Extending the Budget
When my wife and I moved into our first home, like many couples, we had lots of big ticket items to buy and not much money left in the budget. We visited several of the big box appliance stores in the area, and began to realize the high-end appliances we set out to buy were simply out of our price range.
And then a friend told me about Sears Scratch n’ Dent (aka Sears Outlet). This is the store where appliances whose first owners rejected them upon delivery get a second chance at life. At first I was skeptical — I wasn’t about to put some battered and scarred fridge in our new kitchen. But after a few minutes of walking up and down the aisles, we realized the majority of the items had only very minor cosmetic flaws — and all had slashed prices. Eureka!
The Dream Appliance
We selected a KitchenAid Superba stainless steel model, which retailed at well over $2500. There was a slight indentation in the stainless on the very bottom corner of one of the doors, and one of the two door handles had a large scratch on it. These minor flaws resulted in a Scratch n’ Dent price of $2000. But it gets even better. When we went to checkout, the sales clerk mentioned they were running a sale on the refrigerators. That ended up knocking off an additional $580! So we walked out the door saving over $1000 on our fancy new stainless fridge. Pretty sweet. As for the door handle, I contacted Sears customer service and they sent out a brand new handle for less than $50.
We returned to the Scratch n’ Dent store a few weeks later to purchase a new washer/dryer set as well. These items weren’t quite as marked down as the fridge; however, we did save close to $300 between the two. The washing machine does have a rather large scratch on its left side panel. But since that panel is up against our dryer, no one will ever see it.
Buyer Beware
The Sears outlet also sells electronics such as big screen TVs. But I’d probably stay away from those since their insides tend to be much more fragile than your typical home appliance. That’s not to say you have to buy all electronics at retail. In fact, I’m a huge fan of buying factory refurbished electronics. I’ll save that post for another day.
Clearance
Another common item sold at scratch n’ dent stores (and in clearance sections) is furniture. We have learned to always peek at the clearance sections when furniture shopping. Often times these items have very superficial flaws, and if you can overlook a slight scratch or two – which, on wood, can typically be covered with a small amount of shoe polish – you’ll save like crazy!
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