To Online, or not to Online?
That is the question. Over the last dozen or so years the internet has become a vast wasteland of commerce. I know that’s a bit of a bold statement. In my defense, today you can buy everything from prescription medication to groceries to furniture online and have them delivered right to your home. You can even buy your home online. You can buy computers and other electronics that have a given performance level, meaning that a 1080P TV will be a 1080P TV, you just need to choose what brand and size you like best. Many electronics are relatively ubiquitous and offer little variation between brands. Basically this means that whichever TV you order online, you’ll probably be happy with it.
If you were buying a big ticket item like a new car, would you buy it online, sight unseen? Of course you wouldn’t, you’d want to see the fit and finish and feel the quality built in by the manufacturer. Because on average this is a $33,000 investment and most Americans will keep their new car for six years (source: KBB). Now to compare that to your dream kitchen remodel, on average this is a $20,000 investment th
at will be the center of the home for ten to fifteen years (source: Home Advisor).
Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken to several online buyers who were less than ecstatic with their last online purchase. One couple told me about the experience they had with a complete kitchen package they bought. When their appliances arrived, they hadn’t considered the fact that the third party delivery company was not contracted to install their appliances. They were simply dropped off, in the driveway leaving the couple with no way to move them into their house. They needed to quickly find an installer who could move the heavy boxes into their home the same day.
After the fiasco with delivery and installation was over, they had spent an unexpected several hundred dollars. But their appliances were beautiful; they looked exactly like the pictures, and fit the décor of their home. However, they soon realized that the range felt light and flimsy, and within a year of service they began to have issues. The online retailer they had purchased through didn’t offer them any support and they felt that they had spent an unnecessary amount of time to get everything under control. This issue persisted and required three service calls in the two years they owned it, driving the end-cost of the appliance up substantially. Not to mention that the unit was only two years old and was being replaced.
Some customers have had issues similar to these and can be prevented when dealing with a product specialist inside a showroom. Feeling the product, seeing it in person, as well as acquiring knowledge from an expert is helpful for most. Some people still decide that buying online is convienent and easier with a busy schedule. Whichever way you choose, you should make sure that you have a great local service and install company to help with the process.
There have been many happy customers who do buy their appliances online and everything works out perfectly. If you do need help installing a new appliance, here at Brand Source we can help, locally in the Denver Metro Areas, Northern Colorado, and Colorado Springs. Call us today to fix any appliance issues before buying a whole new unit. You can save tons of money.
