9 minute read
How to Buy an Appliance Now
from sin46th magzus.org
by Thomas Swift
HOW TO BUY AN
EXPERT ADVICE FROM CR’S APPLIANCE PROS CAN HELP YOU NAVIGATE DELAYS AND SHORTAGES TO GET THE KITCHEN GEAR YOU NEED—FOR LESS. PLUS: EXCLUSIVE APPLIANCE STORE RATINGS.
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IF YOU’RE SHOPPING for new appliances, you might have to be patient—and flexible—especially if you want a specific model. Supply shortages that started early in the pandemic are still affecting the market. “The new normal is fewer choices, ” says Ken Miele, CEO of Appliance Dealers Cooperative, which supplies large appliances for more than 200 independent dealers and is based in Monroe, N.J. “We dealers can only sell what we have. ” It’s not uncommon to wait two to three weeks, and with some products four to six weeks, says David MacGregor,
APPLIANCE NOW
an appliance-industry analyst at Longbow Research, based in Cleveland. And delays on some higher-end items can be at least three to four months, says the senior acquisition agent who buys large appliances for CR’s tests.
WHY THE HOLDUP?
A variety of forces, some related to COVID-19 and some decades old, have put kinks in the country’s supply chain. Two years into the pandemic, Americans are still clamoring to replace large appliances. Though mortgage interest rates are rising, pentup home buying and building demand will continue to fuel appliance demand. Manufacturers that have maintained lean, cost-cutting inventories for decades are struggling to keep up. They’re also operating with COVID-19 safety protocols that slow production.
Transport continues to be a problem. There aren’t enough truckers or shipping containers in the right locations to carry goods around the country, industry observers say. That bottleneck, combined with restrictive rules and labor shortages at West Coast ports, have left cargo ships carrying foreign-made appliances and parts languishing in U.S. ports. All those trends make it hard for makers to meet the current demand.
Last fall, President Joe Biden announced that the Port of Los Angeles began moving toward round-theclock hours to help ease the congestion. MacGregor says the change has been moderately helpful for 2022 inventories and should get better as 2022 unfolds.
Indeed, all hope is not lost for appliance shoppers. CR’s recent survey of over 38,000 CR members who told us about their experiences purchasing more than 56,000 small and large appliances from the beginning of 2020 through May 2021 found that most shoppers have been able to find and buy the large appliance of their choice in spite of COVID-related supplychain slowdowns and shortfalls. About two-thirds of large-appliance shoppers—65 percent—said they bought the model they had their eye on. Only 8 percent had to buy an alternative when the one they wanted was unavailable.
Shoppers seeking a specific dishwasher were among the most likely to have to compromise on their top choice. Even so, that happened to only 11 percent of them. Ten percent of fridge and freezer buyers had to settle.
Getting the desired model often means shopping around. A third of major-appliance shoppers who chose one retailer over another during their shopping process did so because of problems with product availability. An additional 15 percent said the retailer didn’t have enough models on display.
WHAT ABOUT PRICES?
There has been little incentive during the pandemic to keep prices low, MacGregor says. High consumer demand coupled with low supply has meant fewer deals over the past year.
“Why discount something that consumers are lining up and waiting five to six weeks to buy?” he asks. With prices disappointing, our members put as much or more stock in service, installation, and delivery timeliness.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Here’s our insider advice for getting an appliance pronto, at the best price.
1. Try an independent retailer.
Local independent retailers can offer selections comparable to those of bigbox stores, thanks to their membership in cooperative buying groups. “Buying groups put independents on an equal footing with the home centers, ” MacGregor says. a superior level of service to their clientele, not just in selling the product but also in the hand-holding and support after the purchase. ”
And if you see lower prices at big-box stores, it’s worth asking an independent whether it will match them. 2. Use online tools to research. Take advantage of a retailer’s online shopping filters to narrow your appliance search to what’s in stock or in stores now. If you want to see an appliance in person, some retailers, including Lowe’s, will tell you the nearest store that has the model you’re considering. Use online chat if it’s available, too.
Consult Consumer Reports for prices and product availability from the retailers in our shopping program. The information is updated regularly, but you should always check the retailer for real-time pricing and stock availability.
3. Prioritize your must-haves.
When inventory is limited, it helps to be flexible with features. 4. Order—and keep browsing. If you see something you want online, buy it! Then keep looking. If you find a better or quicker deal, go back and cancel the first order. Big-box stores may allow order cancellations and refunds for some period of time before delivery. (Check the cancellation policy first.) 5. Always haggle. Appliances might be harder to come by, but that shouldn’t stop you from bargaining for a better price. Only 23 percent of the largeappliance shoppers we surveyed said they’d haggled for a lower price. But two-thirds of those who did haggle succeeded in getting a lower price. The median savings was $119. 6. Use your own vehicle. If you have access to a truck, you can cut the wait for delivery by picking up your appliance yourself.
7. Shop at one of CR’s top-rated
large-appliance stores (see ratings on the facing page). In CR’s member survey, Abt gets top marks for price and service, and often seems willing to haggle.
THE BEST & WORST MAJOR-APPLIANCE STORES
Good prices, in-stock items, and easy delivery: The best appliance stores have it all. You ’ll find that winning combo in our top-rated stores, which received the highest marks from more than 17,000 CR members who told us about their experiences buying more than 23,000 major appliances at 20 retail chains across the country—as well as from independents and manufacturers ’ websites.
Provider
MAJOR APPLIANCES
Abt
Nebraska Furniture Mart
Costco
Spencer’s TV & Appliance
Independents
Manufacturers’ websites
R.C. Willey Home Furnishings
Warners’ Stellian
Amazon.com
Bray & Scarff
Famous Tate
Best Buy
Albert Lee Appliance
Sears Hometown Stores
P.C. Richard & Son
Grand Appliance & TV
Lowe’s
Ferguson
Home Depot
Menards
Sears
Appliances Connection
HOW WE SURVEY: Ratings are based on Consumer Reports ’ 2021 Spring Survey of 17,359 CR members reporting on 23,229 major-appliance purchases made between January 2020 and May 2021. Overall satisfaction score represents shoppers ’ overall satisfaction with their retail experience. If all respondents are completely satisfied with a particular retailer, this score would be 100; a score of 80 indicates that respondents are “ very satisfied, ” on average. Differences of fewer than 6 points are not meaningful. The other attributes listed under reader survey results reflect average scores on a scale from “ very poor ” to “ excellent. ” Ratings are based on the experiences of CR members, who might not be representative of the general U.S. population. A dash (–) indicates insufficient sample size to provide a rating or that an attribute is not applicable to a retailer.
Reader Survey Results
l l a r e v O n o i t c a f s i t a s e r o c s d i a p e c i r P n o i t c e l e S e c i v r e S e r o t s n I e r e h p s o m t a e t i s b e W y t i l i b a s u y r e v i l e d e m o H
93
91
90
90
89
89
88
87
87
87
86
86
85
84
84
84
83
83
83
80
80
78
0 2 0 4 0 4 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 4 0 4 0 4 – 0 3
0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 4 0 4 0 5 – 0 3
0 2 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 3 – –
0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 4 – – 0 3 0 2
BUYING GUIDE
APPLIANCES 26 Refrigerators 40 Ranges 50 Cooktops 58 Wall Ovens 62 Microwaves 70 Dishwashers DESIGN ELEMENTS 78 Cabinets 84 Countertops 90 Flooring
By the Numbers
Each year, Consumer Reports spends over $30 million testing, rating, and reviewing products in our 63 state-of-the-art labs.
3 Million
The number of CR members we invite in a typical year to participate in our product reliability and satisfaction surveys
2,400
The estimated number of cookies our testers bake annually to evaluate the ranges and ovens in our tests
5.4 Million
How many temperature readings we take when evaluating each refrigerator in our tests
50%
About how much energy and water you ’ll save using a dishwasher manufactured today vs. a model made 20 years ago
