A lot of large distributors have private label lines of their own produced overseas at a lower price point to offer a option to consumers at a price point lower than flooring from the Big 4 manufacturers. The large manufacturers have so much tied up in marketing their pricing is much higher but private label lines are often marketed only as an alternative to the brand names at a lower price point. I'd guess that is what you are looking at. The distributor most likely carries the warranty themselves. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as many times the off-brand quality can be as good as the brand name products, you just have to make sure they stand behind it which is what you are doing. I'd ask the retail store what their experience has been in dealing with claims from product that comes from Golden State.

I am interested in Genesis Hardwood Rare Earth floors mainly for their eco-friendliness and price point. Has anyone ever used this brand? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

It depends on what is ON the floor. If you have WAXED hardwood floors then MORE WAX is needed. Anything else and you need a something else. Most finishes from the last 40+ years are polyurethane finishes. These are NOT to receive ANYTHING other than 'cleaning'. If the floor is showing raw wood then it is time to do a full sand and refinish. Never, ever put down wax or polish or oil on a polyurethaned floor. EVER. At this point, we don't know what you have on your floors. You will need to load a photo or two. Can you load photos? They need to be in jpg format and it takes ++time for them to load. You need to leave the page alone until your photos have finished loading (can be 5-10 minutes).

I definitely use a vacuum on all hardwood floors in my house. I use that Miele brushead shown in the first reply. Tip: You don't necessarily need to use that brushhead with a Miele vac, all the vacuum stores sell $10 adapters that allow use with other brands. Why do I 'definitely use a vacuum on all hardwood floors in my house'? Because the flooring manufacturer's maintenance instructions say that is the first step of two steps in maintaining their factory finishes: Step 1: The best way to protect your wood floors is to vacuum regularly. The vacuum cleaner removes dust and abrasive substances from the surface. Frequency: As often as necessary. Following the flooring manufacturers maintenance (cleaning) instructions is always a condition of their typical 20, 30 and 40 year warranties. Translation: If you want the great looking finishes on new hardwood floors to last a very long time follow the manufacturers instructions, exactly and precisely. Even if that means you have to put a little more effort into it, i.e., contact the manufacturer directly for copies of their maintenance and cleaning instructions (and their written warranty), and seek out where you can buy the manufacturers cleaning products if that is what they recommend you use.