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Buying Carpet From Home Depot, Lowe's, Empire or Costco?
What
Homeowners Need to Know Before Signing the Contract!
If
you are looking to find quality carpet on sale, please don't fall for
those relentless TV ads offering
Free Carpet Installation! Q.) Are you thinking about shopping for
Carpet at Home Depot or Lowe's?
Learn the honest truth about choosing new Carpet wisely, How to quickly spot common retail Carpet scams and how to make smarter Carpet and padding choices! Are you tempted to call Empire Today or Costco's "Shop-At-Home" Carpet Services?
The last time I checked, all four of these Giant Nationally Advertised Carpet sellers use other privately-held companies to facilitate their carpet sales, measuring and installation services. Their TV ads offering incredible deals on new carpet and flooring sound too good to be true... because if you read the fine print you will discover that their stupendous sales offers are not nearly as good as they make them sound. Their advertising id designed to attract unsuspecting homeowners who don't know the best ways to shop for carpet and where to find the best deals.
If you buy from one of these conglomerates and you ever have a carpet complaint or installation problem, you may have a hard time finding anyone ready, willing or able to help you or accept responsibility for making things right.
Did You Know?
Carpet at Home Depot, Lowe's and Costco contract out their flooring sales, measuring and installation services to other independent companies?
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Empire Today requires all their carpet salespeople to form their own CORPORATION so they will be Independent Sales Contractors? This means Empire is just the middle man and not responsible for anything these independent salespeople do or say to you. The price you are quoted for your project is determined arbitrarily by the salesperson. Have a nice home and an expensive car in your driveway? The price they quote you for new carpet just went up.
With so many fingers in the pie it is not too hard to figure out that you might end up paying way too much for your new carpet, padding and installation if you buy carpeting at Home Depot or Lowe's, Empire or Costco.
These four nationally advertised conglomerates take the lion's share of the profit right off the top. Then all the other privately held companies and independent sales contractors have the chance to make more money from your purchase by convincing you to agree to pay more for unnecessary floor prep and repairs, upgrades and add-ons.
One the installers show up with your new carpet and take a good look at your project, you may be surprised by what they find. You thought the installation was free? From measuring fees to needless upgrades, floor preparation, tackless removal and replacement, delivery fees, installation & upholstery fees and other add-ons. There are plenty of crafty ways they may try to convince you cough up more money before it's all said and done.
The Lure of a Great Sounding Carpet Deal...
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Get Three Rooms for the Price of One!
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Get 60% OFF New Carpet
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Free Basic Carpet Installation!
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Free Padding!
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Low Price Guarantee!
Get out your magnifying glass so you can read all the fine print on these great sounding offers. These advertised deals are designed to attract unsuspecting homeowners who would like to save money but don't know how to go about it.
Lowe's Nylon Carpet vs. Home Depot's Nylon Carpet
The main difference between nylon carpet available at Lowe's verses Home Depot is the type of fiber their carpets are made of. Lowe's features Stainmaster® brand carpets as they recently purchased the brand name. Stainmaster® carpets are made with the Antron® Nylon 6,6 which is a fiber well-known for quality, durability and stain resistance.
Home Depot displays carpet brands made with Anso® Nylon 6 fiber. Both fibers are treated with a topically applied anti-stain chemical. Both nylon fiber types are excellent in every way... but the Antron® Nylon 6,6 fiber at Lowe's is known to perform a little bit better overall. In a nutshell, Antron's nylon 6,6 is more durable than Anso's nylon type 6. The good news is that you can find both types of these nylon fibers at locally-owned carpet stores listed in my Carpet Dealer Directory.
The Price of Free
The Big Box home improvement warehouse retailers use repetitive TV advertising to lure-in unsuspecting homeowners. Free Carpet Installation? It's easy to understand why some homeowners fall for the unbelievable offer of FREE CARPET INSTALLATION!
If you spend enough to qualify for their free Carpet installation, they will make enough profit from the sale of carpet & padding to cover their cost of installation. They farm-out all the installation services with local companies who hire independent contractors to install your carpet. They also increase the prices for anything and everything needed to install your carpet beyond their limited definition of a basic installation.
What Does Carpet On Sale Really Mean?
Their so-called "free" carpet installation you saw on TV may not end up being totally free once their sub-contracted measurers and installers get a real good look inside your home. It's highly likely there will be numerous extra fees & charges tacked-on to your final bill.
When you place your order for new carpet, they will require that you pay for the entire job UPFRONT and IN FULL. Once your carpet arrives from the manufacturer the installation date can be determined. When the installation crew arrives at your home with your new carpet, the first thing they do is remove your old carpet & padding.
Anything beyond their definition of "Basic Carpet Installation" will cost you more. You never know what they might find once they take-up your old carpet & padding. The independent contracted / installer may discover your job requires a few extra things that are not basic... such as floor preparation, leveling, screwing down loose boards, filling cracks or squeaky joint seams. Repairing any areas with water damage or dry-rot, disposal fees, flooring transitions, upholstery work, loose or squeaky stair steps. If they find unforeseen floor damage that requires immediate attention, it will result in you agreeing to pay for additional fees or charges before they can complete the job.
There are additional labor fees for moving furniture, removing & replacing damaged tackless strips, fixing a squeaky subfloor, repairing rotten wood caused from hidden water damage or any other extra fee or charge for labor and supplies that they deem is beyond their limited definition of a "basic" carpet installation.
Unforeseen floor problems can add extra fees & charges that you were not prepared to pay for or given any advance warning of what those fees could be. At this point you would be stuck paying a fortune for floor repairs that may be double or triple the usual going rate. This is how you get ripped off, as the installers are free to charge you any amount they want to do the repairs, knowing that now it is too late for you to find a less expensive way to get all the necessary repairs taken care of before hand. As Gomer Pyle would say... Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
If you had purchased your new carpet from a reputable, locally-owned flooring dealer near you, all the unforeseen and necessary flooring repairs would be addressed at a reasonable & fair cost to you, potentially saving you hundreds. When you buy locally, not only do you get to browse and shop in beautiful carpet showrooms, you would also be sure to get guaranteed installation from well-trained and qualified "in-house' flooring installers.
Home Depot Carpet and their Low-Price Guarantee?
Home Depot says they will beat any competitor's price by 10%, but according to their fine print, that's only on identical in-stock items. That makes it virtually impossible to substantiate a claim because they also use private labels on all their carpet samples.
Home Depot changes the name of all their carpet styles and colors to make it difficult (if not impossible) for you to comparison shop. A low-price guarantee sure sounds good until you read the fine print.
The Big Box home improvement warehouses have been charging homeowners a sizeable measuring fee just for coming to your home and measuring your rooms. From what I understand, the licensed & certified measuring specialists (independent estimators) they contract with... are required to measure your home using a "special measuring method". This means there will always be more than enough material to complete the job. Why pay for more carpet than your job actually requires?
Do They Measure for Carpet Accurately?
Home
Depot and Lowe's will send out an expert estimator to measure your rooms. They
are not measuring your home to try to save you as much money as possible by
minimizing material waste, their
job is to make sure there is more than enough carpet to complete the job.
Does that mean they add another 5, 10 or 15% of material to the total? You may never know for sure, but they want to make darn sure there is more than enough carpet for the installers to work with, so they never have to worry about running short of carpet and padding materials to complete the job.
Even if you ask nicely, they will not tell you how much material they figured your job will require. In the end, you will be given a proposal with one price for everything, that includes the carpet, padding, installation and any extra add-on services they determine your job requires.
Over-measuring your home for carpet translates into you paying for a lot more for new carpet & pad then you might actually need. Adding just an extra 10 yards of material to your order could easily add $500 to the total cost of your job. Ouch! Reputable locally owned carpet stores won't over measure you.
They will measure accurately and save you money by limiting material waste.
Empire Today® attracts new customers by airing repetitive TV ads offering unbelievable carpet and flooring specials, even touting "next day" installation. Next day installation doesn't mean you will get carpet done tomorrow, after you call, they first schedule an in-home appointment to measure up your home and give you a sales pitch. When you call their toll-free number, they will send out a sales professional to your home who will show you carpet samples and try to "close the sale" on the spot.
Here are some questions to consider...
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Are you getting a fair & square deal on Empire Carpet, Pad, and Installation?
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What are the Carpet Specifications?
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What Fiber is the Carpet made from? Nylon or Polyester?
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Are they pushing Polyester Carpet (or P.E.T.) and say it's as durable as Nylon?
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How long will Empire Carpet last based on your level of Foot Traffic?
These are just a few questions that you need solid answers to before you should commit yourself to buying carpet from any shop-at-home flooring retailer. This is also why you need to get several free estimates before you make your final choices. Use my free Carpet Shopping Form to make sure you ask all the right questions.
Free Carpet Shopping Form
To
make shopping for new carpet easier for you I have a Free
Carpet Shopping Form you should print up and use to your
advantage.
It will help you choose wisely and narrow down your final choices. Knowing what questions to ask will also give you the upper hand when dealing with carpet salespeople. The last thing you want is to have your new carpeting installed wrong.
Print up several copies. You need one page for every carpet you are considering.
Who, when, where and what you need to know!
Who makes the best carpeting? Are you looking for Carpet On Sale? When is Best Time to buy carpet? What are the Best and Worst places to shop for new carpet: Top 5 Secrets to Carpet Buying Success
When You Have a Carpet Complaint...
How do Home Depot or Lowe's handle Carpet Complaints? You won't get quick results by calling the box store where you bought the carpet. You will be told that you need to contact the carpet manufacturer directly if you think your new carpet has a manufacturing defect.
The carpet manufacturer might send out an inspector to look at your carpet and try to determine if it is a defect that is covered under their "new carpet warranty' and if so, make arrangements to remedy the problem at no cost to you. It's common for the manufacturer's representative to try to blame someone else for your carpet problem and deny your claim by sending you a formal denial letter.
They often try to blame the installer for not installing the carpet properly or blame YOU for not maintaining your carpet according to the limited warranty requirements. If you have kids or pets or use the wrong type of vacuum, they can place the blame on any of those factors too.
If your carpet is matting down, then your claim will be denied because "matting and crushing of the pile" is rarely covered by any new carpet warranty.
New Carpet Warranties
There are lots of warranty coverage exclusions that you might not be aware of. This is especially true when it comes to carpet spot cleaning and certain carpet stains they do not cover.
No carpet is stain-proof so if a stain won't come out, there might not be any warranty coverage for you. In fact, any warranty claims regarding stains often need to be handled through the carpet fiber manufacturer. This is different from the carpet manufacturer. Carpet fibers are made by several conglomerates including Anso™ and Antron™.
This is just another time-consuming factor for you to go down in your effort to find someone, or anyone who might be willing to help you address your carpet stain problem or other issues regarding carpet care, stain removal and common carpet maintenance questions.
Proof of Periodic Carpet Cleaning?
If your carpet is a few years old, and still under warranty, then you better have all the receipts for professional cleanings as required periodically by your new carpet warranty. Carpet cleaning is usually required at least every 18 months. If you don't have those receipts as proof of compliance, your warranty claim will be instantly denied regardless of the reason for your carpet complaint.
Have a Carpet Installation Problem?
If you have a problem after your new carpeting is installed, you'll have to contact the carpet installer directly if you think your new carpet was installed improperly. Someone might come by to look at your carpet to determine if it is in fact a carpeting installation problem. If it is an obvious and easily fixed issue, they may take care of it right away, if it is still under warranty. There should not be any cost to you for repair work if your warranty is still in force.
Most Carpet Installations Have a One-Year Limited Warranty.
If they determine your carpet problem is not an installation issue, they will likely blame someone else, usually the carpet manufacturer, and deny your claim. Even if your carpet has noticeable wrinkles, they can still say it is a carpet defect and not an installation issue. In this case, no one will accept responsibility for your complaint and you will be left holding the bag. New Carpet Warranties Explained
Did the Empire Salesperson Give You Bad Advice?
If you are unhappy with the performance of the carpet your selected, maybe you think it is the salesperson's fault for recommending it to you. It is unlikely that you will ever be able to get any recourse from the salesperson regardless of what was recommended to you at the store or at your in-home visit.
Did the salesperson tell you that polyester carpet is just as durable as a nylon carpet? Rarely, if ever, will any salesperson be held responsible for your carpet or padding selection. Even if they said it was the perfect choice for you. Even if they lied to you.
Ultimately the brand, type, style, color and grade of carpet and padding you agree to buy is solely your choice to make.
This is why it is so important for every homeowner to take the time to learn about carpet specifications. It is the only way to be sure that the carpet you select is able to meet your needs, goals and lifestyle.
Start here: What Grade of Carpet Should I Select? to determine your level of foot traffic in your home.
If you can't get a remedy from any of these sources you could file a claim in small claims court, but against who? Get ready for some serious headaches trying to figure out who is actually to blame for your carpet problem and then be able to prove it.
Is it really worth all the time and trouble and cost to go this route? The carpet manufacturer, the carpet installer, the carpet fiber maker, the carpet salesperson and the carpet retailer all know that you will eventually get tired of all the runaround and give up.
Costco Carpet Program®
Costco used to have a small display with miniature carpet samples, but they took them down. Now they just have a fancy brochure that provides you with a phone number to call to start your in-home Carpet Consultation Process.
A independent salesperson will bring carpet and flooring samples to your home and be happy to write up your order and arrange for installation. They are not a Costco employee. They work for another company.
While
the flooring company Costco has partnered with may carry some good quality carpet, be prepared for sticker shock
when you see what the total cost will be. Even after receiving a Costco Cash Card as a consolation prize, the final cost you will pay
will be significant.
Costco takes their share of the profits right off the top, then the commissioned salesperson gets their share of the profits, then the carpet and padding manufacturers get paid for shipping their products and finally the carpet installers are well paid for their services.
It's not hard to figure out why they offer you a Cash Card if you buy new carpet or flooring. Costco makes a profit from the Cash Card too.
Do they use private labels? If so, then you can't comparison shop because they have changed the carpet style names and color names to thwart you. You would need to take their carpet samples with you into other local carpet stores to try to compare both samples side by side.
"Many Carpet retailers use private labels on their Carpet Samples and use independent contractors to measure, sell or install their products. If you have a complaint, you may have to deal directly with the independent contractors to get a remedy"
A Better Way To Go?
I've spent 30+ years in the carpet business and my father was a mill rep for 35 years. If you are in the market for new carpet or flooring of any kind, I think you should consider buying from one of the local carpet stores that I have listed in my Preferred Carpet Dealer Directory.
It's taken me over 15 years to locate, investigate and identify these locally-owned and family-run carpet stores and I know they are the best of the best here in America.
My Best Advice...
Are you thinking about having carpeting installed? I suggest you visit several locally-owned carpet stores near you and get several FREE estimates. Visit one of my preferred carpet stores if you can. You can decide for yourself who to buy from when you see your estimates side by side and consider everything.
The lowest price is not always the best price when you consider the value of first-class customer service. It's reassuring to know that someone who cares will be there to help you if you ever have a carpet problem or concern.
When it's all said and done I think you will agree that my preferred carpet dealers are most knowledgeable, most reliable and most reputable! You will be treated with respect, get a fair & square deal and enjoy first-class customer service... before, during and after the sale.
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