It may come as no surprise, but shades and blinds purchased at retail have an incredible mark up.  The mark up is designed to compensate the middlemen between the manufacturer and the consumer.  When shopping for shades and blinds, your goal should be to pay the least amount possible for the same quality product and, to a lesser degree, service.  The case study presented here is based upon an actual purchase.  The information presented will enable consumers to save money the next time they purchase shades or blinds, regardless of the brand.  This approach is best suited for the cost conscious consumer who is willing to do some legwork.

Step One

It’s always a good idea to see the products you are going to purchase first hand.  For this purpose, visit retail stores like Home DepotÒ or LowesÒ or a boutique design center.  Find the shades or blinds you are interested in purchasing and set up a free in-house measurement.  If anyone wants to charge you then keep looking until you find someone willing to do it for free.

It’s important to get the brand, product name, pattern type, color name and any identifying product numbers.  It’s also important to get the exact measurements for each window, whether it’s an inside or outside mount, whether the controls will be on the right or left side and the valance style.  Insist that all this information be included in a written quote.  If you encounter a company not willing to include all this information in a written quote, kick them to the curb and find one who will.

Is this ethical?  Having someone do all the work when you do not plan on buying from him or her.  You best it is.  Why?  You are more than willing to give them the business if they can be competitive on price.  It’s their job to be competitive, not yours.  Tell them you want to compare prices before making a decision and ask them for their absolute best price.

If you feel guilty getting someone else to do this work than learn to measure yourself.  It’s really very simple and you can get instructions on any manufacturers website.  Even if you measure you will want to go “window shopping” to select the actual product.  Be aware that sometimes manufacturers make up unique product names and numbers for retailers to discourage price shopping.  This is more prevalent in carpet than shades and blinds, but it does happen.  In those cases, you’ll look for the closest thing when shopping online (most of the time it is the exact same thing).

Step Two

GoogleÒ “shades and blinds” or search on your manufacturer’s name (e.g., Hunter DouglasÒ) and you will be presented with a number of companies that sell online.  Take one shade or blind and attempt to purchase through several retailers.  Get far enough into the selection process to get a price.  Once you find the company offering the lowest price (including shipping), make your purchase.  These companies send your order direct to the manufacturer just like the retail stores and the manufacturer ships your order direct to you.

You will need to install the blinds yourself, but that is very easy to do.  The manufacturer provides instructions.  If you have problems you can contact your online retailer or contact the manufacturer directly.

By being willing to do some research and to live without local support, you can save up to 60 – 80% on the cost of your shades and blinds.

Case Study

Budget BlindsÒ was brought in to do a free in-house consultation.  Budget BlindsÒ did all the measurements and helped select the Hunter DouglasÒ product, color, etc.  The Budget BlindsÒ price was 25% off retail.  When pressed they offered another $15 - $25 off per blind if the consumer did the installation.

A GoogleÒ search revealed many online retailers, but “americanblinds.comÒ” had the best price on the Hunter DouglasÒ shades selected.  The product was ordered online and self-installed.  The total savings for 5 Hunter DouglasÒ shades of various sizes was 60% off retail.  “Retail” would have been around $2,600.  Budget BlindsÒ lowest price was $1673.  The total (included shipping and taxes) from “americanblinds.comÒ” was $1,014.46.

It can be done folks.  Remember, its your money!