How to Save on Appliances
With the state of the economy today, almost everyone is interested in saving money, especially when it comes to buying an appliance for the home. The primary focus, however, is to purchase and appliances that gives you the best value for your money.
For instance if you are going to purchase a new refrigerator, you could end up sacrificing long term economy for a short term cash saving. In general, the lowest priced refrigerators are the least efficient in terms of energy consumption. You can see this for yourself by looking at the energy efficiency that is displayed on the unit. As a result, saving a few dollars today could end up with a net loss later when you start paying for the unit you just purchased.
One thing that you can do to reduce the expense of the appliance without sacrificing energy efficiency is to purchase “scratch and dent” appliances or “demonstrator” appliances from the distributor. In these cases, the unit just has some minute detail scratches or dings which will occur during normal day to day use anyway. In this way, you can reap the benefits and features of a more expensive unit while saving a portion of the cost at the time of purchase. This is a win-win situation as you save money on both the short and long term.
Another way to save on appliances is to purchase appliances that are last year’s model. Most appliance dealers will try and move out current inventory to make room for the newer model. At these times dealers will offer discounts on the model that is going to be replaced. This is no different than the car dealer dropping the price on last year’s model to make room for the “new and improved” model for this year.
There are also wholesale dealers who will sell to the public at discounted prices as well. This generally requires the person to purchase an annual membership, but the cost of the membership will pay for itself especially if you are all new appliances for your home. Other types of merchants that sell appliances at discount prices are large liquidators who buy up surplus merchandize from companies that have gone out of business or have purchased more inventory than they can effectively turn over.
Now, it also does not hurt to try and negotiate better prices with the appliance dealer. Some dealers will sell the appliance below the listed price in order to move their merchandise. This is due to the fact that merchants are unable to offer sales on items more than 13 weeks of the year. After that, the sale price is considered to be the actual price of the item. Otherwise, some firms would set an imaginary price that would be higher than the price that they would actually sell the merchandise so the product could always appear to be on sale. Consumers should always check the price of appliances at several dealers before to see what the going market price for the product is. Some dealers will also meet the lowest price of other dealers and may also grant a rebate to customers who purchase an item just before the item goes on sale. This price guarantee helps dealers promote customer loyalty and goodwill so that the consumer will come back for a future purchase.
This is just a few ways that consumers can save on appliances. More options and different ways to save and compare appliances are discussed in other sections of this web site.
Right after Christmas we went to Metro Builders in Maumelle to check out their scratch and dent sale. We ended up with brand new, stainless steel Frigidaire appliances for a really good deal. (About the price for one nice refrigerator).
Refurbished Appliances: A Risky Money Saver?
If you are trying to save money when shopping for appliances, but purchasing a refurbished appliance seems risky, another option is shopping at a scratch and dent appliance store. These stores sell new appliances that have been damaged.
Right now, however, we have an accumulation of closeouts, overstocks, and scratch and dent appliances and high definition TV’s that we need to sell. As a result, this week, through Sunday, consumers have a chance to pay true wholesale.
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