Both have good reputations but this is the internet, so you'll certainly hear horror stories about anyone.

For what it's worth, I like shopping at companies like AJ Madison or Abt that are 'bricks and mortar' but have a large online presence. I find that using their sites to do research, then calling them and talking to a human being to make the sale, has gotten me a better price (or good deals on shipping/installation) than just clicking Add To Cart.

"For what it's worth, I like shopping at companies like AJ Madison or Abt that are 'bricks and mortar' but have a large online presence. I find that using their sites to do research, then calling them and talking to a human being to make the sale, has gotten me a better price (or good deals on shipping/installation) than just clicking Add To Cart."

I agree with this completely and this is my method also. I live near Abt and shop from them frequently. They have an incredibly good reputation in Chicago. Importantly, prices are very much negotiable. All you have to do is call and ask if they can do better on the price; or ask if there is an advantage to ordering over the phone versus the internet. The person on the phone will invariably give you an incentive to buy from him/her.

I just went through this same decision between Homeeverything and AJMadison to purchase a KA DW and GE Advantium. I placed my order yesterday with Homeeverything. The prices were pretty much identical except AJMadison was going to charge to ship my 2 appliances, and Homeeverything offers free shipping. The other thing that swayed me was that Homeeverything says it's an Authorized Dealer for Kitchenaid, while AJMadison doesn't say that. Kitchenaid is offering mail-in rebates, but only if you buy their appliances from an Authorized Dealer.

I placed the order over the phone with Homeeverything. I spoke to a real person, who also checked to see if the appliances I wanted were in the warehouse (they were). He said they'd ship the next day. I received an email this morning that the items had shipped. We expect to get them next week.

When I checked online reviews, Homeeverything had very good reviews, except for their dealings with freight companies. Evidently, the various freight companies they use vary in quality, and people were pretty negative about it. I asked the salesperson on the phone about this issue, and he acknowledged it's an issue (I appreciated the honesty), but he qualified it by saying those bad experiences were typically with freight companies delivering to locations far from large cities, so Homeeverything's choices of shippers for those locations were limited. Not that that makes it right or anything! Anyway, we are outside Chicago, and he said ours would be delivered by either UPSGround or HomeDirect shipping, both of which are pretty reliable.

I guess I won't know for sure that everything's OK until we receive the appliances in perfect order. But so far, everything has been satisfactory.

"The other thing that swayed me was that Homeeverything says it's an Authorized Dealer for Kitchenaid, while AJMadison doesn't say that."

From AJ Madison website:

"As an authorized dealer, AJ Madison is approved by every Appliance Manufacturer to sell their appliances on our company website."

I am leaning toward AJMadison because they carry all of the Brands I am considering, and I don't think Home Everything does. I think Abt is outside the service area for KA, so they would not be able to ship KA to me (MD).

I will definitely call and speak to a real person to see if I can get a better deal, on price, shipping options, and/or extended guarantee. I know they are a bricks and mortar store as well, so that makes me feel somewhat secure. But hearing that others have had good experiences with these companies sure helps to put me more at ease.

Numbersjunkie - I didn't realize that AJMadison was also a KA Authorized Dealer. Anyway, they were more expensive for my 2 appliances than Homeeverything.

Don't worry about the "outside of the service area for KA" thing. That's only if you actually place your order online. If you telephone them to order, it's no problem. I live fairly close to Abt Appliances. They're a wonderful store. Trustworthy, reliable. But, I would have had to pay very high sales tax, near 10%, so Abt would never be competitively priced for me.

alwaysfixin - That's good to know about the service area issue. I'll have to check them out!

I know I want the KA refrigerator, now I just have to decide on my other appliances!

Just wish there was someplace local that I could actually touch/see some of the ones I am considering.

I have used them both wiith no problems. Now I just look who has the best delivered price. I have never spoke to a person at either place.
Just ordered from their web site.
Pay with a credi card not debit..

I ordered a gagg combi oven, Miele induction cooktop, Miele d/w, and Blanco sinks from AJ Madison and I was very pleased. I would definitely recommend ordering by phone, there is no downside and for me there were very significant reductions in price. My order did take a while to ship but I had time to spare and was always able to get an update by phone.

The only concern I have regards the delivery. The stated policy regarding items damaged at the time of delivery is:

Check for both internal and external damage before accepting delivery. If you notice there is damage to the product, refuse the package and note the damage on the delivery invoice. Please call our customer service department immediately, and we will issue a return authorization (RA) number. If damage issues arise after signing for the merchandise, you are responsible for filing all claims with the shipper. Therefore, a thorough inspection of all packages is important before signing.

So I fully intended to open everything up and make sure there was no damage prior to signing for the delivery. But, the delivery guy arrived 2 hours prior to the agreed on time and one of the workers at my house signed for the items. When I spoke to the delivery person he said he would not have waited for me to inspect the items. So there seems to be a catch 22 there. Luckily, there was no damage, and if I had found damage after the fact I do not know how AJM would have responded.

kitchen angst, I think in that instance you have whoever signs it (including yourself) write 'not inspected' beside your signature. This should give you some limited measure of recourse.

I wanted to follow up on this thread about my experience with Homeeverything. I am very pleased. As I posted above, I chose Homeeverything over AJMadison due to Homeeverything offered free shipping and AJMadison charged for shipping. Both retailers are authorized dealers for Kitchenaid & GE, and both had almost the same prices for the KA DW and GE Advantium I wanted.

I placed my order over the telephone, which I preferred to placing over the website. Homeeverything kept me very apprised of the status of my order (email confirmation upon receipt of my order, email when my order left the warehouse, email with tracking number to track online, and phone call from shipper 2 days prior to delivery to confirm delivery date). The whole thing took 10 Business Days to delivery (2 calendar weeks), which is what they had told me when I placed my order.

I didn't want to deal with curbside delivery and our very long driveway, so I paid an extra fee for in-house delivery. The delivery guys were courteous, careful with the appliances and quick. They had given us a 3-hr. window for delivery, and arrived in the 1st hour. I understand from online ratings that it is the trucker that can cause the problems, more than the retailer, but this trucking company was very efficient. The appliances were in perfect condition upon arrival.

Hope that helps anyone making this decision. As I noted in my post above, some trucking companies in more remote locations might not be as good. Anyway, I was hesitant to order appliances over the internet, but it was a good experience, and we saved money.

I ordered all my appliances, 2 Silgranit sinks and a garbage disposal from AJ Madison. I think they gave me a great deal, including free installation of a Miele cooktop so I could get the extra warranty. They also threw in other freebies - my garbage disposal and in home delivery. They are holding my stuff until we are ready (and no CC bill until delivery), but I will get the KA rebate which expired on 7/5. I would definitely suggest you call to get a better deal. I think they can usually give you at least something off of every brand, even those that do not allow posting of a discounted price.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm not at all worried.

"Check for both internal and external damage before accepting delivery. If you notice there is damage to the product, refuse the package and note the damage on the delivery invoice. Please call our customer service department immediately, and we will issue a return authorization (RA) number. If damage issues arise after signing for the merchandise, you are responsible for filing all claims with the shipper. Therefore, a thorough inspection of all packages is important before signing. "

You DEFINITELY want to check the item thoroughly. I was just talking with my GC yesterday about this very thing. These days, the delivery guys are like delivery ninjas! They put the package there.. ring the bell.. and I swear they must run to their vehicle. You barely get a chance to inspect if at all. A delivery guy the other day with my backsplash tile asked the GC "is the owner home?" He said, "let me check." He came and got me and I went to the door and the guy was gone and had left the box. Luckily it was fine.

Having gained some confidence here, I just placed an order with Homeeverything. I purposely chose option #2, the customer service, and got someone on line promptly. He gave me name, extension, checked the item to see it was in stock, told me when it would be shipped, and I used Paypal to be a little safer. I do not want to jinx myself so I will post a follow-up later, but I did get satisfactory customer service so far.

I ordered all my new DCS appliances from two brick and mortar stores who sell on eBay, Fredrickson's and Valley Appliance.

I got great service and paid 40% less for my appliances than AJ Madison advertises, even gave me the name of the local DCS warranty guy just in case I needed service in the future.

You can get a good deal by shopping and dealing with real businesses who ship nationally without going to the large internet giants.

I had a good experience with AjMadison, not familiar with Home Everything but will try next time.

AJ Madison is a "real" business, located in NY. Not sure about 40% less than AJ Madison prices, I checked their sites and the prices seemed comparable for the items I am looking at. But that sure would be nice! I have also found great deals at local (to me) businesses that sell on the internet, but their deals (EBAY) are usually discontinued or display models. And they usually charge shipping - AJMadison and most other online stores do not.

What is funny about the brick and mortar stores who also sell online (like AJMadison) is that the people who live in the same state are going to go there to look at stuff and then order from another retailer in a different state to avoid sales tax. And vice-versa. I have a friend in CA who ordered from a place in Chicago to avoid tax, and I just ordered something from CA to avoid NY tax.

If you can call and get the price cut down to account for the tax, though, I would always rather support a local business.

Taxes add up to about 9% here in NY so on a high end kitchen where appliances can add up to 15K easily, we are talking over around $1300...

I wanted to post about my experience with HomeEverything. I live about 20 miles north of Boston

Ordered two appliances on 8/5 via phone and was told that everything was in stock and expected delivery date was 2 wks out. Received an email the next day that the items were back ordered for 2-3 business days. On 8/18 received an email that the items were shipped, the freight company called me later that day saying that the items were scheduled for delivery on the following day between 3-7pm. The day of delivery, I called the freight company several times to get a better idea of the time because my contractor leaves at 4pm and I had a family member on stand by for the rest of the time. After multiple calls, I was told delivery would be at 9:30pm. At the time, the house didn't have any lights yet and I couldn't take delivery. On top of that, my husband had been waiting outside for several hours after work waiting. After much frustration, it was rescheduled for the next day.

I ordered another appliance on 8/15 and did not receive it until 9/16. The only reason I was given for this significant delay was that they offer free shipping. That's not a good enough explanation in my book. In addition, it took over one week for delivery after the item had finally been picked by the freight company.

Overall, unless you are really really flexible and don't care when your items arrive, I wouldn't recommend them. The first issue was with the freight company, the second with HomeEverything.

i'd like to make a suggestion. we used Plessers - they are a brick and mortar on long island, ny and have a good internet sales. gene coughlin handled my sale - bluestar, whirlpool gold and bosch - and answered questions = a lot! they used a top notch delivery service - polite and immaculate and precise. couldn't have been more pleased...and we have lots to choose from around here. oh yeah...and they gave us a great deal on the pricing.
plessers.com

We just finished installing a KA Architect Series double wall oven we purchased from HomeEverything, no sales tax, no shipping. Delivery to our home in Northern California went flawlessly. Excellent tracking, with on-time arrival. Product arrived in perfect condition, works just as it's supposed to.

Just wanted to chime in on my experience with AJ Madison:
Great web-site. I was able to do a lot of research and comparing there. Quite user-friendly
Great prices. I was able to find slightly lower prices at a couple of other sites, but not significant enough to Change my mind.
Easy ordering. I talked to Mark at AJM and the experience was very pleasant.
Reasonable delivery time. 2weeks exactly from placing order to white-glove delivery to Washington State.
Great delivery. I know some have had nightmares with delivery, including damage, but A-1 Distribution delivered my appliances -including unboxing for inspection- and all of the items were perfect. Nice guys too!
I purchased a Samsung fridge, Bosch wall oven, Fisher-Paykel cooktop, LG dishwasher, Zephyr hood and Sharp micro and trim kit.
Any questions, I would be happy to start a new thread and answer them.
Dean - Washington State

Is AJ Madison still in business? I need to order a range, refrig, DW, microwave, and hood. The AJMadison website says "Call for price" on several items. Well, I have called each day last week Mon - Friday. I called in the morning and afternoon. After two days, I sent them emails.
Each time I called I immediately go into voicemail, no matter what options I choose on the phone. Five calls, three emails later, still not one response.

Are they still in business?

Definitely still in business. Just talked to my sales rep on Friday re: my micro delivery date ( shipped separately from large appliances).
Hope this is okay to do... Call the main number and use x. 141. That's Mark, the sales rep I have worked with. He's been great at returning calls - at least M-F - and really helpful.
Some of the items (e.g. gaggenau) require a call for price.

Thanks for the reply. I did call today and got a person immediately. Not sure what happened last week....