Best places to buy appliances

If you're in the market for new appliances, you probably want to find a store with reasonable prices, good selection, trained help, and a smooth shopping experience. But results of two recent surveys from the Consumer Reports National Research Center show that no one retailer was able to provide all of those things.

We did find some cause for hope. Abt Electronics, in the Chicago area, and independent local stores garnered high praise from shoppers who bought a major appliance in the past year. For small appliances, independents also rated highly, along with Costco, though the standout was Amazon.com, as in past years.

The rankings for shopper satisfaction come from more than 21,000 respondents to our 2009 Appliance Shopper Satisfaction Survey. We also commissioned a separate, nationally representative Home Gripes survey of 1,405 homeowners about their experiences shopping at home stores.

From those surveys, we found what was most important to most people when shopping and where they were most likely to find satisfaction.

Hunt for low prices

Most people who responded to our Shopper Satisfaction survey said they had decided on a store because they were looking for low prices. That was especially true in the hunt for small appliances. There was also good news for hagglers. Almost 10 percent of small-appliance shoppers and a third of those shopping for major appliances tried to negotiate for a lower price. Of those, about seven in 10 succeeded, to the tune of $50 off their small appliance and $100 off a major one. An annoying problem to watch out for, according to our Home Gripes survey: excessive delivery or installation costs.

Bottom line
Only Abt Electronics scored better than average on price for major appliances. The almost 25 percent of Abt shoppers who bought via the Internet or by phone got a bonus: free shipping for many products and, if outside the four-state regional delivery area, no sales tax. For small appliances, Amazon.com and Costco got our readers' highest marks for price for the second year in a row.

Service makes a difference

Besides price, the expertise and manner of a store's sales staff were important reasons for the choice in a major appliance retailer, according to the Shopper Satisfaction survey. But respondents to our Home Gripes survey cited difficulty in finding a useful salesperson at all as one of their chief shopping annoyances. Salespeople who were arrogant or even nasty were especially bothersome for women.

Bottom line
Independent retailers, Abt Electronics, and Pacific Sales in California received top marks for having salespeople knowledgeable in major appliances. The trio also stood out for service rendered; Best Buy scored below average for its staff. For staff expertise and service in small appliances, independent local retailers scored best. Among major retailers, only Lowe's staff stood out, and for service, Sears scored above average.

Selection is important

Around a quarter of major- and small-appliance shoppers chose retailers based on their reputation for high-quality products. Retailers varied significantly on both counts. Poor selection was a complaint for less than 5 percent of respondents to our Shopper Satisfaction survey. But almost a quarter of small-appliance shoppers at Sam's Club complained that the store had too few brands or models available for selection. For major appliances, no store scored better than average for shopping ease. In our Home Gripes survey, boxes with missing or damaged parts were a bigger issue for respondents than poor selection. Dirty or disorganized stores were not a major problem for most shoppers, although women griped about bathrooms that were dirty or difficult to find.

Bottom line
For major-appliance product quality and selection, Abt Electronics and Pacific Sales scored best; for selection, Home Depot scored below average. For small-appliance purchasing, Amazon.com and independents stood out for quality and selection. Shopping for small appliances in stores was more varied, with independent retailers getting top marks for shopping ease, followed by Sears, Lowe's, and Best Buy, which all scored above average.

Troubles completing the sale

Stores that push extended warranties were among the top annoyances in our Home Gripes survey. In our Shopper Satisfaction survey, respondents who bought a major appliance were much more likely than those purchasing small appliances to be hit with an extended-warranty offer, which often comes as you're ready to check out. As with last year's study, the pushiest retailers were P.C. Richard & Son, Sears, Best Buy, and hhgregg. The median price for major-appliance extended warranties was $120; for small appliances, $50. We don't recommend purchasing extended warranties because our past research has shown that the bill for any needed repair is often comparable with the typical cost of a warranty. Another problem some shoppers experienced: long waits at registers. That was especially the case in our survey for small-appliance shoppers at Walmart.

Bottom line
For small appliances, Amazon's storage of shipping addresses and payment preferences might have contributed to its high score for ease of checkout in the Shopper Satisfaction survey. Independent retailers also received top marks, followed by Costco. For major appliances, no retailer scored worse than average. Abt Electronics and independents fared best. Almost 80 percent of respondents to our Shopper Satisfaction survey used a retailer's home-delivery service for major appliance purchases, and more than 60 percent had the retailer install their product. Ten percent complained that they had to wait longer than expected.

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