Best Places to Buy Carpet
Last updated November 2023
You’ll want to do your shopping at stores where you can get good advice, good selection, quality installation services, and honest business practices—at reasonable prices.
Variety and Layout
Most stores display wall-to-wall carpet samples on racks or in sample books, while carpet remnants and rugs are hung from racks, stacked, or stored in rolls around the store. It’s important that stores have good lighting and enough room to lay out a rug or remnant so you can see what it looks like on the floor.
Convenient Services
Shop at stores that let you take home carpet samples and/or area rugs; most stores offer this service. Also find out if the store will bind carpets for area rugs or arrange for custom-made rugs. Some carpet stores also offer carpet or rug cleaning, repairs, appraisals, restoration, or design services.
Advice
You’re likely to have many questions at a carpet shop. Unfortunately, when we surveyed consumers many carpeting stores got very low ratings for quality of advice offered.
Installation Performance
We also asked customers to rate companies on “doing work properly on the first try” and “starting and completing work promptly.” Some companies got poor scores in these areas.
Installation Service
Unless you’re a committed do-it-yourselfer, have professionals install your carpet. Almost all wall-to-wall sellers offer installation services, either via their own employees or by contractors.
Installation problems are among the most common sources of carpet buyers’ complaints. A poor job, such as inadequate stretching of carpet, or uneven, bumpy, or loose seams, can ruin the appearance and durability of even an expensive carpet.
Warranty
The quality of a store’s warranty is a good indicator of the reliability of its sales and installation operations. Most carpet stores and installers offer written installation warranties, usually valid for a year or longer.