 | Doug Brennon has been in the carpet/flooring industry for 20 years. He has been the corporate store manager for Derailed Commodity for the last 6 years. For more information please call 620-395-2141 or visit www.derailedcommodity.com. |
Carpet, Tile & Floor Covering
2012-01-26 15:24:25
When is the best time to buy carpet?
Q: We need new carpeting. Is there a better time to get the best pricing on carpet?
A: This is a question I get asked on a regular basis. The answer is “yes”.
Like any other industry the carpet industry has slow seasons and busy seasons. The key is to figure out when everyone else is buying carpet and get yours at a different time. During the busy seasons there are less sales and longer waits to get your carpet. The big question is when are the busy seasons? They are normally Tax season, February until the end of April. The beginning of July until the end of August and mid-October until the middle of December.
To get the best pricing, we need to look for days when no one else is getting carpet. Like before holidays where people don’t usually want their house “torn-up”. Also, the winter months are usually not busy as the cold weather detours people from redoing their floors.
If you buy your carpet from a stocking dealer you will want to go before the end of the year, the retailer may be anxious to thin his or her inventory before the year-end.
You may also want to buy from a stocking dealer because of savings on shipping as well as being able to see a large piece of the carpet before it is installed. A carpet store that sells by using samples is not generally a way to save money. There is money to be saved when the dealer buys a roll instead of a “cut-order” or less than a roll. Normally for a cut order you must wait for your carpet to be delivered and you pay extra for shipping. If you buy from a stocking dealer, you may be able to get your carpet installed almost immediately.
The most important thing is to buy from a reputable dealer, locally owned, and has been in business for a while (you want the company to be around if you end up with issues with your flooring). They should also provide free measurements and estimates, with a knowledgeable staff that is big enough to take care of your needs but small enough to care about your needs.
