Sometimes trying to save a few (hundred) dollars just isn't worth the hassle.

[zukeypur]

Yesterday DH and I bought a new range and advantium from sears. We put part of the balance on our sears card to take advantage of the 0% financing, and put the rest on my visa bank card. Today, I found the advantium $287 cheaper at an online retailer. I was planning on price matching with sears, but the cheaper price was not advertised on the website (call for price). I called sears to cancel the order for the advantium over the phone, with instructions to credit the refund to my bank card. The associate said that it never gave him the option and it all went back to the sears card. The problem is that now I'm out the money from my bank (twice, since I bought the new advantium from the online retailer), and I have a credit on the card that I used to take advantage of the financing. UGH!!!! The sears credit services said that the store manager had to take care of it......but the store manager was the one who screwed it up in the first place.

Such a headache.

[WatchingThemGrow]

what a pain. But you should start getting really excited for your new advantium! It's SO fun to pull stuff from the freezer/fridge and pop it right in there, set the controls and come back to a perfectly cooked meal Yum. Yum. Yum. I *so* miss ours.

[zukeypur]

Oh, I'm soooooo freaking excited to get it!!!!!!! We ended up getting it from US Appliance for $789!!!!! Also with no tax and free shipping. I also got the extended warranty for $119 that will take us to 5 years. I normally don't buy them but I anticipate this appliance being heavily used.

It will take a few extra days to get it, but I saved $287!

I have spent HOURS on the phone tonight trying to get this resolved. I finally got someone helpful at sears credit services who would not give me detailed account info (DH is not here to give them permission), but she was able to tell me that the money DID in fact go back to the sears card (we also used a few gift cards and I was scared that it went back on one of those) and that the account that it was returned to was in fact DH's account. I wasn't sure because DH doesn't actually have a card, just an account that was looked up yesterday when we went in. The guy told me that it all went back to card ending in numbers XXXX, but I had no way of knowing if that was the right card or not. If I cannot get the store to reverse it and put it on my bank card, DH can call sears credit and have them issue a check for the amount of the credit. It's the long way around it, but at least we will be able to put the money back in our bank instead of it sitting on a card that will never be used.

Confused yet?

[WatchingThemGrow]

totally understand that - almost like a useless merchandise credit. Let us know how it goes when it gets installed! (Do you have the right plugs already installed?)

[zukeypur]

I hope so. I'm just replacing my crappy builder grade OTR microwave. I ordered the 120 advantium so I'm not anticipating problems. Although, on second thought, I should probably anticipate problems, huh? That seems to be the theme for my January.

I also got the Frigidaire hybrid induction range. I love the look of it, it was over $1000 cheaper than the Electrolux, and I don't have to buy any new cookware. I also think it'll be a plus if we decide to sell in the ext couple of years.

[spunkybaby]

Zukeypur, I love the Samsung refrigerator that you posted the bargain about on Veteran's Day. We have been thinking about replacing our over-the-range microwave and also possibly our cooktop/oven. Can you tell me more about why you chose the appliances you did? I told DH that I think you have done a lot of appliance research and find great deals

[zukeypur]

Haha, you can't get mad at me if you don't like them.

We first started looking at ranges in pursuit of a double oven, stainless. We currently have a builder grade white coil oven and a builder grade microwave. I HATE both of them with a deep passion. Over the course of researching them I learned about induction, then I learned about the advantium (from the BBB, of course). I abandoned the double oven idea in favor of a convection or speed cook microwave. We don't have access to gas in our neighborhood, so electric is our only option. I don't like the look of the freestanding models, which is what I have now, so I started looking at slide in models after I learned that they would fit in the same space as the free standing models. There are only a few options for stainless slide-in induction ranges in the "affordable" category: Kenmore, Electrolux, Frigidaire, and GE Profile. I eliminated Kenmore pretty early because it is as expensive as the Electrolux without the neat features, and I don't like the look as much. The GE profile gets great reviews, but I just can't get over the ugly "cat eye" look of the profile line. If only they would make a GE Cafe induction in addition to the GE Profile. That left me with the Electrolux and Frigidaire. I'm a sucker for big chunky knobs. It's sad but true.....I chose a range largely because of big, chunky knobs. Electrolux makes both of them so I'm hoping that the performance is close to the same on them, as the Electrolux has very good reviews on the GW forum. The Electrolux has a pretty blue interior, awesome gliding racks, a second oven instead of just a warming drawer, a meat probe, and the Perfect Turkey button. In the end, I chose the Frigidaire because of the look and the price tag. The Electrolux was $3199 plus the cost of new cookware, but I got the Frigidaire for $1949 by price matching US Appliance.
http://www.us-appliance.com/fpcs3085lf.html

One big thing about the Frigidaire is that it's a hybrid. It's has 2 induction hobs and 2 radiant hobs with a bridge. I anticipate using the induction for most of my cooking, as I use mostly cast iron skillets and my Le Creuset Dutch oven. The rest of my cookware is not magnetic. I use a non-stick pampered chef sauce pan for rice at least once a week, small pampered chef non-stick skillets for eggs, and my old fashion popcorn popper that I would hate to part with. Also, we are entertaining the though of moving in the next few years. Since so many people in this area are unfamiliar with induction, we thought a hybrid would be more appealing.

The Kenmore convection OTR microwave was actually pretty impressive in the sears store (the salesman baked cookies while we were there), but it was only $60 cheaper than the advantium and I had already decided against the matching range. Since I'm replacing an existing OTR microwave I only have a 120v outlet which limited me to the advantium 120. If you can get the 240, go with that one as it's more powerful and has better reviews. The only choices I really had were the Cafe and Profile, so I went with the Cafe version.
http://www.us-appliance.com/csa1201r.html

I'm still in love with my Samsung fridge, even though one of the kids has already put a small dent in the freezer door. :/

We went with a Bosch dishwasher this summer. My review is the second one on best buy.
http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/det...ws&overview=no

[spunkybaby]

Thank you, zukeypur, for sharing your explanations! I will definitely show DH!

ETA: Congrats on all the price-matching and deals that you found--I hope your kitchen turns out wonderfully!