Alan's
Preferred Carpet
Dealer Directory
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Carpet Buying Q & A |
| Homebuyers Often Discover Carpet Damage too late |
| Lifestyle Often Dictates Best Carpet Choice |
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Landlords: |
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The Complete Carpet Buying Guide
Save Hundreds On New Carpet!
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What to Know Before Shopping for Carpet
Carpet Scams are Everywhere!
Let me start by saying that there are plenty of reputable carpet dealers. The problem is knowing the difference between a reputable carpet retailer and a store you should avoid. You can't tell by looking from the outside or even shopping on the inside of the store. You need to be knowledgeable about the whole carpet buying process to be able to recognize the carpet con-artists.
Consumers who are in need of new carpet are often misinformed, mislead, overcharged or sold the wrong flooring materials for their needs or lifestyle. The problem is, there are just too many flooring salespeople that are willing to tell you just about anything in order to persuade you to buy from them. Why? It's due to the fact that most carpet salespeople are not paid by the hour or on salary, they are paid on commission. For them, no sale means no pay, and the need to make money can easily cause many salespeople to sacrifice integrity. That means they may tell you what you want to hear even if it is not true, just to make a sale.
Here is a list of Common Internet Scams from the FBI website...
It's a sad fact that many consumers buy carpet that they know little or nothing about. They may be able to recall how much they paid for their new carpet, but they often have no idea what type of fiber the carpet is made of, or what grade of padding was selected.
Very few consumers have adequate knowledge about the carpet they purchased to know whether or not it will endure their needs and lifestyle or longevity expectations. It doesn't take long for most homeowners to discover that the carpet they selected will not last as long as anticipated. In fact, most homeowners expect their new carpet to last for at least ten years but often find it fails to retain a "like-new appearance" for more than three years.
Why does this happen? Carpet is not made the same as it was 40-50 years ago. They made all carpets the same way. Heavy duty. There were three grades of carpet back then. Good, better and best. The lowest grade carpet used to last 10-20 years or more before it would begin to wear out. Even today we are still removing these old carpets that were installed in the 1960's and 1970's. They were made of heavy gauge nylon and they wore like iron. All they had to do was give them a good cleaning once in a while and they would come back looking like new again and again.
Today, like everything else, carpet is manufactured to meet the needs of any application and for any size budget. Carpet manufacturers make at least 12 different qualities or grades of carpet to choose from, but the trick is knowing which grade of carpet to buy.
There are at least three grades of low-end carpets designed for apartments. The lowest apartment grade carpet is so thin you can almost read a newspaper through it.
There are at least six medium grade carpet qualities for those who want a carpet to last for 5 to 15 years,
There are at least three high-end grades for those who want their carpet to last 20 years or more and are willing to pay dearly for it.
That's over 12 different grades of carpet. Choosing the wrong grade is the biggest mistake you can make. Why? Because the carpet you buy must meet your needs and goals or you will not get the results that you desire. Why spend thousands on a carpet that won't last?
Why spend thousands on a carpet that wears out prematurely? On the other side of the coin, why spend more than you need to? If you want a carpet to last for only 5 years you shouldn't spend more than is necessary to achieve that. The trick is knowing how to determine which carpet can do the job for you at the right price. Few carpet salespeople are going to know this information. They just want to make a sale and will applaud any choice you make whether it is a good choice or not.
Now please remember, not all carpet stores are unscrupulous and have untrained salespeople. There are plenty of reputable carpet stores to buy from. Take a moment to see who I have listed in my Preferred Carpet Dealer Directory.
