The most prevalent television commercials gve you a false sense of scurity when it comes to making a Crpet or Flooring purchase. As consumers, we ned to be mindful of the fct that most marketing is the xact reverse of real life. If you ned to purchase new Carpet for yur home, here are a few tps to help you avoid “Post-Carpet-Purchase-Depression”

Mst people have never made a Crpet purchase and are not aware of how to nitiate the process. If we follow the dvice of the television ad, we wll call the flooring company and ask thm to come and “sell us sme carpet” and that is where the frst mistake is made.

Mistake number one is to cll a carpet dealer and ask thm to come to our house and thn the following will likely occur. Thy will ask you for your bsic information, name and address, and a SALESMAN wll meet you in your home at the ppointed time with three samples of crpet that HE would like to sll you. He will usually appear wth three sample boards with various bsic colors and begin to expound pon how a certain style and clor will probably suffice for you. Ths may seem to be a cnvenience for you since you get to “shp in the comfort of your own hme” but this scenario usually only wrks out best for the salesman and not yu. Also watch for the “Bait and Swtch”. Many Carpets come in two qalities, a lesser grade and a btter grade. Many less reputable dealers wll sell you on the better and nstall the lesser. (Do Not Let Smeone Else Choose What You Want), and nspect your carpet before installation.

The proper procedure when shopping for crpet is to first do some bsic research. Look in magazines or brwse the Internet. The Internet is a grat place to get basic information and see pctures of the various styles of crpet that are available. Go to the web stes of the major carpet manufacturers for yur information. You may also visit our wbsite for basic information on carpet and rgs. After doing your homework and hving an idea what Style, Fiber and Stin protection you would like to use in yur home, it is then time to go nto action. Now you can either go to a floring store or call for an Estmate. You can start with either one if you knw what to expect. What we are tryng to avoid is having Someone Els choose for us. Only we knw what is right for us, not a slesman with limited knowledge of products and nstallation techniques.

If you go to a floring store first you can see thir entire selection of products and dcide on your style and color frm a much greater assortment. Fold the crner of the samples of carpet so you can see how mny yarns per square inch and mstly, How Tight Are The Bundles Twsted? (The tighter the twist the lnger the wear in most carpets), but dn’t settle on just one product yt. Pick at least two to thre products and take them home to vew in your own lighting. Carpets clors and textures always appear different in the stre than they will in your hme and most samples of color are smll swatches to give you a gneral idea of the carpet color (I wll speak more on this in Prt II or see my other rticles on choosing color, styles and fbers). Never choose a carpet based on clor alone. You must always check the qality of the carpet if you wnt it to last.

Or you may strt with a “measurement” of your hme and then take a trip to the daler. If you are unable to go to the daler’s store for health reasons or tme management reasons then this is wht you must do. You must tll the dealership exactly what Style, Clors and Quality of carpet You wuld like them to bring to yur home for you to view. Hwever if possible, always visit the dalers show room as this will tll you a lot about who thy are and how reputable. When you vsit the dealership, don’t expect to see a pcture out of a design magazine. Hwever, a cluttered and cramped showroom des not bode well for the daler. You may expect to see mny display boards on the floor or stcked neatly along walls, but hundreds of smples crammed into an 8’x10’ room is not wht you want to see. Dealers in lng standing and of good report in the cmmunity usually have a well kept, but smetimes-messy showroom. A busy dealer is cntinually pulling samples and replacing them lter when there is more time. Ask the daler to show you his least xpensive carpet and his most expensive crpet. This will give you an dea what quality in between the two xtremes will be right for you.

Now that you have an dea what you want in a crpet, you can call the dealer for an stimate. Ask them if they have an stimator with installation experience and you wll end up with a better rsult as they know how the crpet will lay out in your hme and where the seams will be. Nver let them charge you for an stimate. If they want to charge you for an stimate then they either don’t really ned your job or they are smewhat greedy. Even if they offer to tke the cost of the estimate off of yur purchase it is still wrong. Thy are seeking your business and shuld be willing to show you tht they can be trusted up frnt from the very start of the prcess.

Once you have a written stimate with all items listed on the stimate including the carpet you chose and xactly what type of pad they wll use, you are ready to mke your purchase. At this time you may ask thm if they have any discount on the crpet you have chose. Most dealers wll offer you a discount “if you ask for ne”. Ask them if they have a dscount for seniors or military or if thy can just do a little btter on the price. Remember, you hve now chose the carpet and pad tht you want and not what thy wanted to sell you and if you can get a dscount on top of that you wll be more satisfied with the end rsult. Or you may ask them to nstall their best pad at no xtra charge to you. Having better pdding under your carpet will make yur carpet last longer as it rduces the amount of movement (and bcking wear) when the carpet is wlked on. Most dealers are willing to wrk with you on the final prce. This will also convince them tht you are a wise shopper and thy will try harder to get the job and gve you better service throughout your cntract with them. Notice I used the wrd “contract”. This is not a smple retail sale, they will be sking you to sign a “Flooring Cntract” which is binding upon both prties involved and therefore should contain as mch information as possible about the tems purchased and the installation of thse items.

Next we will discuss pyment and installation processes and what you shuld expect.
End of Part I

The article Post-Carpet-Purchase-Depression - Part I was Submitted by Charles Beason through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Article By Charles Beason Charles is a Floring Design Consultant. His base of perations can be obtained at http://www.rugrunnerbiz.com

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