Pricing integrity - How I can always get you the best price

I have had many a member contact me upset and in a flurry about how they saw an item in a store that we carry in the showroom, but; there was either no savings or extremely minimum savings. The member than feel that they have been mislead and how can this be as DirectBuy should always have the better price.

 

Well on the last point they are right, we should have the better price and this is where the price integrity comes in.

Price Integrity

 

Sometimes manufacturers think they can be sneaky and offer deals to their retailers, this is where members who shop in the retail community come in. Although we tell you not to shop stores, you are still our eyes and ears in the retail community and one of our ways of keeping manufacturers honest.

 

If ( and when) you find a product that you know we carry ( it is an apples to apples comparison) and you notice that the price is really good and there is little to no savings .

 

LET US KNOW!!

 

We will take all your information, what the model # and manufacturer is and where you saw this product ( online, flier and in store pricing  is OK, Craig's list and EBay not acceptable)

 

Any of the service staff will submit this info to our corporate office, they will than contact the store to verify the item. If they find that this is a legit pricing situation, ( it is not discontinued product or a loss leader sale - stores offer select items at or below cost for a limited time frame to attract customers in order to sell them other products) than the manufacturer will offer a concession price.

 

Here is an  example,

 

 

A member was looking at a camera, the price in the centre was $800.00 + 4% handling, $12.00 freight and 12% taxes, a total of $945.25

 

At a camera shop in the city, they were selling the same unit for $820.00 after taxes $918.40

 

Our cost was $26.85 more than the retail store.

 

I submitted a price integrity, once all the information was confirmed the manufacturer came back with an offer of $600.00 to the member to purchase the camera through us. They knocked off an additional $200.00!!!

 

 

There are many more situations that I could go into but I do not want to bore you, lol.

 

So when shopping for products, if you notice that there is little to know savings for an item ( or items) LET US KNOW and we will do all we can to either get you a better price or explain the reason behind ( again usually a discontinued product or loss leader sale) the lack of savings .

 

If you have any questions feel free to comment or email me at the centre

ashley.w@directbuywinnipeg.ca

 

 

 

Window Treatments

 

So this topic is a little bit of a doozy and usually boggles many a mind. I hope this post will help to clarify "window treatments" for some. So where to start...

 

How do I measure?

Well you have two options,

 

1) the centre can put you in touch with an installer who will also do the measurements or

2) you can measure yourself

 

here is how it works.

 

Inside mount

You should measure all three widths of the window, top, middle and base. This is in case the window is not the same width all the way down and will help avoid the window treatment scraping the casing in areas that are more narrow . You will order the smallest of the three measurements

 

FYI, manufacturers will take off deductions on inside mount measurements ("tight" measurements) unless we specify not to. I do not recommend ordering exact for inside as something always goes wrong.

An installer will measure inside mount blinds with deductions in mind.

Deductions are usually and 1/8" of an inch off of each side, so a total of 1/4" usually

Please measure to the 8th as if you measure to the 16th I will just have to convert back to 8ths.

 

Outside Mount

 

Depending on what you want to cover will determine your measurements, whether you want to only cover the glass and leave the casing visible or cover the total casing.

 

Also, when measuring take into account if you are not mounting onto casing that you need to know the head rail height so you can add this to your overall height.

 

No deductions will be taken from outside mount blinds

 

 

Bay Windows

You will have to first identify the depth of your head rail . it is vital with bay windows as the blinds meet in the corners of the bay and they should not overlap or touch for  perfect operation of the blinds.   Square Bay There are three options as below:   For option A you will measure tight corner to corner and then deduct the size of the head rail from each of the side blinds and select inside recess option. For the drop will be ceiling to window sill/floor or from where you would like the  blind to hang from to where you would like it to finish and always select inside recess option.   For option B you will measure tight corner to corner and then deduct the size of the head rail from each side of the front blind measurement and select inside recess option. For the drop will be ceiling to window sill/floor or from where you would like the blind  to hang from to where you would like it to finish and always select inside recess option.   For option C you will take two pieces of cardboard cut at the size of the head rail and meet  them head to head in the corner of your bay as in the picture above and then mark on the  window frame where the cardboard touches the frame. Select inside option for recess.   NOTE: Please make sure the cardboard pieces touch when measuring.   For the drop will be ceiling to window sill/floor or from where you would like the blind to hang from to where you would like it to finish and always select inside recess option.   Any other bay   You will have to measure each window using a piece of cardboard cut square at the size of the head rail and following the diagram below. NOTE: Please make sure the cardboard pieces touch when measuring.     Cardboard pieces cut at the size of the head rail Once you have decided where each blind will sit you will mark on your window frame and measure between the markings. Always give us the measurements as inside recess.   For the drop will be ceiling to window sill/floor or from where you would like the blind to hang from to where you would like it to finish and always select inside recess option.

 

Budget?

• Depending on your budget may determine the window treatments you choose

What is the application?

• The type of treatment you choose will usually be determined by the application,

 

here are some suggestions.

 

 

Bedrooms where you do not want any light

 Cellular/Honeycomb Shade

 

•  Cellular/Honeycomb shades. Not only will you get the tightest fit in the window and the least amount of "halo" light  but they are also very clean and simple in looks.

 

• Cellular/Honeycomb shades also have the most features available. You can do top down, bottom up

 

• Cordless
• Top down, bottom up cordless
• veriglide (only one or two suppliers do this)

dual shade ( duo lite, day/night) - This is usually a sheer or semi-opaque (light filtering) window treatment on top and a semi-opaque ( light filtering) or opaque ( room darkening) treatment on the bottom. Keep in mind this version you will be paying for two window treatments in one window



 

 

Faux and Real Wood

 

 

• Another option for bedrooms that is more reasonable is the real or faux wood blinds. These can look lovely depending on the colour and application. For bedrooms most manufacturers now have an option of "no router holes" for their wood blinds. This means, there will be no holes in the slats that the strings run through. Instead the slats will sit on what is termed "ladders". The slats do move more but they will close tighter and not let light through.
• This is also a great option instead of doing the tapes to cover the holes ( they look like suspenders)

 

 No Router Holes

With router holes

 



 

• FYI - Wood blinds stack really thick so if you are wanting to be able to clear most of your window for a great view, these would not be the window treatments for you. Wood blinds are meant to be tilted more than lifted
 
• Most manufacturers will also offer their tilt option as either a wand or a cord
• This (for most) is not an up charge.

 

Pleated shades

• Pleated shades are nice if you want a similar look to a cellular/honeycomb but less cost. I find that they are pretty but not as substantial as a cellular as they are just one piece of fabric, plus you will have router holes as this is the only way to hang them and you can not cover them up 

Options :

• Cordless
• Top Down Bottom Up
 

 

Metal Venetians

 

• Metal blinds will essential have the same options as a wood blind when it comes to function, the only different is  you will always have router holes on a metal blind.
• There is also the sound that they will make when touched, however metal blinds have come a long way when it comes to colour and texture. There are companies that will make these window treatments with wood valances and even finished wood trim

• These window treatments are very inexpensive and are great for areas where they may get dirty or wet like, the bathroom, garage, kitchen, laundry room and so forth.

 

Roller Shades

Roller shades have come along way from the 70's PVC look that hung in your grandma's bathroom. You know have many tactile options,

• Fabric
• PVC
• PVC Sunscreen
• woven wood
 
• I will usually suggest roller shades in kitchens and bathrooms as they are usually ( if you go with the PVC material) much easier to clean than most.

 

 
• The sunscreens are great for sun rooms or rooms that have alot of heat caused by sun exposure. You can go from a 1% ( only 1% of light is allowed through) all the way up to a 14%. This application is great for windows where you would still like to see out during the day but have UV protection and privacy.

This is an example of a screen weave.

 

 

• If you want privacy in the evenings once the sun goes down I would not recommend a screen weave. All of a sudden you can not see out, but everyone who looks in can see in your home.

 

• Some manufacturers offer a dual shade roller system which can alleviate this problem as you can get a translucent or sheer weave fabric and also a black out for privacy

 

 

 

 

example of a dual roller shade

 

 

 

 

 

• The one downside to roller shades is that no matter how tight you get your measurement, you will always loose around 1/2" on either side as the fabric is on a roll and this caused the blind to start further in.

 

 

See the gap?

 

 

Not great for bedrooms where complete room darkening is required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could avoid this by doing an outside mount so the fabric covers the opening completely

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most companies will offer what they call a "black out" system for their rollers which is channels that are installed into the casing and the shade runs through the track so there is no light

 

example of a track system

 

 

 

Valances

 

• Although I really like the open roll look as it is very clean and modern some still enjoy the finished look of a valance. Here are some options for the top of your blind

 

 

 

 

Open roll

 

 

Fabric Valance

 

 

 Cassette Valance

 

 

 

Pocket valance

 

Panel Track

• Panel track is somewhat of a new concept for a vertical. What is great is most fabrics that are for the roller shade programs are also available in panel track which can make coordinating window treatments very easy.

• The only issue is the panels are usually 20" wide so if you do not have the space to stack the blinds off the window you will need to decide if you are still interested in this treatment.

• It is the same as verticals, they will always have a certain width of stack that will ether cover the window ( or the patio door) unless you mount them and order them to be larger than the window treatment

FYI they also make awesome room dividers!!

 

 

Multiple blinds on one head rail.

• Sometimes you will run into windows that are to wide or tall for a single blind. In these cases you may have the option of a multiple blind on one head rail option
• what this option allows for it 2 things

1) you will have less of a gap between the blinds than if they were mounted separately

2) you will have one continuous head rail instead of separate head rails

 

 

 

 

There are quite a few suppliers that do their own unique window treatments that I would be more than happy to show you in our showroom.

 

Just and FYI : To order blinds you must make an appointment as it takes around 5 to 15 minutes to order each blind.

 

 

I really hope this post helps, and if there are any questions please do not hesitate to post in comments : D