Saving with
Scratch 'n' Dent Appliances

Home Home and Auto Appliances Purchasing Saving with Scratch 'n' Dent Appliances

Where Do I Look?

I'm shopping for a refrigerator and I know that manufactures sell slightly damaged units for a good discount. The term I've come across for this is Scratch-N-Dent. I know someone who saved over $1000 on a large refrigerator because of a slight scratch on one side. Here's my problem... how do you find out where these scratch-n-dent appliances are sold? Do the manufacturers have outlet stores?
Thanks,
Tamara C

Look for Outlets

In our area, Scratch and Dent Stores are called Outlet or Warehouse Stores. These can be a great source of savings. We just got a fridge originally priced at $949 for $569 dollars with just minor scratches on the edge. (You need a magnifying glass to see them.) However, there are certain things to look for.

1. Make sure you check the appliance out THROUGHLY! Most are sold as is, so if they are missing anything when you get home you may be in trouble.
2. Make sure you have a sales associate with you when you check out the appliance, to have someone verify that the appliance is in good condition and has all its parts.
3. Most outlet stores do not have delivery service so you will have to arrange for private delivery, or pick it up yourself. The store may be able to provide with a service commonly used. We are thoroughly pleased with our fridge, and we would get another appliance at an Outlet store in a heartbeat.

Clearance Centers

Some retail furniture and appliance stores have "clearance centers" at separate locations. Some are advertised, while others are not. You could call local furniture stores and inquire about "clearance centers" and "scratch and dent" merchandise. Another good resource for next-to-new and some brand new "scratch and dent" items is furniture and appliance rental stores. I recently purchased a "scratch and dent" refrigerator at a local rental center for a great price. The refrigerator had two slightly dented-in dig marks which ran almost the full length of the right side.....the side which would go right next to my wall and be hidden from view. The size of the refrigerator is 18 cu. ft., and it is only 1 1/2 years old with the balance of a 5 year manufacturer's warranty remaining. I purchased it for a tax-included price of $200, delivery also included. When you go to rental centers, you may have to directly ask if they have any "scratch and dent" items available for purchase....my refrigerator was not on the display floor, and was not advertised. I also purchased a beautiful, well-constructed sofa and loveseat in very good condition from the same store for a total price of $250 for both pieces! They were updating their inventory.
Margaret H.

Stick With Sears

We always buy scratch and dent appliances from Sears outlet stores. The outlets carry the Sears brand name and also many of the other major appliance makers. Our most recent purchase was a Maytag dishwasher priced $150 off of the regular price due to a small ding on the front panel. Before that we purchased a $600 GE smooth top stove for $400, slight scratch on stove top. A few years ago we purchased a $1499 Amana side by side refrigerator for $830 - small ding on side which didn't show. We have been 100% happy with these products.
Marie H

Persistence Pays

My husband and I bought our first house last year and the only included appliance was an electric oven. We bought our washer, dryer, and refrigerator all from the same Sears scratch and dent outlet. We had budgeted $500 for a refrigerator thinking that we would get a totally basic 18 cubic foot model. By stopping in often and letting the salespeople know what we were looking for, we were able to get a 24 cubic foot top freezer with icemaker that used less electricity per year than the smaller models we were considering. We got this Consumer Reports recommended refrigerator at half the retail price by waiting for the monthly special. It has a small (3/4" long, 1/4" wide) scrape on the front that is usually covered by our son's artwork and a small dent (about 1"long) on the side. I called my parents from the store and they replaced their 17 year old refrigerator with the same model that we bought and have seen a considerable savings on their electric bill.

We bought our dryer in the same place and saved about 37% off retail. A year before we'd purchased our washer there with similar savings. We like the Sears scratch and dent outlet because: they have 2 convenient locations in our Pittsburgh area (important because you just need to keep checking until what you want comes in), we could use our Sears cards and then get a hefty rebate back through their bonus club, we could purchase their service contracts (important and worth it to us for the cost of parts alone), and we could rely on Sears to stand by their merchandise (they have a 30 day money back guarantee and honor the manufacturer's warrantee plus offer extended contracts).

We did check out other, smaller scratch and dent places in the area but they did not have the selection that the large Sears warehouse offered. If there are no listings in your phone book, call both major stores like Sears and larger appliance stores and ask if they have an outlet or what they do with their scratch and dent merchandise. We are extremely happy with both the bargains and the quality of our purchases and feel satisfied whenever we see the "absolute lowest price" advertisements in the paper.
Elizabeth S. in Pittsburgh, P

Ask Any Appliance Store

I have recently seen scratch and dent appliances at Circuit City and Lowes. I'm sure if you looked around any store that sells appliances, or even asked, that you would find what your looking for.
Laurie K. of West Columbia, TX

A Little Research First

I found most scratch and dent places in the outlet books found at the library or purchased in book stores, there seems to be a book out for every area. Quite honestly though, I have had fantastic luck with reconditioned appliances. I have bought all of my appliances...refrig, stove, washer/dryer, dishwasher...even a Jen Air stove top at a local used appliance store (Found in the yellow pages.) They all have come with a 1 year warrantee and service calls (I've had one so far in ten years) were only $25.00 plus parts.
Ronda D.

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