I ordered a W/D from AJ Madison and I got a great price but the experience left a little to be desired. First, know that this is a "closed on saturday" type of business based in Brooklyn. They will try to upsell you and try to play games. For example they tried to tell me they could not sell me a dryer with our a cord/vent (at inflated prices) due to building codes, and they tried to charge me for Washer hoses by telling me they don't come with the machine. When I declined all that they stopped and then tried to sell me a warranty for 10 minutes . Their installation service is also rather expensive and makes it worth it just to order from local shops or BB/HD/Lowes who usually install for free. The other big savings is on sales tax....having said that I now live on NY so would not order from AJ Madison as the tax savings is no longer there for me.

Just the kind of first hand experience I was hoping to find - very good to know, thank you.

I research things on that website but buy locally.

I tried to get local places to match the price I got from AJ Madison and no one would touch it. As long as you are willing to put up with a little aggravation and don't fall for their tricks it is not a bad place to buy from. The appliances were delivered as promised at a very good price. Another thing I should mention is that their delivery consists of a truck leaving Brooklyn and driving over a long distance and making multiple deliveries, thus they will only be available for delivery when they say...you can not request specific days/times. If you can not be available at the time they tell you then you will have to wait for the next truck that heads in your direction.

Am lucky Abt is local for me. When they did not have a model on the website, I called them for a quote. They matched online prices for me.

I bought an open box wall oven for a very good price, but it arrived with undisclosed cosmetic damage. They worked with me to give an appropriate refund. I'd do it again, but only for something where I was getting a really good deal.

I bought locally, but found it interesting that even the local store looked up info on the AJ Madison site. I was reviewing various models at their computer with the local vendor, and they said that AJ Madison had more info and was easier to use than the manufacturers' sites. They came very close on price for me also.

malba we are 5 minutes from our build site so at least being available for delivery wouldn't be an issue. I haven't tried getting anyone to price match yet because we're still in dithering mode.

mdln I wish Abt was still local for me - took a lot for granted in the way of conveniences all the years we lived in HP. When we actually make a decision it'll be worth it to price check with them - can't hurt.

chazas I hope the cosmetic damage was minor at least - it would have to be a significant discount for me to swallow that.

diy2 that is interesting but concerning because as I said, I've already found some information on their site that differs from specs given on the manufacturer's site. I'd hate to think I'm buying a feature that isn't really there

I use it for research only, and buy locally. When I was looking for a range, the additional price for delivery from ajmadison made it very close to the local price. Plus, you have to pay extra if ajmadison is going to bring it up any stairs (you have to use stairs to get into my house). I wasn't interested in curbside-only delivery.

malba can you elaborate on this comment:

" First, know that this is a "closed on saturday" type of business based in Brooklyn."

It sounds like a thinly veiled anti-semitic comment to me.

We bought while living in NY. Somehow AJM 'lost' a Bosch double oven unit in transit. Twice. The savings due to price was quickly eaten up in nearly a month of delays and the cost of eating out. Wouldn't buy from them again, but use their site for research.

dbabrams - being an MOT I don't know why that slipped right by me - it does have a bad ring to it. I hope that's not the intent but am at a loss for another explanation.

Give a local a shot. Most of them will do their best to match a price and more often then not they are savy enough to work out a deal. Plus their service is usually much better! Where are you located, I may be able to recommend a dealer in your neighborhood?

Thanks, Joe. I'm in western NC and prefer local independent whenever possible - I get hives in big box stores ;-)

I've been to a place often recommended in Asheville but they have a very sad showroom with few models to compare per line. Plus I was underwhelmed by their product knowledge but maybe that was just the salesperson who helped me. Have also been to a small place in Hendersonville that I would do business with but they don't carry any lines that I'm interested in. The most expansive showroom that I've seen is at Jeff Lynch in Greenville, SC and the salesman I've talked to there seems very knowledgeable. We're probably doing a mix of Elux and Frigidaire for kitchen and laundry - nothing over the top. It's tough not having Abt in my backyard anymore.

There seems to be a lot of negative comments regarding AJ Madison. We purchased two items from them (two separate purchases). We had a good experience both times. One was a Bosch dishwasher. The second was a 24" LG fridge. Each was in the range of $600-$1100. The fridge arrived with some cracked shelves/trim (nothing critical) but that appeared broken before it was packaged by the manufacturer (poor quality control on LG's part, not AJM). No damage in transit with either item. LG sent us replacement parts. Was not a problem. One wheel poppoed off the dishwasher a few monthes later. A quick call to Bosch and they sent a replacement part.

Buying from AJM saved us shipping/delivery and local tax. For less expensive items, shipping an be significant from a local store. For a multi-thousand dollar high-end oven, I would probably buy locally in case I needed service.

Huh? The "closed on Saturday" comment just means they're not available if you need help on the weekend - at least that's how I took it!

Regarding pricing on AJ Madison. Once you add up all the extras, their prices aren't any better than buying locally. E.g., when I was looking at dryers, their prices looked great and it was free shipping...until I noticed they only delivered to the front door.

• You want it delivered inside? Extra. No stairs.
• You have stairs? Extra.
• You want it unboxed? Extra.
• Etc.

In the end, they were more expensive. Even the tax savings wasn't enough to make up for the extra charges.

But, they are great for doing research!

Jeff Lynch does a nice job. Know of them through a customer of mine who moved to GA. Don't know anyone else in that neighborhood.

We've used AJ Madison twice and have had good experiences both times. First, we redid a kitchen 5 years ago and bought: fridge, cooktop, double wall oven. Then the second time we redid a kitchen last year and bough: Fridge, cooktop, wall oven, washer/dryer, faucet and dishwasher. Both times we had a positive experience. We paid the $99 for in home delivery to a room of our choice. But given the total cost of goods ($8000 in the latter case), that was certainly a lot less than what sales tax would have been. Prices were very good - much better than Best Buy, etc. And we live in the city so finding a "local" place isn't very easy and involves eating up an entire Saturday of my time to drive out to the burbs. AJ Madison worked well for me and I would do again.

We bought our Capital range through AJ Madison. It was an interesting experience but it all worked out in the end.

They were responsive to my calls and were helpful when we discovered the tempered glass panel inside the oven was broken during transit (discovered after we signed off on the delivery). There were no "up charges" on our purchase and free delivery.

At the end of the day we saved a few thousand dollars purchasing through them. We might've had some bumps in the process that we might not have experienced with a different retailer but, as mentioned above, it all worked out in the end.

We've ordered 3 different items, during 2 purchases, with AJM and had very good experiences both time.

The first time, we had ordered a Bosch dishwasher through the local Lowe's. The dishwasher was in a warehouse less than 100 miles from where we live and after 2 weeks, Lowe's could still not seem to move the dishwasher from there to here. Cancelled that order, called AJM and had nothing of the hard-sell that others have related, just great customer service. We went with a model one step up from the one we had tried to buy at Lowe's, and total inclusive price came in the same. They got it delivered to me in CA in 3 days. They got the dishwasher across country and in my home in 3 days, where Lowe's couldn't move it 100 miles in 2 weeks...

The second time we bought a washer/dryer set. That took a little longer to get cross country (seems like it was 7-10 days), but AJM was more than $1000 less for the pair than any local store could do.

Maybe we've just been lucky in buying the right items at the right time?

Yes, the closed on Saturday reference was meaning that it is a Hasidic owned place. Please know that I have no problem with the Jewish faith or its followers, however I do have a problem with Hasidic communities that game the system to pay no property taxes and to systematically collect government benefits they should not be entitled to by lying on applications. Knowing now what I know, I will not do business with them and many others who live in areas near their communities feel the same way.

Thanks for confirming that malb, I have no problem with your most recent comment, it's just when it's not that obvious, you never know where someone is going with it.

FWIW, and I know this is taking the thread completely off-topic, but I am Jewish, and yet I had little knowledge of the practices of Hasidic Jews that malba refers to until very recently. I've done some reading up since then, and I don't disagree with her latest post at all!

Have spent the better part of the last 2 hours online and on the phone at AJM, Abt, Elux and Frgdre, Lowes and local places that are listed as dealers (but aren't). If the left hand knew what the right hand was doing it would be lovely and I could make a decision with some confidence but that's not the case. I'm only trying to compare induction ranges at this point - haven't even worked into refrig and dishwasher yet! It would be nice to have a consensus on features or to be able to trust the Elux website on their own products but they know they have the wrong info! Honestly, between that and their convoluted prompt phone system I'm ready to move on. Pity.

Research locally and then go to your local stores with pricing and see how close they can come to match it.

Malba, please explain and show me where " Hasidic communities that game the system to pay no property taxes and to systematically collect government benefits they should not be entitled to by lying on applications"

You're making a blanket statement about one religious sect.

cpartist, I realize this article is quite old, but it's from the NY Times and is quite illuminatingArticle

There is a community called Kiryas Joel 60 miles or so north of NYC. Google it, they pay no property taxes and collect a disproportionate amount of public assistance by characterizing all their homes as temples and the work they do as religious work. Many of the women who are religiously (but not legally) married claim benefits by filing as single mothers. They get away with this because they vote as a block, and are very vocal in claiming anti-semitism when someone tries to apply the laws that apply to the rest of us.

I am seeing many comments about AJM here but I look for prices online and AJM is only one of many online discounters. I have not bought yet but I would like to know about other vendors like Goedekers, etc.

Online, I actually found that Goedekers had the best prices, but they couldn't deliver the Thermador builtin fridge I wanted (not allowed to deliver outside a certain area), and I ended up getting an overall price for all my appliances from Pacific Sales that was at least as good as any I found online.

nerdyshopper - my son used appliances connection to purchase a stove for his tiny house and had a very good experience, even found extra discounts for them by googling.

With any online vendor, read the fine print. If you are unlucky enough to encounter a problem you must be careful. Its very easy to get hurt by online appliance dealers.

@sjhockeyfan...I believe that thermador (along with most other high end appliances) are price controlled. No one can sell for less than the list price or they could lose the right to sell the line. You can save tax by ordering out of state, however you can usually get local stores to throw in things like delivery, installation or big discounts on non price controlled goods to make up the difference.

I ordered GE microwave with trim-kit from them. A small appliance, of course. No issues.

@malba, that's what they did - they lowered the price of, ironically*, my Bosch dishwasher, to get the overall price down to where it would be the same as online.

(*ironic because Bosch and Thermador are the same company)

That is the way of the market today. Almost all high end brands are price controlled at the manufacturer level. Wolf, Thermador, Miele, Monogram, Jenn-Air, Viking, etc are all sold this way. The logic behind it is to reward better dealers. In the past it was a race to the bottom, which benefitted tiny dealers with no showrooms or amenities. Today, if all prices are the same, why wouldn't you buy from the guy who has better service/install/sales staff and has someone on hand to cook for you or make you a cup of coffee.

You need to know who handles AJ's local fulfillment. The company in my area has a horrible reputation and so I would not go with AJ for that reason. Had AJ picked a different company I would definitely have considered buying from them. As to the necessity of buying new connectors for washers and dryers in the first post above, it is recommended that you buy new connectors when you get a new washer dryer, while my 20-year-old connectors showed absolutely no signs of wear, they were in fact were 20 years old... I think it appropriate that AJ try to sell them connectors.

I really wish I understood why none of the other sellers use a reasonable website like AJ'S. Every time I try to get an appliance of a certain size from either of the big box stores it makes me crazy that you have to select every single quarter-inch size that they make rather than just being able to say under 30 inches or 29-30 inches. I have completed their online reviews for both stores pointing the stupidity out to them and nothing has changed. I guess the people who create and read the reviews get paid for them but no one gets paid to actually do anything.

practigal how would one know who handles local fulfillment for AJM?