How to Avoid carpet
scams and where to find the best deals!
1. Selecting the
Right Carpet for You.
This critical aspect of
buying carpet must include
selecting a carpet made with the
correct fiber, with a sufficient
face-weight, including enough density and material quality to meets your needs and
lifestyle. Get it wrong and you stand to lose thousands.
In my Carpet Buying
Guide, I provide you with all the key information you need to select the right
carpet to meet your needs and goals. One of the biggest problems you will
encounter is carpet salespeople who don't know much about the products they
are selling. If you put your trust in a carpet salesperson's advice or
suggestions you may be making a huge mistake. Ultimately you are responsible for
what carpet you purchase, regardless of what carpet the salesperson recommends. If
you end up with an unsuitable carpet you will have no one to blame but yourself.
2. Getting Accurate
Carpet
Measurements saves you money.
Sooner or later you may
need to have a carpet salesperson come to your home to measure for carpet. Here is where
you can encounter a major problem. Measuring for carpet is an art. Not everyone
is accurate at measuring. If over-measured or measured wrong you lose money because you will be
charged for more material and labor than you actually need. If your carpet needs
are under-measured you won't have enough carpet to finish the job. Then they
will have to order more carpet from the mill and you'll have to wait at least
another three weeks before the carpet arrives.
Some carpet salespeople
are sneaky when they measure your home. In order to make more profit, they may say you need more
carpet than you actually do. It's a very common carpet scam. If you are
intentionally over-measured you stand to over-pay by hundreds of dollars. You need to be sure you
are not a victim of this or any other carpet scam. There are
dozens more common carpet scams you need to look out for.
3. Finding Qualified Carpet
Installers
If installed
improperly, carpet can lose half of it's intended life-span. This can be a huge
problem for you if you don't know how to tell a good installer from a bad one
especially since three out of four carpet
installers are not properly trained. In most cases, by the time you discover
that your carpet has been installed improperly it's already
too late.
When you buy new carpet
you generally have two choices, use the installers provided by the carpet
retailer, or hire an independent carpet installer yourself. Both options have
their downside but no matter which way you end up going there are precautions
you must take to ensure that your carpet is installed properly.
4. Choosing the
Right Carpet Padding
Another
common problem consumers face is buying the wrong carpet padding. Get this wrong and you not
only void your carpet warranty, but your carpet will not last as long as it
should. In some cases using the wrong padding will cause your carpet to develop
wrinkles. Don't trust the
carpet salesperson to make this choice for you either. It is your responsibility
to be sure you are buying the correct padding that matched the requirements set
forth by the carpet manufacturer.
If the carpet retailer makes the pad choice
for you, you will not have any recourse if your warranty is voided from using
the wrong pad. Again, you are ultimately responsible for making sure that the
correct padding is used. There are many different types of padding, in varying
thickness and density. Some are very expensive, some are quite reasonable, some
are better for basements, some are better suited for high traffic areas like
stairs and halls.
5. Where to find the Best
Carpet Deals!
Everyone wants to get a good deal, and
nobody wants to be overcharged. Carpet retailers are some of the most
unscrupulous business people I have ever encountered. There are a
lot of carpet rip-offs and con artists so if you want to get a good deal
on carpet, you are going to have to do some homework. Good deals are out
there but they are hard to find unless you know where to look and how to
recognize them.
Alan
J. Fletcher - A trusted Source of Carpet Information:
I've been a consumer
advocate for over 12 years. I search the internet for carpet information just
like you are doing right now. The problem is, I find lots of bad carpet information
on the internet. And unsuspecting consumers can't tell what
information is accurate and which is not.
You need solid carpet
buying information. The information and advice needs to be accurate if it is going to do you any
good at all.
Don't skim my website and then run off looking for
better information
elsewhere on the web, it doesn't exist. It will just confuse you even more
than you already are and drive
you crazy. So, be a smart and informed shopper! Everything you need to know about buying
carpet wisely is easily understood in my incredible Carpet Buying Guide.
6. Where NOT to buy carpet.
Which retailer can convince you to buy from them first? They use all sorts of
gimmicks and tricks. See all the carpet ads on
television? They spend plenty trying to get your attention. Who do you think
is paying for those expensive commercials? The consumer. That's you. Retailers mark up the
price of their carpet as needed to offset their expensive advertising campaign. These heavy advertisers are just
a few of the carpet retailers you should avoid if you really want to get a good deal on new carpet.
Take
a look at my list of preferred
carpet dealers across America. I have about 150 listed so far. They are
all hand-picked by me personally. They have to meet my standards and
guidelines before I will list them in my directory. You need to buy from a
reputable carpet dealer!
Everyone is
so impatient these days. Everything has to get done right now. Carpet is a
costly and important investment and I suggest that
you not be in such a hurry to buy. You would be wise to take your time, do your
carpet homework and learn about the whole carpet buying process first. Do it right and I
guarantee you'll be glad you did. So will your pocketbook.
