Lots of people have done this and ended up happy. For me though, I wanted to see the soapstone I was buying up close and personal. So I hopped on a plane and went. Now... I was able to marry the trip with a weekend a visit with my boys who live in NY so it was a double reason to go. My slabs were in NJ and I live in FLorida.

I bought the same soapstone as remodelfla, and from the same place. I only saw pictures of slabs of the stone, I never even saw pictures of what I was actually getting.

The sales rep said "Monsoon Wave all looks about the same" and she's pretty correct in that, though you can get some with more pronounced streaks, but you aren't going to get a "different" spot like I've seen in a lot of granite and some marbles.

If I was getting one of the more subtle marbles, I think pictures would be fine, if I was getting something wild like Rain Forest, I'd want to see the actual slab.

However, if you get to see it before fabrication, unless is shows up a different color than expected, you can probably work around any movement issues.

I did it. In fact, I didn't even see a photo. There aren't any granite yards within reasonable traveling distance from me, so my local fabricator ordered it and I didn't see it until it arrived at his shop. The reason this worked for me was that I had chosen Verde Butterfly granite which is fairly consistent without a lot of color variations and without much movement. I probably would have been happy with any slab of VB.

If you want something that varies a lot from slab to slab, this route is much riskier. You also need to make sure that your fabricator inspects the slab for cracks, damage, etc and has a way to return it if it's unacceptable.

I agree with Macy, yes.

If you feel the general characteristics of the stone are dependable, then I would. Plus if the slab is photographed and ID'd I don't think it would be unreasonable for your sales rep to ask their supplier if the stone had any unusual issues. If Craigslist and Ebay can note imperfections on used items I'd hope a business could at least do the same.

I did and have been thrilled- it is in my kitchen now!

Thanks for the responses and for the advice to ask about fissures or other issues. I'm pretty excited to have found what I want but also nervous!

I bought my soapstone sight unseen but it was from a reputable fabricator, and the type I chose is pretty plain.

Sayde, I agree with other posters. It's great advice to build in some kind of clause with the fabricator that protects you - for example, that they will refund your deposit if the slab is in any way damaged (like buying a house conditional upon a home inspection). You'll also want to agree upon what constitutes "Damaged" and make sure you agree; your tolerance threshold may be lower than theirs.

Exciting!! I know how long and hard you have worked on your kitchen and cannot wait to see it all come together!

Eliz

I think it depends on the material. Have you seen (in person or online) examples of this material that you did not like? If so, it might give me pause.

Im also not sure what you meant in this sentence:

"If the slab comes and for some reason I don't want it the fabricator will say OK but they will have my deposit and I know there is no other material that I want."

Will you get your deposit back if you say no? How much is the deposi?
If there is no other material that you want, i think you answered your own question?

I've bought a lot of things online. A lot. But when it comes to something that costly, important and dependent on a fabricator, I've gone in person to see it myself and make the arrangements. It's not the easiest thing and it took a lot of time. But it pays off because you can see the quality of the work they do, how large they are and what the selection might be. When I bought my marble, I was able to take my paint colors and other samples to be sure the slab was right -- to see what else I might not know about that was available and to just be sure in general.

For me, it's worth a little trip.

I am not buying granite, but Silestone. The actual colors of some of the Silestone counters are vastly different than their photos online. I was dead set on "Ivory Coast" until I saw it in person and realized it had sage green splotches. There are several photos of different types of Silestone that are really so unlike the actual product, and this could be true for granite or soapstone as well.

Wow - I'm amazed at the numbr of people that bought their stone slabs sight unseen. I looked at so many different slabs it made my head spin. I picked out each piece for each application. I was amazed at the variation between slabs. Calacatta marble - each batch of slabs completely different from the other, seafoam river wash granite - I had to wait for a batch to come in that didn't have so much carmel, looked forever for a remnant for the powder room - The issues were things like, too much of a certain color, or fissure/pits that would be filled, or not enough color of the right tone. I might let the fabricator pick the slabs if I had actually visited and seen a slab in its entirety and had complete trust in the fabricator. For example we needed one additional slab in the master bath because we expanded the scope of the project. In that case the fabricator just picked up a slab from the same batch as I had no way to compare it at that point. The stone and fabrication is so $$ that you want to make sure you are completely satisfied. My advice is to take the time and visit the stone yard before you purchase. You can't really pick from a small sample or a computer screen.

sayde,

I echo remodelfla and lucypwd, but especially the comments from rococogurl & mtnrdredux.

No, absolutely I would NOT buy a MARBLE slab from a photo.

I almost did this--thought I'd found the perfect calacatta marble slabs also after a year long+ search & was giddy. I put a hold on them and drove 3 hours to see them, and thank God, because I did not like them in person! I recognized the overall veining patterns from the digital photos--the slabs were obviously the same, but the tones in the marble...some areas were pink which trust me did NOT come through in the photos!

You don't need to tell us the amount here, but I'd weigh the deposit amount with the price/inconvenience of a plane ticket/trip carefully.

If there is no other material you want--as you say-- and you don't like this slab, you'll be out your deposit anyway & still have to look elsewhere for this one marble you really want. I think, as mtnrdredux said, that is your answer.

If this is your "forever" house and you're spending thousands of dollars for a marble installation, a few hundred dollars to see the material really is worth the investment.

If this isn't the forever house--or you're not the miserable perfectionist I am!--that's different.

This may seem contradictory to everything I wrote above, but I also want to say, you have to honor your limits too. If like me, you're burned out at the end of a lengthy remodel (we demo'd last April!) and you just want to be done it is perfectly fine to adjust expectations (stop looking for "the perfect" slab and just be thrilled you can get this marble you love) and just be done with it.

I don't want to project onto you, but I've followed some of your previous posts and have identified with a lot of your struggles settling on a range, matching colors and tones, and I know given my level of perfectionism-perhaps yours?-you might feel better seeing this through and just seeing it in person before laying out the deposit $.

As long as you are not bound to buy the item once it comes if for some reason you're not happy, I'd go for it. You might go ahead and ask about what happens to your deposit if you refuse the slab. In any case, if you do refuse the slab, since you don't like anything else, what will you end up with?

I had picked out my granite MONTHS before the remodel started but hadn't officially held anything or signed a contract. By the time I was ready to buy, all the slabs were gone. Fortunately they had three slabs in Dallas (I'm in Houston) and they agreed to ship them for me. They took pix and emailed them to me. I said yes. They also told me that if I wasn't thrilled, they wouldn't make me buy them. Once they came in, they set up a time for me to come and see them in person.

Those slabs are now part of my kitchen (6+ years & counting) and I'm thrilled with them. There's no guarantee of couse, but IMO if you have the option to refuse it, I'd go for it!

Thank you everyone!

I put a deposit down today! Hooray!!!! They are bringing in both slabs. If for any reason I don't want either of them I can have the deposit back minus restocking. But I will have my choice of the two slabs.

Very excited to have finally found what I think will be the perfect stone for our kitchen. It is Eureka Danby marble, and it will be honed. It is off-white with lots of gold-brown and grey markings. It is quarried in Vermont.

I was going to ask which marble you are after, but you answered my question. Congrats on making a decision. I really hope they are as great IRL as in pics and your marble saga will be over!

sayde-yay!

How wonderful they'll bring in both slabs for you to see without holding your deposit if you don't find "the one." (Fingers crossed one of these IS the one!)

Post pics for us once you choose :)

Granite/soapstone 'gazing' can make on go crazy if not blind! I would think you could go ahead and if this is so hard to find and the fabricator has other people asking for it - they would have no trouble selling it if for some reason you didn't like the slab that arrives. Two years is a long search - go for it!