© 2008 Alan J. Fletcher Consumer Advocate

Everyone’s been asking me this question lately. Is there a best time of year to buy new carpet? If you know what to do, the answer is YES! You can save as much as 25% or more by knowing when to buy and how to negotiate your best deal. You need unbiased carpet information!

Carpet retailers have busy seasons and slow seasons. If you try to negotiate a better deal during their busy season, then you don’t stand much of a chance to beat them down on the price. However, if you negotiate wisely during their slow season then you stand a very good chance of getting a very sweet carpet deal for yourself.

Worst times to buy new carpet.

Now, when are the slow seasons you ask? Let me start by telling you when the busy seasons are so you can get a better understanding of the big picture.  The real question is,  when do people buy carpet most? You don’t want to buy carpet when everyone else is buying. It’s almost impossible to negotiate a great deal on carpet when there are other customers waiting in line behind you holding their checkbooks. Here are the big three common  ”busy” seasons to steer clear of:

 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.

The best times to buy new carpet. 

Alright, now 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.

Once December 15th rolls around, the Christmas trees are going up and holiday shopping is at an all time high. This means that buying after December 15th is a great time to buy new carpet. This window of opportunity lasts through January 31st. By Feb 15th it’s all done, 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. You’ll be able to get the best deals at the beginning of January when this slow season is in full swing.

The next slow season is from 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.

The next slow season comes right after the kids go back to school and lasts the whole month of September. Everyone is getting settled into a new school year regimen, 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 just yet. September is a great time to negotiate a great deal on new carpet for your home. This window of opportunity is not very long, I suggest shopping early in September because once people start thinking about the holidays it is all done until after Christmas.

Negotiating a great price on carpet.

Knowing the best times to buy new carpet is important, but knowing how to negotiate a great deal is more important. You can’t just walk into any carpet retailer and ask for 25% off because you know it is their slow season. Some carpet retailers will negotiate with you and some won’t. You need to know which carpet retailers are willing to negotiate. 

So you have to do your homework. You also need to know what carpet to select to meet your needs and goals, what pad is best for you. It doesn’t matter how great a deal you get if you buy the wrong carpet and pad. Proper installation is another issue all together. You must be sure to have your carpet installed correctly. Not every carpet installer does a good job, so you’ll have to take steps to be sure your installers are qualified, even if they are approved by the carpet retailer.

 Negotiating doesn’t start as you begin to shop for carpet, it starts after you have found exactly what you want, at the price you want, and have a total amount right in front of you. After you’ve done everything else right, just seconds before you sign on the bottom line, is when you hesitate and say “I’m not sure about this price… it seems pretty high to me. I need to think about this a little more just to make sure I’m making the right decision.”.  That is the beginning of negotiating a good deal on new carpet. Getting to that point requires that you do some homework. I can help you with that. Visit my website where you can learn the secrets to buying carpet wisely and how to avoid common carpet scams.  

If you want to know more about buying carpet wisely, visit Alan’s website at www.howtobuycarpet.com . You can e-mail him if you have carpet questions at Alan@landlordfloors.com