Take a look at the two pictures above. Do you notice the green sale tags? These are examples of open-box appliances, or what is more commonly known as "scratch and dent". I took these photos from merchandise tagged and ready for sale on our Westfield showroom, which is where you can find the majority of our open-box items. (Full disclosure: I work out of the Westfield store.)
Now, using the term scratch-and-dent does does not always do the individual piece proper justice. True, some of the pieces are displayed on our sales floors because they are literally scratched or dented. Because we don't unbox new appliances until we've arrive at the customer's house, we sometimes receive the unpleasant surprise of finding that your new refrigerator or washer was dented or marred at some point during its journey from factory to your home.
(And, just in case you were wondering why we don't uncrate and repack the appliances before delivering them, we've learned that this extra handling only increases the number of cosmetic damage issues, especially considering the types of minimal packaging often used to ship these products.)
Some of the reasons we might discount a piece as open box include:
- The model might be discontinued. At this point we usually discount the demo model - with full original warranty - to make room for the new model.
- The model was ordered by mistake. Sometimes this is the fault of the customer. And yes, sometimes it's our fault. The most common reasons are: wrong color, wrong size, wrong fuel (gas vs. electric). Mistakes do happen!
- Performance service issues. Sometimes the appliance does not perform properly. Maybe the refrigerator isn't keeping temperature, or the dryer won't shut off at the right time. At Manny's we're proud to have a full service department and can repair just about any product that we sell, but sometimes the repair cannot be performed properly or quickly, and we have to exchange the product. Once exchanged, we will then repair the appliance and then ship it to one of the stores to sell at a reduced price.
- The model is dented or scratched out of the box. This does happen. Sometimes we deliver a product in a pristine box, only to discover the unit is banged up. (At this point we offer the customer two options: a damage allowance, or replacement. Usually, if the ding is on a door - this happens most often with today's giant refrigerators - we can order a door replacement. If the damage is more extensive, or if you find the imperfection unlivable, we can take the unit back at the time of delivery and reorder.)
These open box pieces will come with the original manufacturer's warranty - and remember, we are a servicing retailer! Discounts on these products will be anywhere between 10% up to 50%, depending on the product's condition and history. And yes, we will deliver these products upon request for our normal delivery fee (see a salesperson for specifics and restrictions.)
An open box dryer wrapped and ready for delivery
Back to original question, now:
"Is an open box product right for me??"
There are lots of good reasons to select a discounted open box appliance, and by far the biggest reason is the discounted price! Especially in these inflationary times, it can be hard to pass up a bargain! Often we can find an open box piece to bail a customer out of a challenging situation: Maybe you have a dead refrigerator or stove, with people coming over tomorrow. Maybe one piece in a kitchen package is backordered or unavailable, and we have the perfect open box piece to complement the rest of the kitchen, and at a reduced price!
When is open box not a good idea? Well, if having an appliance that is completely free of blemishes or even minor scratches, then your discerning eye may not want to accept a piece that has been touched and checked out a few times on our sales floor. Perhaps you simply like the idea of "brand new", the way some people always want to purchase a new car versus a used model. That's fine - we can always help you with that brand new purchase as well!!
If you have any questions on our open-box appliances (or anything else for that matter) please reach to us at any of our ten (soon to be eleven!!) showrooms.