To wonder where people go to look at appliances now before buying if they don’t like Curry’s

[L00byL00]

Trying to buy a big fridge freezer but there is nothing in Curry’s that we like. Just realised in our area there appears to be nowhere else where you can view stock before buying. I’ve no intention of spending a lot of money on something I haven’t looked at. So where do people shop or does everybody order appliances without looking at them these days?😳

We found a lot to view at a large kitchen showroom. It was useful to open and close oven doors, I soon realised I needed to look for a soft-close door for that satisfying feel. The Miele ovens "feel" nice, also Fisher and Paykel. I researched both brands when I got home and discovered I could buy a Miele with fewer bells and whistles (eg wifi) much cheaper but same build quality. I also looked at Fisher and Paykel and discovered that they are not as good as they used to be, so one to avoid. I have ended up going for Neff slide and hide, though, as it is easy to use and has a nice door mechanism. My point being - looking in person has found me what I want.

I also looked at venting induction hobs, and decided the ones rising up from the middle would not survive long with me using them. I'm too short! I'd knock into them all the time lifting pans. The flush mounted ones look OK, but there is a load of complicated gubbins involved and they are a lot of money. It certainly decided me on a ceiling mounted flush extractor. Again - I needed to see these in person to know they weren't for me.

As for fridges and freezers (OP's original point) yes the kitchen showroom had loads but they all seemed to be integrated. You could see the quality, though. I had a look at Liebherr and they seemed as good as ever. I am taking mine to my new kitchen and not replacing it until it dies of old age!

We have a free standing freezer too, bought when stocks on white goods were a problem, and we got a Blomberg from a local shop. It's been fine, and a good price. The only problem was when DH accidentally closed the door on an open shelf flap, so total user error. We bought a replacement and it was cheapish and easy to fit.

Bottom line @L00byL00 yes look in person if you can. I think it is really sensible.

I'm shocked Currys is still going. Such an business model and overpriced compared to other retailers.

They never have anything in store, stores just seem to be for viewing products and such lengthy delivery times.

AO usually deliver in a few days.

So have fewer, better stocked outlets per county, I have 3 Curry’s in our area and all are shite and useless.Id rather have one bigger one with more stock to view that involves a longer drive. Curry’s has far more shop space given to small items like kettles and useless crap I don’t need and definitely don’t need to see in person.

Ao and Argos then we bought it from Amazon

I don't really understand why you'd need to see an appliance in person to "check it out". Measurements are all that's required surely, appliances are quite straightforward to understand from pictures and you have consumer rights (more so online in fact) if you changed your mind or there was an issue.

I set up home 15 years ago and even then we bought all online.

But sorry I've done that annoying thing of not answering what you asked 🙈 I don't actually know where sells appliances out front, I'd assume the selection would be quite limited vs online??

shite and useless.Id rather have one bigger one with more stock to view that involves a longer drive. Curry’s has far more shop space given to small items like kettles and useless crap I don’t need and definitely don’t need to see in person

You are not their target market. You were never going to buy from them.

I absolutely would if I could see the products. They have products I’m interested in on their website at a comparative price. So I clearly am their target market.

You do need to see for all the reasons I and others have listed below. Measurements are also not always accurate and not clear as to what is included.

You do need to see for all the reasons I and others have listed below. Measurements are also not always accurate and not clear as to what is included.

Well I've been buying online for 15 years and can't think of one problem I've ever had to make me want to change that. If a measurement turned out to be wrong, they'd be picking it up again as that would be their error. If I wasn't sure what was included (again not something I've come across) I'd read the reviews or contact the store or manufacturer.

I’ve been buying appliances for double that time but have always been able to see them. I don’t want to spend£££ having a massive fridge freezer taken back and actually it’s up to the buyer to double check vague measurements re depth, ventilation space, door opening and sweep etc.

We’re having a complete kitchen refit so measurements are very important.

I try and look in John Lewis if I can, I looked at my cooker in there. I must say I also have had the same problem with buying a sofa.

@L00byL00 but if measurements are wrong online that is not on you, you'd have consumer rights to get your money back. I think you're being daft, choice has surely got to be more favourable vs seeing very limited stock in person, you just need to learn how to shop online properly.

Any independent retailers?
I was recommended one years ago, and still go there: loads of good advice from the owner ('Well, you could get one of those if you like that model, but they're manufactured in China now and they're still fifty quid more, but this, made in Germany, 5 year guarantee, fifty quid less...')

I can manage shopping online perfectly well and have been doing it for years. Some measurements are really shit and deliberately vague. I’d like to save a lot of hassle and stress further down the line. We also have a kitchen design hinging on measurements, wrong measurements has a knock on impact and could be very costly. Many fridge freezer also summaries dont have door opening sweep included. Bosch are good re that, others not so.

Yea scolling through looking for some independents now, they look small but hoping they have more of the stock we’re interested in.

Have you got a Euronics agent near you? We needed a fridge freezer in a hurry a couple of weeks ago. Despite being a small shop they had at least /15 tall fridge freezers in the showroom, we took it home the same day. Door opening space was a key check for us too.

Eta- Also we wanted to check out interior space, drawers in freezer etc properly.

We go to Curry’s or John Lewis, although there’s usually not much on display.

See this is where my dragons den idea would come in

You are a member ... not much £5 a year and you can browse in a warehouse things which are pricey but want to get online. But you can't buy at my warehouse just window shop. Most of the income would be the brands paying to have there items in there. Knowledgeable staff on hand for questions who aren't working on commission

Then you go away and buy whatever it is online .

Very often they can order in. Before you order you can look at similar models in the same brand, or different sizes of the same model (which isn't quite the same as seeing the exact model, but better than not seeing anything at all), or they might even order for you to have a look.

the one we go is tiny, packed with stock, does repairs and - best of all - rather than saying like the big places, 'We will deliver tomorrow week between 8am and 6pm, the person behind the counter will say, 'Oooh, let me see, not tomorrow but the day after, afternoon alright? Mike will phone at lunchtime to give you a more precise time, that okay?'

And Mike duly phones and says, '3 alright? You need to pick the kids up.... Well, I could do it on the way back, won't be till almost five though.'

Absolute game changer when you have dogs to walk or DC to collect to from school.

I buy without looking, I just try and see if there’s any videos on YouTube or Amazon where you can see it all around type thing if possible.

My Fridge freezer broke down. Went on Curry’s and I was having to wait ages for delivery. Went in AO and it was next day. Brilliant service and the delivery men were excellent. Had a bit of trouble getting it through the door. I’ll never use Curry’s again.

We spent a lot of time looking at appliances for our kitchen refit, ideally at the exact model we were considering, or the same range but at least the same make. We twisted knobs on hobs, we opened and shut doors, we stood in front of fridges and tried to imagine how they would work for us (strangely interior capacity is not as good compared to exterior as it was almost twenty years ago when we last did this). We very rapidly ruled out some makes. We also did a load of research online and talked to people who had done the same exercise recently.
We had intended to order from JL, good after sale service, points on card etc but on the advice of a friend ordered everything from the kitchen company, they had much wider choice than was at first apparent, and it meant if anything came in late, damaged it was clearly on them to sort out.

It might be worth checking whether any individual makes have shops. We found a Miele ‘experience centre’ near us.