If all is equal the smaller dealer wins, PC will react and beat the smaller dealers price only when challenged to do so. If you just give each a list of models and no pricing the independent dealer will usually give you a better deal. The larger dealers have a larger overhead and needs to price at a better margin, but will come down only when he senses he will loose the deal.

Wow, someone in Appliance World actually talked to you? I've been in there several times, even bought a few things there, and always felt like I was intruding on their socializing. A friend doing a Hamptons kitchen had a similar experience and ended up going with Bob Stevens due to both price and sales.

PC Richards does all their own service, I believe with the exception of GE. That's a selling point for me esp as I've had very positive experiences with their service. They've always matched internet prices with no hassle, although to be fair my most expensive purchase from them was just a $2500 TV. Knowledgable salesmen, maybe not so much.

I've heard decent things about Plessers, but never dealt with them.

Thanks so much for your replies! I've been to Appliance World in Huntington a couple of times already and they've been friendly enough. I even attended one of their demo dinners which was very nice. However, several people have advised me to avoid them at all costs which is frightening!

I will check out Plessers. Does anyone know about Capuano's in Farmingdale?

I purchased my own appliances but my GC imposed a "handling" charge anyway (don't ask!).

If you're willing to go west instead of east, I recommend Karl's Appliances in New Jersey. I got my Miele DW and Liebherr fridge from them last November and have not had any regrets since. Karl's has several showrooms in various locations, including a few "designer" showrooms which specialize in high end merchandise. Overall, Karl's has excellent selections, good customer relations skills and competitive pricing. I would describe them as a " small, local, big chain." :->

I've also had decent experiences with PC Richards, with the exception of a few instances in which I felt the hard sell approach was a bit much -- especially on the extended warranties. Plus, I have never used them to buy any high end appliances.

And, if you're at all open to making your high end purchases over the internet, I (and many other GWebbers) would seriously recommend you check out Trevor and Eurostoves for superb customer relations and very competitive pricing: wwww.eurostoves.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Karl's Appliances

I'm on the other side of the country, but agree that an independent is the way to go. Most high end appliances have a price floor so you should be able to find similar prices everywhere.

The value added, no matter the size of the store, are the service things; Will they give you their best price? Around here they'll give you their "contractor" price if you're buying a whole kitchen rather than a single item. Some, because of their agreements with their distributors, or whatever, want your contractor's name and license number, but you don't have to do the dance of buying through the contractor. A good store will also give you the documentation to send in for applicable rebates, will pass on discounts and promotions, etc.

Other service items include whether they'll warehouse your appliances until installation, whether they deliver and install, whether they have a service department, etc. Also, whether they'll exchange a bum unit rather than making you suffer through a lot of warranty repairs.

Thanks, everyone!

I'm knee deep in the same situation. I have been to 3 different independent places. The first I have a zillion connections with and they promised me the best price. Lo and behold - not so much. After compiling all 3 places into a lovely spread sheet, I brought it (the spread sheet) to PC Richards and they gave me a price that beat everyone else. They went lower than the lowest price of each appliance and gave me a total. They want to beat my bottom line - at this point it's almost $500 lower (better in my pocket...) . I'm getting Dacor 6-burner rangetop, 42" fridge, miele dishwasher, etc. about $14,000 (or more)worth. Now, my kitchen cabinet lady wants to beat that price.

Keep asking for lower prices - in this economy, they want your business and every $500 or $1000 counts.

Oh and I found out that Miele, Sub-zero and Wolf all have universal pricing - so everyone should give you the same quote - the first place I went (the one with connections) upcharged me $100 on my dishwasher - boy am I pissed.

Thanks, melinrk. I agree, every penny saved in this economy is helpful!

Do you think that PC Richards has good service post-purchase? (You sound very well-researched; were you able to find out any info about that?) If anyone has good or bad experience w/ PC, please share! That's my main concern about them... And I only have a couple of days left to make my decision - no time to shop around. Just have to figure out where to go and do it! (BTW, melinrk, are you in the Long Island area?)

eleeny - I've seen complaints about PC Richards online, but here are some of my positive experiences:

- I bought a TV, the bottom of the picture was ever-so-slightly distorted. They sent a repair man out who tried all sorts of adjustments but could not fix it. So they sent some guys over to pick it up and left me a loaner. A couple days later they called me to say it was not repairable and gave me the option of a replacement or exchange for another TV.

- I bought a DVD player that they didn't have in stock. They were honest up front that it would take several weeks for them to get it so they offered me a loaner in the meantime.

- I bought a 3 handset phone system, for some reason I "wasted" my money and bought the extended warranty. When it stopped working a couple years later I brought it in and without question they looked up what I had paid for it and gave me that amount credit towards a new set.

- Wife bought me a camcorder for Father's Day. She hadn't shopped around at all. I found an internet price of about $150 less, took a copy to the store, they shrugged their shoulders and refunded the difference.

- A month or two ago my parents bought an LG Fridge from them. There were several different creaks and groans and misaligned parts, etc. Within days they came out and fixed them with no issue. Here's the one negative: The icemaker seemed to be working incredibly slow, they didn't seem to know how to correct that so they said they'd just order a new one. To date my parents haven't heard back, but they haven't pushed the issue because now that the tray is full they never have a shortage of ice for their needs. And at this point they aren't really sure if there is in fact an issue anyway.

One word of caution on their extended service, should you choose to go against everyone's advice and purchase a policy. When I exchanged my phone they asked if I wanted to buy a new policy with it. I asked why, since I already had a 5 year (or whatever) policy. They said because the exchange "satisfied" the original policy so it was no longer in effect. I'd want to be real clear on their policy with an appliance, which will likely get repaired not replaced.

They haven't been in business for 100 years for no reason :)

Follow up:
I went back to my original place, the local guys that I have a connection with. Brought my spreadsheet with all the prices from all the stores, brought the pricing sheets on letterhead to prove that I wasn't making up the numbers.
THEY BEAT THE LOWEST PRICE!

I told them point blank that I wanted to buy from them and was ready to do it that day...however, they were a little more expensive on every piece.
They could not have been more willing to take care of me.

That's great to know, melinrk. Congratulations on your purchase! We will also be placing our order this week. There is a retailer that I prefer, but its prices are slightly higher. I will try your method and ask if they will beat or at least match the other store's quote. Thanks!

I bought mine online at #1 Appliance (in MO)and would NEVER do business with them again. I just returned one item due to missing parts and they have been very difficult. I had to involve my credit card company. I bought the same item on eBay for $190. less and had it in a week. (that was UBIDUWIN100)I ordered from #1 4-23 and got it 6-9.
The good thing about online is the cost is usually less and no sales tax.

I bought my Range (Capital 36") Hood (Kobe) and Dishwasher (Bosch) from them in May for my kitchen remodel. It is the best experience I have ever had in dealing with the sales staff to follow-ups to the delivery guys. You will not be disappointed at their service and even better, get the best price. I was gonna buy from AJ Madison but after shopping around some more and getting some prices for the appliance, Plessers beat them all. In fact I found the kobe hood was missing the chimney cover, called them up, withing a couple of days it arrived in the mail. Plus 10yr warranty on all appliance. cant go wrong

Just an update: We went to Plessers but their sales tactics were very aggressive (and annoying, IMO). They offered us what sounded like the lowest prices we can get anywhere, but it turned out that they have less-obvious ways of making it up, so in the end the total price we would have paid them is probably about the same as another store. We were initially very happy after our meeting with them, and we were planning to purchase from them, but their hard-ball tactics quickly turned us off. For instance, despite promising very clearly that they would not charge the deposit on our credit card for 2 days (so we would have a chance to discuss our potential purchases w/ our contractor first), they ended up charging $10K the very next morning, without our permission, even though I was on the phone with them several times that day, requesting a complete copy of the price quote which they had mistakenly not given us after the meeting. Ok, so it might have been a miscommunication, right? NOT! Even after we requested that the charges be reversed until we were fully ready to proceed with the purchase (we just wanted another day, as previously agreed), they still gave us a hard time and tried to keep $500! Anyway, we felt that we couldn't trust a company like that, so we went elsewhere. The dealer that we're now purchasing from has been a pleasure to deal with. They eagerly offered up tons of info without asking or pressuring us for our credit card. They gave us a printed quote of the lowest prices that they could offer us on each item, with free delivery, and gave us a 30-day price guarantee to decide. When we were good and ready, then we called them to place the order and pay the deposit. No pressure at all!

eleeny, good for you, its nice to see someone think it out and avoid a bad deal.

Glad it worked out for you eleeny.

My purchase was just made at Krups Kitchen & Bath, 11 W 18. Worked with them 4 years ago and know they stand behind anything that will go wrong.

I paid 2K less than the other estimate. Not everyone carries the brands I was going for and having done this before there were places I visited and didn't like. Life is too short for rude salesmen or those who make stuff up.

Since you're also purchasing service and troubleshooting for a long time, I feel relationships are vital.

But the $150 delivery charge I paid vs the $350 delivery charge on the other estimate was emblemmatic.

avoid pc richard and son like the plague.these people are the lowest forms of life in the universe,AVOID THIS HELL HOLE AT ALL COSTS.TRUST ME ON THIS ,I KNOW FIRST HAND.