Cost of Back Up Camera Installation Abt Elctronics

The research

• What makes a great appliance seller?
• What are the good stores?
• Chains with the best policies: Costco and Lowe's
• Other good national sellers: Appliances Connection, Home Depot, and Best Buy
• Limited delivery and service options or other issues: Designer Appliances, Abt, AJ Madison, and Sears
• Is it better to buy online or in a store?

What makes a great appliance seller?

The best retailers (local, regional, or national) will deliver your appliance to the room of your choice for free; install it for free, if it's as simple as plugging in a power cord and connecting some hoses (or usually for under $100 if it's a little more complicated); haul the old one away for free; and work with the manufacturer on your behalf if you need to make a warranty claim—and maybe even perform the service themselves.

The cost of the appliance itself probably won't differ much between retailers, because most sellers these days will price-match their competitors. Most retailers carry most appliance brands, but there are a few exceptions, so if you are looking for something specific you might have to choose your retailer based on that.

We found that free delivery for major appliances is pretty standard. Most stores will bring them inside, and put them where you want them. But some stores offer only front-door or curbside delivery for free, and others charge for delivery no matter what. Another thing to keep in mind when choosing between a local retailer and a national chain is that the nationals are more likely to use a third-party delivery service, and the quality of that service can vary.

For scheduling, most stores let you pick the delivery date. Some will let you pick your preferred four-hour delivery window on that date, while others will assign you a window the day before the drop-off. Great stores offer weekend delivery, too.

If you need your old appliance hauled away, the typical rate is around $20, though a few places include it for free with delivery and installation. Considering what a pain it can be to get rid of an old appliance after the fact, this is a very useful service to have access to.

Installation may or may not be included with purchase, depending on the type of appliance and the retailer—but you should expect to pay extra if the installation is more complicated than connecting a power cord and a water line.

Even if the installation is technically free, you'll usually have to purchase new connectors (like water lines or a dryer hose, sometimes called an "installation kit") as a condition of the installation. This is pretty standard across the industry.

Photo: Rozette Rago

Great retailers will use their status to negotiate warranty claims on your behalf. Every major appliance comes with a manufacturer's warranty, which typically covers parts and labor for one year. But most manufacturers have terrible customer service, wasting your time on the phone, making you wait weeks for a technician, and sometimes not resolving the problem anyway. If the retailer gets involved (as a business partner to the manufacturer), that tends to speed up the process. (Most retailers sell extended warranties, but that's a topic for another time.)

The holy grail of appliance retail, if you can find it in your area, is a store with an in-house service team that knows how to fix the appliances that it sells, and can respond to service calls pretty quickly (within a week is reasonable for most appliances, faster for fridges). This is not super common anymore—most retailers rely on third-party companies for delivery and installation in at least some areas, and aren't involved at all with warranty service.

What are the good stores?

The very best appliance retailers tend to be independent local or regional stores. They tend to have experienced salespeople and great customer service, including help with warranty claims—and if you're lucky, their own team of skilled delivery, installation, and service technicians.

Compared with a big-box store, you're more likely to be able to talk to a knowledgeable, engaged human throughout the entire process—from the showroom floor through the end of your warranty.

The problem is, many areas don't have a store like this. If you're not sure if there's one near you, appliance manufacturers' websites usually have a search function that can point you toward some. Check those stores' reputations on Yelp, Google, or Facebook, and see if they have the kinds of service and delivery perks that we listed above that give them a real advantage over the big boxes.

It might turn out that a national chain (or a store that will deliver nationally, anyway) is your best bet. We tracked down the important prices and policies for some of the most popular retailers you'll come across if you're shopping online. So if you need to go that route, the following is what you should know.

Chains with the best policies: Costco and Lowe's

If you're a member, Costco offers the cheapest delivery and installation of the big national chains, you'll get an additional year of warranty coverage for many products, and it will help you make warranty claims with the manufacturer. The downside is that it has a limited selection compared with most other stores: For example, it doesn't sell some of our favorite brands, including Bosch or KitchenAid dishwashers, Electrolux washing machines, or Frigidaire ranges. (The chain does carry most of the LG, GE, and Whirlpool/Maytag appliances we recommend, though.)

Among stores that don't require a membership, Lowe's has some of the most affordable and flexible delivery, installation, and haul-away options, and is one of the few that offers to help you make claims on your warranty if you need to. In some areas, Lowe's employees will make the delivery—otherwise your order will be delivered and installed by a third party, as with most chains. Lowe's doesn't sell Electrolux laundry products, however.

Other good national sellers: Appliances Connection, Home Depot, and Best Buy

Appliances Connection also has some of the best prices, most flexible policies, and customer-service help. It also carries all of the appliances that we recommend. It has only one brick-and-mortar location, though, so you'll need to be comfortable making the purchase online (more on that in a bit).

Home Depot (no Bosch dishwashers) and Best Buy (no Electrolux laundry) also have comparably affordable and flexible delivery, installation, and haul away, though they won't help with warranty claims.

Limited delivery and service options or other issues: Designer Appliances, Abt, AJ Madison, and Sears

Designer Appliances charges for delivery outside of New York and New Jersey, and charges even more to bring the appliance inside your house and to install it.

Abt charges for delivery outside of Chicagoland, extra to put it where you want it, and charges extra for installation in Chicagoland—outside of that area, you'll have to book that on your own (though the company will point you to Home Advisor).

AJ Madison will bring the appliance to your front door but that is it. Installation is available in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania but nowhere else.

Sears is unique among national stores in that it has its own service team and has okay prices and policies, but the company is in serious financial trouble, so we're a little worried about its ability to honor warranty claims (particularly on its house-brand Kenmore appliances) over the long term.

Delivery

	Delivery Company	Times	Free delivery at	Delivery to
Home Depot	Third party	Choice of four-hour window, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Weekends available in some locations.	$396	Room of choice
Best Buy	First or third party	Assigned four-hour window, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday usually available, Sunday in some locations.	$399	Room of choice
Lowe's	First or third party	Choice of four-hour window, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Weekends available.	$396	Room of choice
Sears	Third party	Assigned two-hour window. At-purchase upcharges to choose a four-hour window at purchase ($15), early morning/late evening ($25), or Saturday ($10). No Sunday. Hours of delivery: info not available.	$400	Room of choice
AJ Madison	Third party	Assigned four-hour window. Hours of delivery: info not available.	$499	Front door only, no steps, no unboxing
Abt	First party in Chicago, third party elsewhere	Will call to schedule. No weekends. Other details not available.	$0 in Chicago; elsewhere: info not available	Front door for free, or room of choice on first floor for extra
Appliances Connection	First party within 200 mi of Brooklyn, third party elsewhere.	Assigned four-to-six-hour window. Courtesy call one hour before drop-off. No weekends.	$99	Room of choice
Designer Appliances	First party in NY, NJ, and CT; third party elsewhere	Assigned four-hour window. Saturday available in some areas. No Sunday.	$0 in NY and NJ, varies elsewhere	Curbside for free, or room of choice for extra
Costco	Third party	Will call to schedule. Other details: info not available.	$0 for major brands	Varies based on ZIP code and brand

Other services

	Installation to existing hookups	Haul away	Warranty aid
Home Depot	Costs extra	$15	No
Best Buy	Costs extra	$15	No
Lowe's	Free with purchase of connectors for most appliances, costs extra for dishwashers and gas appliances	$20	Yes
Sears	Free with purchase of connectors for some appliances, costs extra for others, depending on ZIP code	$25	No, except Kenmore
AJ Madison	Costs extra, available only in NY, NJ, and CT	$25 (NY, NJ, and PA only)	No
Abt	Extra charge in Chicagoland. Elsewhere, they recommend finding installation via Home Advisor.	$29 (Chicago only)	No, except in Chicago
Appliances Connection	Free with purchase of connectors, costs extra to stack laundry	Extra, depends on appliance	Yes
Designer Appliances	Costs extra	Included with installation, $29 without	No
Costco	Free for major brands	Free for major brands	Yes

To be absolutely clear, everything we learned about the prices and policies comes from each retailer's customer service and public relations departments. We did not follow through on purchasing any appliances from any of these retailers for this story.

Is it better to buy online or in a store?

Do whatever you're comfortable with. The process is not much different anymore.

Obviously, if you go to a store, you get to touch some appliances. Ideally, you'll have any appliance for a decade, so there's something to be said for experiencing the fit and finish before plopping down the dough. Plus, some people feel more comfortable talking through their delivery and installation options face-to-face with a sales associate.

Shopping online usually opens you up to a broader selection of appliances than you'd see on a showroom floor, and it lets you quickly filter your search to products with specs you need—like specific dimensions, for example. (You could always search online first, then head to a store to check out the handful of models that might work for you.)

If you opt to make the purchase through the Internet, setting up delivery and installation is pretty much just as easy as it would be in person. The prices shouldn't be any different. And if you decide you want to talk to a real person after all, most retailers give you the option of speaking with a customer service rep on the phone during the buying process. Some retailers have chat boxes on their website as well, though these are less common on websites for local or regional stores.

Cost of Back Up Camera Installation Abt Elctronics

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-appliances/

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