What The Dealio
Remember how we mentioned a few times that we’d like to upgrade to an energy efficient front loading washer and dryer sometime down the line when we saw a killer deal (we heard they pop up around February since new models are often introduced then)? Well, one found us a lot sooner than we expected. Yesterday actually.
We were walking through Lowe’s on Saturday when we noticed a sign that said 10% off all appliances. Not much of a deal, but enough to make us take a detour through the appliance section for fun. And while we were in that shiny-new-appliance-induced-euphoria, we noticed a big sign on an energy efficient Whirlpool Duet washer & dryer set that said $898 for the pair (marked down from $1198). Not a bad deal but not an earth-shatteringly amazing one either. But boy were they beauts.
We knew we liked Whirlpool Duet front loaders (they’re what we had for over three years in our last house). And they’d work in our new laundry room since they’re stackable. So we asked a salesperson if the 10% off offer that we noticed was valid on top of the posted $898 sale price for the pair. No dice. Since they were already labeled as an “in-store special” there weren’t any added price cuts they could apply. So we called it a day and went home.
The very next morning (Sunday), as if by fate, John got an email saying all Energy Star washer & matching dryer sets priced over $397 each were 20% off for a limited time (hooray for signing up for the Lowe’s mailing list when we moved). So we figured that it was worth calling Lowe’s to clarify if we could use the 20% coupon on the $898 set we had seen. Although in all honestly we went into it assuming they would say no…
… which they did. Boo.
Then we noticed that on lowes.com the exact same washer & dryer were marked down to $399 each ($798 for the set instead of the $898 in-store sales price we saw earlier). And it appeared as though the 20% email offer that John received would work on top of that online sale price. Score. But we’d always rather purchase things from our local store than order them online, so we called the store back and explained that we wanted to order the set online for $319 a pop thanks to the additional 20% off the $399 sale price that we found online, but we’d be happy to come in and order directly from the store if they’d honor the $638 grand total…
… which they did. Yay.
Why the change of heart when we mentioned ordering them online? If Lowe’s is anything like my old days in retail (I worked at Express on 34th Street in Manhattan for a few years during college) they’re working to personally hit a sales goal in each store every day, so they’d much rather you go through them than order something online since it’ll boost their daily numbers. Plus they’re probably allowed to honor online prices if you print out and bring them those e-promotions and show them what you could get on their website (although we did have to speak to a supervisor on the phone before getting the all-clear).
So that’s how we practically bought one and got one free (saving almost 50%) when it came to a new Whirlpool Duet front loading washer & dryer. We plan to stack them in our laundry room in the place of our existing not-front-loading-or-energy-efficient current set so we save a bundle when it comes to water and electricity (plus they’re a lot more functional thanks to the front loading washer capability along with the extra internal space and other brand-spanking-new features).
And while we’re on the subject of saving energy, guess how many clams our new set will cost to run per year according to the Energy Star tag? Fifteen bucks. A year. For all those loads of clothes and cloth diapers that we’re doing these days. Actually it’ll probably be around $9 for the year because their $15 estimate is based on eight loads of wash per week, and we usually get by with about four to five including Clara’s cloth diapers. You know how there’s that crass term for people who are obsessed with celebs? Star effers? Well we’re Energy Star effers. They’re just so much better than the old electricity and water wasters of the past- like the older stackable washer and dryer that we inherited with the house.
Speaking of those, since they’re still in great working order, instead of sending them off to a landfill we’re hoping to sell ‘em on craigslist soon since we have to wait a week or two for the new dryer to come in and get delivered. And if nobody bites on craigslist we’ll donate them to the Habitat For Humanity ReStore (they do pick-ups, which makes things even easier). And we promise to share pics of the new ones (possibly with Clara playing Vanna White) when they arrive. Have you guys scored any after-holiday appliance deals? Or convinced a store to honor an online deal with some over the phone eyelash batting?
Psst- Thanks to a few smart commenters, we just learned that we can get a $75 rebate from the VA government for buying an Energy Star appliance thanks to this link, which would take our total down to $563. Squeeeeeeeee!
Psssst- Drool inducing laundry pic found here (those are the Whirlpool Duets with steam and add-on pedestal bases, which are a step up from ours- I just couldn’t resist sharing that pretty laundry room pic).
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Love the thriftiness (is that a word?) of this New Year’s resolution in action. I did the same thing this time last year – we had just bought a brand new house off plan from a developer and needed a laundry pair. I saw a spectacular deal on a lesser-brand pair (icky red colour, do not like) and when we went to talk to the salesman, he said they were sold out. BUT BUT BUT!! They’d sell us this lovely Whirlpool pair (which was the set I had been eyeing online) for THE SAME PRICE! So we scored a high end laundry pair at a very low end price. I can’t wait to use it when we *finally* move in March 1st!
I’ve heard that front loading washers aren’t great for cloth diapers…you haven’t had that experience?
We recently bought a front loader but kept our top loader as a “diaper only” machine. Considering I’m only 6 months pregnant, I haven’t been able to test this internet rumor, but I’d love to hear your experience!
It would be great to be able to sell that washer!
Well Clara’s almost 8 months old and up until last month we used front loaders from the very start (until we moved here) and we LOVED THEM. No issues at all, and we miss them dearly. Can’t wait to be reunited with our front loaders!
xo,
s
I don’t even want to share this with my husband. Ha. We just bought a new Frigidaire (made by Electrolux) HE washer and dryer and after rebates, warranty from the store, pedestals (yep, we got them) it was a little over $2k and that was one of the better deals we found! The actual washer and dryer were about $1100, but when you add tax and all the extras…you know the deal.
They truly are fantastic machines. What a great deal, so nice that up can stack them!
Now I just wish I could fling the clothes like Kelly Ripa and they would fold and put themselves away.
Hey guys!
Thanks for the tip…just bought the same washer and dryer at the discounted price ($798 minus a 10% coupon)! We also get a $100 Energy Star appliance rebate from our city. Can’t wait to get them installed!!!!
Keep up the bargain hunting!!!
Hey, John and Sherry!
Just thought I’d say THANK YOU for posting this deal! My washer broke last Saturday and I wouldn’t have thought we’d be able to afford a front-loading, energy efficient washer, had I not read your blog (which I do every day). Though our store would not allow us to take the additional 20% off, we had $220 in Christmas gift money, so that brought our out-of-pocket cost down to just over $200 after taxes. Thank goodness our washer lasted past Christmas!
-Ashley
So I read this post the day you added it and we weren’t in the market for new dryers. Well a few days later i looked at lowes on a random stroll through just to look around and i saw the same set, on sale for $798….also saw pedastals buy one get one free, needless to say I couldn’t resist, it was such a great deal….we got them plus an extra 10% off….and we love them! I am so happy I thought about your blog while I was in lowes, that prompted me to venture into appliances :) we had older top loading, energy and water “wasters”
Well, I tried to score on this deal as well, but the managers wouldn’t budge in my area. I even tried to get Lowes.com to work their magic, but they couldn’t get the district or store managers to budge. Consider yourself lucky if you got this amazing deal!
My hubby, who is usually the ultimate negotiator, tried to get the same deal at our local Lowe’s. Eventually he spoke to the manager, who said he would actually fire any employee if they tried to honor the 20% off discount in addition to the $399 price, even for regulars like us. So, um, that was a huge NO on that one. Looks like you guys may have just gotten plain old lucky to have talked to the right person at the right time!
Seriously, you guys got super lucky. I just went to the nearest Lowe’s to try for a semi-similar deal since the 20% off Energy Star ends today, and it was a no-go.
I had my eye on some dinged-up floor models for a while so I asked a saleslady (who she had no idea what the price would be but she DID say they needed to be sold). The appliance manager was off so a different person came up and was like, “Well, we’re having the 20% off sale on those but that’s it.” And I asked if they would be willing to do larger reduction based on the fact that the floor models were dented and scraped in front. He looked at me like I was crazy. So I said, “Then for the 20% off, you’ll order me new models in a box, right?” He said, no, it was only for in-stock items, which didn’t sound right to me. Then I whipped out my price matching printouts and he said they no longer used online stores like AJ Madison, even though they had a few months ago when I bought a dishwasher. And he wouldn’t even look at the ones I had from Lowes.com that had lower prices. He started sort of ranting about it and I quickly said thanks anyway and left since it felt uncomfortable.
I’ve never had a good experience at that particular Lowe’s location and often drive to one several miles farther to avoid it. Unfortunately the other Lowe’s doesn’t have the floor models so now it’s a question of “Is 20% enough?” The ones I want are much pricier because they’re compact, which I need for my small laundry closet. If I do still go with Lowe’s, I’m definitely buying from the folks at the other store, which has better customer service.
Sorry for the mini-rant. It does not in any way diminish my pride in what you both accomplished with your bargaining! :)
That’s ok! We just looked up how much we paid for the Duet washer & dryer that we got for the last house (and happily used for 3+ years) and we paid around $1200 for it (although it was on sale for $350 off with that price)! So anything less than that seems like a steal!
xo,
s
Just got ours installed today! Thank you so much for the post, we would have never found a deal that good on our own! Woohoo!
Just thought I’d add this for anyone shopping for big items from big box stores – - you can usually pick up 10 or 20% off coupons on Ebay for a smidgen of the actual discount you’ll get. After seeing your deal, I purchased a 10% off coupon for Lowe’s on Ebay for $.99 and used that to get 10%off the same $798 washer set you got (plus $100 worth of tile for a new laundry room floor, yay). Of course, be sure to buy from a reputable Ebay seller. Thanks for the tip!
Great job guys! One other quick money saving tip for the big box stores. The post office has new mover “change of address” packets that normally contain 10% off coupons for Lowe’s. I pick one up every time I stop in. They can be used online too. Also, don’t forget many of the hardware stores have free site to store shipping so if you find a better deal online, you can order it, use your 10% off and then pick it up! Uh, and Home Depot takes Lowe’s coupons so you can use them there too!
What a price! In Europe I payed for dryer and washing mashine (both Miele) 2000 €. With 10% discount LOL.
“around $9 for the year because their $15 estimate is based on eight loads of wash per week, and we usually get by with about four to five including Clara’s cloth diapers. You know how there’s that crass”
Amazed that you make 4 loads per week. I am at the moment alone (with pats) and make 4 loads a week. I always thought with kids and all DIY-Project it has to be the double.
Hey JJA,
We actually thought it through and it’s more like five loads (scroll back through the comments for the breakdown). But we do our best to keep the loads down just because we hate spending all that time doing laundry! Haha.
xo,
s
Hey Young House Love! Just wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to shop around. I just bought a set of front loaders that were price-matched at Sears from a Best Buy ad on the internet, not only did they price-match, but they gave me 10% off the difference!!
That’s awesome! Congrats!
xo,
s
8 months later… we’re loving this post and are into the same washer/dryer. They got pretty bad reviews on lowes.com, which caused us pause. Have you found that your washer gets moldy and/or have you had to call in for repairs? Thanks and totally heart your site!
So far so good. We don’t have any service or mold issues yet. Thank goodness! Off to knock on wood just in case.
xo,
s
Okay…that is like the best deal ever! My husband and I just bought a new pair for our first house and I could not find ANY front-loaders for less than $699 each. I was able to get a 15% discount at Best Buy bringing them down to $594 each, but nothing like $319 each. How is it possible that front-loaders have gone up so much in price in just a year! Anyways, just had to rant. When we were shopping, I just kept telling my husband “these bloggers got a pair for less than $700!”. He didn’t believe me. Ha.
It sounds like you got a great deal too! Ours were just crazy marked down (maybe it was the end of the model year or something?).
xo,
s
I’ll be honest, I’m a little confused. But good blog.