Bought a condo that needs a lot of work, including carpeting. I had originally measured the 3 bedrooms to be about 550 sq ft. I finally got the rooms ready over the weekend for carpetting, so I scheduled an appointment with Empire.
Empire guy comes over, does his measurement and says it's 729 sq. ft. I tell him I measured around 550, and he says it's due to waste because of the room layouts. Carpet comes in 12' widths almost always, and the master bedroom is 11x17 plus a 6' hallway to the bathroom and closet, and the closet is about 8 feet deep. So I figured it might be possible, but I planned on checking up more on it after he left.
So I say I'm looking for mid-grade carpet. His quote for that was $3,200 (2,500 for low grade, 4,000 for high grade). Then after like 15 seconds he says I'll make you a deal for $2,500. It seemed like a deal so a few minutes later I said ok, which I shouldn't have done but live and learn.
I check the internet after that and find out it's a common scam for the salespeople to overestimate the amount of carpet. I decide to have Luna come over the next day (Chicago area only AFAIK).
He comes, measures 660 sq. ft. Worst case scenario, I had gotten 680 sq. ft. from taking "carpet" measurements. So that was cool. He says 3k for high, 2.5k for mid, 2k for low. He checks on the color I want, out of stock. So he says he'll do it for 2k but I have to wait 2-3 weeks. So I look into the high end (which is pretty damn nice) and the same color is in stock, he'll keep the deal at 2.5k.
At this point, being a little more savvy, I tell him that I'm not comfortable going with only one quote and that I want to get some quotes from the Depot and Lowes before I sign anything unless he can make it worth my while to sign it right now. High end carpet, 8lbs density padding, installed for $2.1k.
Cliffs:
Empire guy comes over, does his measurement and says it's 729 sq. ft. I tell him I measured around 550, and he says it's due to waste because of the room layouts. Carpet comes in 12' widths almost always, and the master bedroom is 11x17 plus a 6' hallway to the bathroom and closet, and the closet is about 8 feet deep. So I figured it might be possible, but I planned on checking up more on it after he left.
So I say I'm looking for mid-grade carpet. His quote for that was $3,200 (2,500 for low grade, 4,000 for high grade). Then after like 15 seconds he says I'll make you a deal for $2,500. It seemed like a deal so a few minutes later I said ok, which I shouldn't have done but live and learn.
I check the internet after that and find out it's a common scam for the salespeople to overestimate the amount of carpet. I decide to have Luna come over the next day (Chicago area only AFAIK).
He comes, measures 660 sq. ft. Worst case scenario, I had gotten 680 sq. ft. from taking "carpet" measurements. So that was cool. He says 3k for high, 2.5k for mid, 2k for low. He checks on the color I want, out of stock. So he says he'll do it for 2k but I have to wait 2-3 weeks. So I look into the high end (which is pretty damn nice) and the same color is in stock, he'll keep the deal at 2.5k.
At this point, being a little more savvy, I tell him that I'm not comfortable going with only one quote and that I want to get some quotes from the Depot and Lowes before I sign anything unless he can make it worth my while to sign it right now. High end carpet, 8lbs density padding, installed for $2.1k.
Cliffs:
- Carpet salespeople start out with a really high number but will usually bring it down quickly.
- They may overestimate the measuring on purpose, so learn how to measure for carpet and have the number handy ahead of time.
- Don't commit until they have dropped the price a second time. Say you want to wait until you get quotes from other installers.
- Don't get the cheapest padding. It's only a little bit more for the middle range stuff and it feels a lot nicer.
