Retail Store Secrets- Find Out What They Don't Want You To Know!

The biggest misconception of the building supply super store is that their prices are the best around. When you compare their prices to other local stores you will find that their prices might be better on the high volume items, but they are making their money on the accessories or larger ticket items. These stores will lead you in with a few low sale prices in their weekly flyers; they are banking on the fact that once you are there for the deals, you will end up picking up other products as well.

I found this out when I started shopping for kitchen cabinets. I was shopping for stock cabinets, and I was amazed at how of an inventory Home Depot and Lowes kept. When I asked a sales associate, he confided with me and said that Home Depot purposely will carry only a few choices of kitchen cabinets and the rest have to be special ordered. Of course these special order cabinets cost more money and make more money for the store. I then traveled to Lowes and found an even worse selection.

This was before I knew anything about RTA Cabinets or being able import them directly.   Once I discovered the world of RTA, it changed my buying habits and saved me a ton of money on the rental properties that I was working on.

The next secret I found was to avoid buying your kitchen counter tops at the big chain supply stores. I found that local kitchen stores carry the same thing but for far less in price. Look in your yellow pages and see what is out there. You're bound to find some local stores that will actually care about saving you money and are willing to work on tighter margins to get your business.

Look online for appliances. Yes, they are expensive to ship, but if you find someone local, you're going to save a large amount of money. If you find something farther away from your area, factor in the costs to get the item verse the costs at a store. Also you might be able to take that price you have found online and have a local store try to match that price.

The final item is the flooring for you kitchen. Again think local stores and avoid the super store. You will be tempted by prices at the big box retailers, but if your going with ceramic tile, prices are relatively the same and the small stores will more likely give you a discount because your giving them business. Lumber Liquidators are popping up everywhere for hardwood flooring, but you can actually get an even better deal if you know exactly how many square feet you will need and you shop the discount building supply stores for closeout deals.

Keep all of this in mind and you will successfully save a ton of money on your new kitchen.