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Discussion Forum

You trust online appliance dealers?

SethFrankel | Posted in Business on September 28, 2007 04:35am

So I’m in the middle of a major renovation just finished the cabinetry selection, so time to order the appliances. In this case, all GE Monogram. My local showrooms all come in at about 15k for the lot, however, pricing on internet with “major” vendors (www.us-appliance.com to be exact) come in about 8-9% cheaper, deliver into the house for free and have no tax. In other words, less than 13k for the same stuff. Now, I don’t know about you, but 2k ain’t chump change to me!

So what’s the deal? When i asked GE they said “we only recommend our authorized dealers in your area…” – totally useless. The online folks assure me that they are not seconds and will carry the exact same warranty and are the exact same product.

Anyone have good, bad or otherwise carry an opinion about purchasing major appliances through online discounters?

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Replies

  1. User avater
    Gene_Davis | Sep 28, 2007 04:56am | #1

    I had good experiences with Witbeck Associates, buying Monogram, Fisher and Paykel, Decor, and Thermador stuff.

    Find their online store and see.

    1. Gary | Sep 28, 2007 04:58am | #2

      http://www.witbeckappliance.com

  2. User avater
    carpenterdancingirl | Sep 28, 2007 05:02am | #3

    Gene Beat me to it. I also had a good buying experiance with Witbeck. Would buy from them again.

  3. calvin | Sep 28, 2007 05:05am | #4

    Seth, 2k is alot of loot.

    While tempted, I think I still would buy from a place (family owned) that had living breathing people right here in my small city.  Might ask about a price match, or at least adjustment.

    Feel similar about all my suppliers be it tools, materials or fixtures.

    Backwards hick I reckon.

    But when the locals are gone I guess I'd stuck.

    A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    http://www.quittintime.com/

     

  4. Piffin | Sep 28, 2007 05:09am | #5

    "l carry the exact same warranty and are the exact same product."

    OK, now who is going to service that warrantee when you find something wrong?

    Of everything that goes into a house, there is nothing that causes me as much grief as the appliances. I got tyo the point where I have the customer buy their own and I charge for the installation is all, let them deal direct for service after the fact.

    On any full house of appliances, one of them will have a probelm of some sort.

    The dealership I deal with educates me, advises me, services me, and helps my customers out. They will NOT service appliances bought from any one else.

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

    1. User avater
      james | Sep 28, 2007 05:27am | #6

      I am in agreement in full on this one... It has saved my butt many times when the ____ gave up and spilt its guts etc, my answer is... I can come have a look at it but if it is not an installation issue call your supplier.

       

      If i had to put my time in chasing down warranty items from appliance makers my markup on them would likely be over 100%, ever waisted 5hrs of your time trying to get a repairman in to not fix the problem..... all on a 350$ dishwasher that you made @50$ MU+your install labor.... kinda makes the whole thing a looser :(

       

      james

    2. User avater
      Gene_Davis | Sep 28, 2007 05:36am | #7

      Our local "dealers" don't provide any service at all.  How 'bout that?

      1. calvin | Sep 28, 2007 05:46am | #8

        Location, location, location.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

        Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

        http://www.quittintime.com/

         

    3. SethFrankel | Sep 28, 2007 06:03am | #10

      It's certainly all about when something goes wrong. In my area there are dozens of outfits that handle repairs. I'd think that calling the manufacturer's hotline and having them send out the repair call to their sub would take care of warranty...which is certainly more anonymous when its a stranger rather than the guy who shook your hand. But does that matter when the manufacturer is obligated to fix it.Interesting to see the varying opinions.

    4. woodturner9 | Sep 28, 2007 09:46pm | #19

      They will NOT service appliances bought from any one else.

      I assume you mean out of warranty service?  My understanding is that any authorized dealer must service that brand, regardless of where it was purchased.

      1. Piffin | Sep 28, 2007 11:31pm | #21

        Your understanding would be wrong then. 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

        1. User avater
          Gene_Davis | Sep 29, 2007 01:14am | #26

          Mus' be those cranky yankees.

          "Humpf!  Didn't buy it from me?  Yer on yer own, warranty or no."

          Over here off the west coast of New England, things are a little more civilized when it comes to service.

          1. Piffin | Sep 29, 2007 02:21am | #27

            appliance service repair guys are in short supply so they have to limit things somehow... 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

      2. User avater
        BillHartmann | Sep 28, 2007 11:41pm | #22

        That would depend on the contract between the company and their authorized dealer.Maybe what you are talking about is FTC rules that say limit what requirements that the manufacture puts on their product.For example you don't have to have your oil changed at the dealership and use a GenUWine Ford/GM/Chry/Toyota/etc oil filter.But they can refuse a claim if they can show that the quality of the oil or filter is less than what they spec..
        .
        A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

        1. woodturner9 | Sep 29, 2007 12:22am | #23

          That would depend on the contract between the company and their authorized dealer.

          Hmm, maybe.  Or maybe that applies only to vehicles - any Ford dealer is required, by law, to honor the warranty on any Ford vehicle, whether it was purchased at that dealership or not.  But it may be specific to vehicles and not generally applicable to all products.

          I'll have to dig into this a bit.

    5. arrowpov | Sep 29, 2007 12:53am | #24

      Around here GE sends their own company service people out. They never ask where I bought the appliances.

  5. katiewa | Sep 28, 2007 05:53am | #9

    If you have a local dealer who will service what they sell, who knows their product, etc., then I'd think the extra money would be well-spent.

    If I were to buy locally, it'd be from someone who would be contracting with a third party to do any repairs, and I probably know more about their products than they do.  Plus the local Sears store (one of 2 places to buy appliances) always irritates me--they are arrogant and condescending.  We buy almost everything on-line: toilets and furniture are among the larger things, lots of books, computers, tools, tile, even some food items.  I am very careful about who I do business with on-line, but we've had very successful on-line transactions.

    Bottom line, depends on your situation and comfort level.

    Kathleen

  6. grpphoto | Sep 28, 2007 06:27am | #11

    I'm generally buying appliances in a hurry, so I deal with a short list of local suppliers.

    My take on this is that major appliance manufacturers don't make "consumer lines" of appliances like tool manufacturers do. If you order model "xyz" from your local store, that is exactly the same quality appliance as model "xyz" ordered from Lowes, which is exactly the same as model "xyz" ordered off the internet.

    As far as the "not our approved supplier" argument goes - if the supplier isn't "approved", how did they get that wholesale appliance to sell to consumers?

    Buy it wherever you can get it cheapest and get a full warrantee.

    George Patterson
    1. restorationday | Sep 28, 2007 04:04pm | #13

      This is not the case in reality. I went looking for a GE fridge an out of area customer spec'ed out from consumer reports. I had the model number and I'd looked at it online, it's MSRP was $1200. Local supplier was closed for a week (vacation) so I went to Lowes and it appeared to be sitting right there on the floor though the model number was slightly different in the last 4 digits and upon closer inspection the racks were different, the water filter was different and it was $200 cheaper than the listed MSRP. Next I went to HD and Best Buy, same story yet again with a different model #s, different configurations and different prices. I went to Sears and again the same thing but when I asked the salesman about the specific model # he said most big retailers have the manufacturers build slightly different models at different price points so they can differentiate and avoid price matching. The Sears salesman said he could order the model I needed for 10% off MSRP (they had some sale) but it would take three weeks because it would have to come from GE... sold. I ended up at the local guy's store a few weeks later and they had the fridge for $200 more than the MSRP (contractors price) and retail was $300 more than that. Day

      Edited 9/28/2007 9:10 am ET by restorationday

      1. User avater
        BillHartmann | Sep 28, 2007 05:28pm | #14

        And the GE Americana Line is only available at Home Depot..
        .
        A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

        1. User avater
          Gene_Davis | Sep 28, 2007 05:41pm | #15

          Buying through a large volume out-of-state (for me) organization like Witbeck Associates has been absolutely painless for me. 

          Absolute full warranty for everything, every time.

          We have always paid the extra, over and above the free freight, to get their "white glove" delivery, which is described at their website.  It is not installation, but the units are carefully delivered right in front of the opening, unpackaged by them and carefully inspected for any damage, and all packaging goes out the door and back on the truck.

          Warranty issues have been addressed quickly and professionally, by service specialists Witbeck refers to us.  These are the same specialists, by the way, as would be used by our local dealers, because our local dealers have no service techs on the payrolls.

          It may be my location, as Calvin from Toledo points out in this thread, but the local alternatives for us have dismal performance when it comes to how deliveries and service are handled.  Furthermore, their pricing comes in at a premium over the online stores, and on top of that, the big New York state sales tax bite is added.

           

           

          1. Piffin | Sep 28, 2007 06:01pm | #17

            It is good for people who do make the online choice to hear WHICH places are worth dealing with via recommendations like yours Gene. For instance, I have bought tools online from Amazon, International, and from Coastal.When it comes to service, international was dismal, while Coastal is at least as good as my local folks. So there are surely differences in how online sellers do servicce in the appliance lines too.But there are some things that they simply ccannot do, IMO. Like when a range failed to show up in time, my supplier loaned me one, and when a new dryer failed, I had it replaced in one day. the factory service option would have been to send out a service guy as son as he coud get around to it on his schedule. Could have been a week. 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          2. User avater
            Gene_Davis | Sep 28, 2007 06:36pm | #18

            Pif, you can toot all you like about how well you are served by your local suppliers, but where we are, there are simply none.

            Everyone's source for GE here is a lumberyard store, and they stock nothing. 

            There is another source, a kitchen and tile place.  Nothing there.

            Lastly, there is a furniture store, that happens to do a nice sideline biz supplying kitchen cabinetry, flooring, and tile.  Nothing there either.

            I have always planned well ahead, and have our purchase specs nailed down months ahead of need.  But that's me.  There are plenty of folks in the biz of doing housework of some kind, that cannot for whatever reason plan like that, and they probably need local service.

            A guy I know is doing some work for some folks who bought their entire package of stuff, cabs and appliances, through one of the local sources.  Everything is a mess.

  7. DanT | Sep 28, 2007 01:05pm | #12

    I do the local family owned thing too.  My guy not only claims there is a difference in what you buy from a big box etc. but takes the time to show you where and why.  Pretty interesting actually.  I have bought enough they always match any price around and give me 10% off.  Great service and we pick up referals from them now and then.  I vote local. 

    However, with Gene's situation I understand.   I have one local yard around and if you don't build house they treat you like a step child.  So I don't use them.  So my recomondation is not across the board.  But I do know that if you buy from the web and have a problem the only warranty work you will get is from an independent service vendor who has that products blessing.  That means get on the phone and find one.  DanT

  8. BryanSayer | Sep 28, 2007 05:49pm | #16

    I've used these people a little and have been happy,
    http://www.abtelectronics.com/

    but they were smaller appliances. Seem to have good prices though.

    1. Norman | Sep 28, 2007 11:09pm | #20

      ABT is a enormous iceberg, most folks have no idea at all how big they are cuz they are privately held and don't report their sales publicly.

      But they advertise as the largest dealer in the US for Whirlpool, Panasonic, Sony and a wide range of brand names. Their volume is absolutely huge.

      And yes, their prices tend to be very good. Plus they do service what they sell in their shop. They also deliver and install.

      In the name of full disclosure, a number of my buddies do work there.

      Very reccommended.

       

       

  9. User avater
    dedhed | Sep 29, 2007 01:01am | #25

    i also had god experiance with witbecker, bought a Jenn Air cook top,Jenn Air double oven and a Sharp microwave drawer,put some of the savings towards the extened warrentee.

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