“Scratch” and “Dent” are not a comic duo from some comic series, although it would make for a funny ad campaign. In my case, the budget for the farmhouse construction project is already in the red - at least according to my projective spreadsheet - so I am looking for every angle to save money and get as close to a balanced budget as possible. (Perhaps our government should try the same ? I’ll save that tangent for another day).

I friend of mine told me about an appliance outlet that is a warehouse of sorts for all of the department store’s scratch and dent, returned, or never picked up appliances. They arrive at the outlet and are evaluated. Some have blemishes that are hard to find while others are pretty obvious. My theory is “a dent in the side of a washing machine that will bve out of site in a closet has no bearing on the function of the machine - it will still get my clothes clean.” The initial evaluation sets the first discount level, usually 25%, 30%, or 35%. “Returns” that are otherwise fine get the lowest discount while scratches and dents take the higher ones. What is interesting is its a bit like eBay bidding in reverse. As time goes on, if the item is not sold, the discount goes up. This is usually on a 30 day cycle. I saw a refrigerator with no noticable blemishes that had been there 2 months and it was at 30% and one with a dent (that was not very noticable until the flash of my camera hit it) that was already at 50% off.

This trip was “fact finding” so I took my digital camera and photographed appliances that were similar to what I was interested in. I also took close-up shots of the tags with part numbers and pricing. This allowed me to come home and look up the appliances on the internet. The truth was that the discounts were pretty good. I spoke to a young couple outfitting a new home and they had done their homework, looking at Lowes and Home Depot and even looking at the discontinued items. They said the prices at the outlet were much better and as long as they could be a bit flexible, they got everything they needed. I saw them loading a trailer with a front loading washer and dryer as well as a refrigerator. The woman said they saved over $1,000 just on those the purchase of those three items. She was very careful to look at the warranties and any visible or noted damage. She said the washer and dryer would end up in the garage so she didn’t care that one was white and one was black.

So, I came home and looked at my appliance budget and then looked at the photos I took. I realized I can get my planned appliances and save $2,000 or I can get a dream kitchen and still save nearly $1,000.

I can’t get appliances until the building is closed up and secure. By then, a number of the appliances I saw today will be gone but there will be others. The sales person said the commercial stove I was droolling  over may still be around and further discounted in another month - maybe even two. It’s oversized so it’s only suitable for someone building a new kitchen - like me <grin>

Related tangests ...   A perfect Memorial Day on the "vitual" farm   Build a house around 'this'   Misleading "green-ness" of LED lighting

Posted in Economics, Farmhouse |

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