With the resurgence in popularity of hardwood flooring over the last several years, your choices are endless of where to find the best stores to purchase it. Many stores offering flooring supplies for do-it-yourselfers have opened up in urban and suburban areas. Because of the economy, there is a lot of competition out there just waiting for your business.
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Even if you live in a more rural area, miles away from any stores, you could choose to take a drive or just order your hardwood flooring over the phone or the Internet.
There are many stores and online retailers that offer all types of flooring online and you may find you have more options shopping that way.
It helps to be aware beforehand of the different types and current trends that are available with hardwood flooring. This way you do not find yourself overwhelmed with too many options and will have a general idea of what you are looking for.
The Big Box Home Improvement Stores
With lots of stores selling hardwood flooring, it pays to check out the retailer. Some stores you may already know very well, being that many of the big box home improvement stores sell flooring.
However, they are, at times, limited to only a few different brands and varieties. Out of those, many may be considered special order and will require you to wait a few weeks for delivery. We all know that special order means you are most likely going to have to pay extra for your flooring also!
The other issue with some of these big box stores is that the biggest sales are usually on closeouts that they have purchased from manufacturers. You may think you are getting a great deal at the time, but will be surprised if you cannot find the same price in the future or more flooring if you run short during the installation.
Their hardwood flooring selections will usually be displayed high up. In order to get a really good look at the samples, you may find yourself matching up item numbers and searching on the shelf for an open case to examine the color and texture of the flooring.
With this type of purchase, be sure to get enough in case of bad cuts during the install. In most cases, you can return full cases, but check first when purchasing a closeout deal to see if returns are allowed.
A caveat to consider when purchasing from one of the big home improvement stores is that you may not always be getting accurate advice from their experts.
On a busy weekend, who knows who you may find in the flooring department: It could be someone from the plumbing department who knows a little about flooring, perhaps just enough to get by, but not someone who is going to be able to give you the best advice for your project.
Flooring Stores
There are also stores that specialize entirely in selling hardwood flooring along with other types of flooring. Most will also sell the supplies that you will need to install your flooring. The advantage of going to one of these stores is that, in all likelihood, you will find that the staff will be much more knowledgeable about flooring.
These stores usually have showrooms where you can easily compare the colors and textures of all their flooring samples. If you like to be left to your own devices when trying to decide what type of flooring you want, you may find yourself being asking constantly if you need help by the salespeople on the floor. However, this can also be a good opportunity to learn more about the flooring you are considering, since they are often very knowledgeable and can point out the pros and cons of the different types of flooring.
You may also be able to find great closeout deals on discontinued stock or older stock that needs to be moved out for new arrivals. Just be sure that you purchase enough to complete your project with extra for any cutting accidents. Check with the store on their return policy for unopened cartons.
Stores that offer only flooring will usually have a bigger selection than a home improvement store.
They still will be limited to being able to stock only so much flooring because of overhead and storage. You may have to order your hardwood flooring and then pick it up or have it delivered at a later date.
Another consideration is that they may only sell products from certain manufacturers or may push their own line of flooring if they have their own mill or agreements with distributors. Therefore, you may not be able to get hardwood flooring from a wide variety of manufacturers.
Online Flooring Retailers
Nowadays, you can buy everything and anything on the Internet, and that includes hardwood flooring. Not only do the big box stores allow you to order online, but there are also online retailers entirely devoted to selling flooring and everything you need to install it yourself.
You may also find that these sites offer a much wider variety of choices when it comes to hardwood flooring and other types of flooring. Most do not have to worry about the overhead involved with keeping large supplies of flooring supplies on hand and will ship directly from the manufacturer or mill. This could mean much better prices than the big home improvement stores!
An advantage to shopping online for hardwood flooring is that you do not need to deal with salespeople interrupting your browsing. If you have a question, you can also call the retailer or click an option for more information. There are flooring experts standing by to assist you.
Because online flooring stores deal directly with the manufacturers, they may be able to offer special deals and incentives, especially before new designs are set to come out each year. This can give you substantial savings because, when it comes down to it, flooring is not like a designer handbag. Who really cares that they are installing last year’s hardwood flooring instead of this year’s, as long as it is a quality product?
A concern you might have about ordering your hardwood floors online is that you don’t like the idea of not being able to see them first.
Purchasing flooring for your home can be a substantial investment. Most online retailers are aware of this and can usually send you a sample for a small fee to put your mind at ease before you place a full order.
When you purchase flooring from an online retailer you are going to have to have your flooring shipped. This means shipping charges. However, the deals that you will be able to get online for the exact flooring you want will usually even out the costs of shipping. You may find these retailers will offer discount shipping during certain times of the year also, so you may save even more!
Check the Reviews
It is wise to check out consumer reviews to see what people are saying about the various home improvement stores, flooring stores, or online retailers. Unfortunately, due to human nature, you will often find more negative reviews than positive ones since people will tend to complain about bad service more often than praise good service on their own.
Check the business out through the Better Business Bureau. ConsumerReports.org also devotes a section to flooring where you can get unbiased reviews of sellers and manufacturers of hardwood and other types of flooring.
Seeing what is being said and how customers are treated after having a complaint will help you decide who is reputable and who is not. If you plan to purchase hardwood flooring in the near future, familiarize yourself with social media outlets. Many retailers, both online and those with brick-and-mortar stores, will utilize social media sites like Facebook to not only advertise specials, but also to also interact with their customers or fans.
If you see a lot of people have complaints and it appears nothing is being done to answer those complaints, then you know to avoid that retailer and move on to another. Businesses that allow themselves to be visible to the public will most often do the right thing to satisfy their customers instead of gathering negative publicity.
One plus to connecting to retailers through Facebook or other means is that you may receive special offers or hear about deals before the rest of the public will. You may be able to join an email list that will allow you to receive news about sales and promotions that are going on with the retailer.
Ask the Professionals
Do you have any friends that are contractors? Ask where they buy their hardwood flooring for the jobs they do for their customers. They might be able to steer you toward one of their suppliers and allow you to get a special deal. They may also be able to tell you what stores to avoid because of past bad experiences.
Word of Mouth
Ask your friends. Chances are you know someone who has recently finished a remodeling job in their home or had a contractor come in to do it for them. In either case, if they had hardwood flooring put in, they would have had to pick it out from somewhere. Inquire if they had a positive experience with whomever they purchased the flooring from.
There’s no need for shopping for hardwood flooring to be a horrific chore. It should be an enjoyable experience that allows you time to choose from all the different varieties out there and express your own individuality within your home.
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