When is the Worst Time to Buy New Carpet?

Is there a best time of year to buy new carpet?

If you are willing do your carpet homework to learn exactly what to do and know who to buy from, then the answer is YES! 

Homeowners can save as much as 20% or more by knowing when to buy, who to buy from and how to negotiate a great deal.

All carpet retailers have busy seasons and slow seasons. If you try to negotiate a great deal during their busy season, then you don’t stand much of a chance of beating them down on the price.

 

However, if you negotiate wisely during their slow season then you stand a very good chance of negotiating a very sweet carpet deal for yourself.

Some dealers have special sales during their slow seasons. Some dealers have sales going on all the time. You need to be able to recognize which sales are worthwhile and which ones are just a lot of hype. Most are just hype.

Forget Big Box Retailers Like Home Depot and Lowe’s

I only recommend buying carpet from honest locally-owned carpet stores. They are the most helpful, have the best customer service and many are willing to negotiate.

Avoid Large corporately-owned carpet sellers who advertise heavily on TV.  They offer amazing discounts on carpet flooring and installation. They always have new sales gimmicks that sound too good to be true. After reading their fine print, you will understand why I don’t recommend these type of retailers.

I suggest you avoid buying from Empire too. You have seen their TV ads a thousand times and can probably sing their 800 phone number by heart. I’m sure your kids can too. Do they sell polyester carpets at highly inflated prices? Do they say polyester is just as durable as a nylon? Why does this sound so familiar?

 

Empire Today only does a shop-at-home service and will send out an independent commissioned sales contractor to your home to show you samples and measure up your needs.

The salesperson is highly motivated to close the sale in just one visit. Trust me, this is not how you want to buy new carpet. No one likes being pressured into buying right now without doing some comparison shopping. So please do yourself a favor and bypass your urge to make that call.

The Worst Time to Buy New Carpet?

The question is, when do people buy carpet most? You don’t want to buy carpet when everyone else is buying new carpet.

It’s almost impossible to negotiate a great deal on carpet when there are other 10 other customers waiting in line behind you holding their checkbooks.

You want to buy new carpet when the carpet store is NOT busy. You want to buy new carpet during their SLOW times. You want to buy carpet when their installers are not getting enough work to pay their bills. This is when they will be more willing to negotiate with you. This is the time when you stand to save some serious money.

The BEST and WORST Places to Buy New Carpet?

Here are the big three ”busy” seasons you need to avoid:

 1.  Between February 20th and April 30th when people are expecting a tax refund

2. From the 4th of July through August 31st. During the hot summer months when people are remodeling an existing home or moving into a new home before the new school year starts.

 3. Mid-October thru mid December.  When people are getting ready for the holidays, and when out of town relatives and guests are coming.

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The Best Time to Buy New Carpet?

Alright, now that you know when NOT to buy carpet if you want to negotiate your best deal. Now lets look at the three windows of “money-saving” opportunity so you know exactly when IS the best time to buy new carpet.

December 15 thru January 10th.

Once December 15th rolls around, the Christmas trees are going up and holiday shopping is on high. This means that buying after December 15th is a great time to buy new carpet.

Why? Fewer people are planning to buy new carpet during this time because of the Christmas season.

You want to negotiate your best deal and have your new carpet installed prior to January 31st.

Personally I would try to negotiate my best deal before January 10th. That’s when most dealers will be feeling the pinch and their installers will be the most hungry for work.

By Feb 1st it’s all done and over, as the tax refunds are starting to come in. People who file their tax returns early know how much their refund will be and that’s when carpet shopping goes into full swing.

May 1st to June 30th

The tax refund is spent, Memorial Day weekend is busy, the kids are getting out of school, vacation planning is underway and their is plenty of springtime gardening to do.

Buying new carpet is not at the top of the priority list for most people during this time.

This makes it a great time for you to negotiate a great carpet deal. I suggest shopping from May 20th through June 10th for the best negotiating power.

September

The next best time to buy carpet comes right after the kids go back to school and lasts thru the whole month of September.

The last two weeks of august are busy, everyone is getting ready for a new school year, enjoying the last few weeks of hot summer weather, and getting ready for the autumn leaves to fall.

No one wants to think about getting ready for the holidays until after Halloween. So late August thru September is a great time to negotiate a great deal on new carpet for your home.

I suggest shopping early in September and plan to have your new carpet installed by October 15th because once people start thinking about the holidays people will be lined up to have new carpet before their holiday guests arrive.

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Negotiating a Great Price

Knowing the best time to buy new carpet is important, but knowing how to negotiate a great deal is also important. You can’t just walk into any carpet retailer and ask for 20% off because you know it is their slow season. You have to play their game. Let them try to sell you. Let them come out and measure your home. Let them prepare a bid to do the whole job.

Some carpet retailers will negotiate with you and some won’t. Don’t expect to be able to negotiate with Lowe’s or Home Depot. The person hanging around the flooring department is not able to give you a discount.

You need to buy from a locally owned carpet dealer who is willing to negotiate with you. Visit my Preferred Carpet Dealer Directory to see who I recommend near you.

Negotiating a good deal on carpet doesn’t start the moment you begin shopping for carpet, it starts after you have found the perfect carpet, at the price you can afford. You have had them come to your home to measure and they have given you a bid to do the whole job. The carpet, the padding and the installation.

Now you have the total amount for the whole job right in front of you. Now is when they want you to say yes and accept their bid.

Right before you agree to the deal or sign on the bottom line, is when you should stop, hesitate and say to the salesperson…

 “I’m just not sure about this price… it seems a bit high to me. I think I need to consider this a little more just to make sure I’m making the right decision”

This is the beginning of negotiating a good deal on new carpet. 

Don’t be afraid to leave the store, or ask the salesperson to leave your home so you can “think about it”.

Now you just wait a few days. Two or three.

Your hope is that they will agree to give you a better deal before right now. Or perhaps they will call you in a day or two with a better offer.

You Must Be Patient. They want and need your business. The salesperson is probably pleading with his boss to reduce the price.

If they don’t call and offer you a better deal, you have the option of either accepting their first bid or visiting another local carpet dealer to see if they will offer you a lower price on the same carpet, pad and installation.

If you are just doing a small room or two, don’t expect a huge discount. If you are doing your whole house, then you should expect a sizeable discount. You decide if their final offer is acceptable to you.

Will you accept a 10% discount? Don’t be afraid to ask for a bigger discount than they offer. If they say 10%, you should say 20%, Maybe they say 15%? You say…. ?

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Choosing New Carpet Wisely

Regardless of how much of a discount you can negotiate, it won’t be worth anything if you choose the wrong carpet and pad or if you don’t get it installed properly. So you have to do your carpet homework. My List of Free Carpet Articles

What Grade Of Carpet Do I Need?

You need to learn what carpet is capable of meeting your needs and goals, and what pad is correct for the carpet style you have selected. Start by taking my free Carpet Foot-Traffic Test to see where you stand. In just 5 minutes or less you will know what grade of carpet can tolerate your level of foot traffic you have in your home.

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Visit my website where you can learn many more “money saving” secrets to buying carpet wisely and how you can avoid common carpet scams and rip-offs!

It’s hard to find an honest and reputable carpet store these days! That’s why I created my own special hand-picked list of locally-owned carpet and flooring stores. They give free estimates, offer fair prices, have knowledgeable staff, provide honest measuring and use qualified installers. Are there any recommended Carpet Stores Near Me?

 

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