and could care less about you and what carpet you select. Then there are the big home improvement
stores like Lowe's and Home Depot, and there are shopping clubs like Sam's and
Costco. I would never suggest you buy carpet from any of these big box retailers
for a number of reasons which I explain in my ebook.
The main reason is that they lack industry experience. They
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.
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 made special carpet deals
with the big carpet mills. 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
fool you.
- They change the carpet names. They change the color names.
They remove the labels that have important information about the
construction of the carpet.
- They withhold specific information you need to make a wise
choice.
- They give you a total package price, they won't give you a
cost breakdown.
- They do everything they can to make it confusing and
frustrating for you.
- They want to rip you off, scam you, over-charge and over
measure you.
- They want you to just close your eyes and make an expensive
investment in your home without asking any questions or getting honest or
accurate answers.
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 need to know
what to look for, what to avoid and what to ask when you get there. I can
help you with all that.
You need to access the experience and wisdom of a
30-year carpet professional. In my ebook, I discuss the best places to buy
carpet and how to determine if the price you are quoted is a good price or just
another carpet scam. Knowledge is power.
10th Edition