How to Shop for Scratch and Dent Refrigerators: A Buyers Guide

How to Shop for a scratch and dent Refrigerator: A Buyers Guide.

Scratch and Dent Refrigerators.... What's that?

Are you in the market for a refrigerator and shopping or exploring your options? Through your search you may have found a business like Neu Appliance Outlet in Austin, Tx that specializes in Scratch and Dent Appliances. You may have heard of Scratch and Dent appliances before but do you really know what scratch and dent means? Is a scratch and dent fridge going to operate like a new one? What are the risks and rewards?? Well we are about to dive in and give you our best guide to buying a scratch and dent refrigerator we can.

How to Pick the Right Refrigerator

First off, If you haven’t shopped for a refrigerator in the last 5 years get ready for a completely different shopping experience. Refrigerators have TONS of options and features than ever before. French door vs Side by Side Refrigerators, Different Size Refrigerators,Dual Ice Makers,Craft Ice Makers, In-Door Ice Makers or even Refrigerators with Computers built in like the Samsung Family Hub Refrigerators. Refrigerator options are endless nowadays. If you are narrowing down the type of refrigerator that is perfect for you then you should read our Refrigerator Buyers Guide. For this article we are going to assume you already have this figured out with a pretty good idea of the features and functions you want in a Fridge. Now it's time to find how and where to buy it.

Scratch and Dent Samsung 4 Door French door Family hub refrigerator. For sale at Neu Appliance - Outlet in Austin, Tx

What is a Scratch and Dent Refrigerator Store

There are a few types of appliance stores out there. Some of the most popular appliance retailers are Scratch and Dent appliances Stores that offer discounts on appliances with a dent or ding or even appliances that have an open box. We go into depth on how scratch and dent stores operate in this article here but I will give you a quick rundown on how they work. Scratch and dent appliance stores usually have partnerships with companies like an appliance liquidation distributor, big box stores or a manufacturer. These appliance retailers typically have a contract locking them into buying or liquidating a certain amount of appliances or liquidating for a certain time frame for those companies. These Scratch and Dent appliance stores receive truckloads of Scratch and Dent Appliances like refrigerators often.

Why Do Refrigerators End Up At Scratch or Dent Stores

Have you ever moved one? Moving a Fridge takes some serious skill! They are massive, insanely heavy, usually manufactured halfway around the globe and literally cross oceans to get to you. To make the cruel joke even better; Refrigerators are literally covered in surfaces that are very easy to scratch or dent (like stainless steel). Lastly, to slam dunk that cherry on top; Refrigerators are typically delivered through house’s front doors that have little to no room for mistakes. It’s as if refrigerators were built with all these evil puzzle pieces in mind to primarily fuel scratch and dent stores…. It's truly amazing that EVERY refrigerator is a “Scratch and Dent” refrigerator if you think about it. Thousands of new refrigerators are delivered from manufacturers and retailers to customers EVERY DAY. (Don’t quote me on that statistic but it has to be a lot right!?!) Appliances are constantly moving around and one wrong move causing the smallest dent or ding changes that appliance from being a “New Refrigerator'' to a “Scratch or Dent Refrigerator.” So simple yet it's a real issue for appliance retailers and manufactures. They need a way to liquidate these appliances fast and cheap to not let them pile up. Companies like Neu Appliance Outlet sell those scratch and dent refrigerators. One day Manufacturers might wise up and build their refrigerators with this in mind, making them indestructible food cooling machines but until then we have serious job security!

Picture of Appliance Delivery employee moving a refrigerator on a appliance dolly at Neu appliance outlet in austin, tx

Picture of Neu Appliance Outlet - A discount scratch and dent appliance store in Austin, Tx.

How to Pick a Good Scratch and Dent Appliance Company

If you're shopping for a refrigerator and considering buying from a scratch and dent appliance store, the first step should be: do your research. Scratch and dent appliance Companies are not created equally and spending a little time researching can go a long way. When scratch and dent appliance stores receive their supply their work should not stop there, in fact that should be just the beginning of their process. That scratch and dent appliance company should test EVERY appliance to make sure it works like it is supposed to! Such a simple concept that unfortunately a lot of scratch and dent appliance stores don’t follow through on. Here at Neu Appliance - Outlet we have an entire facility and full time staff solely dedicated to testing and processing scratch and dent appliances. We feel this is an essential part of selling a quality Scratch and Dent Refrigerator. What if that scratch or dent affects the seal of the refrigerator or a part you can’t see is broken? Just because the dent is on the outside of a refrigerator the scratch and dent appliance store shouldn’t just assume the appliance works, right? They should test it!

As a scratch and dent appliance shopper how would you know if a company actually tests their Scratch and Dent appliances? Well for starters, ask them! If a scratch and dent appliance store does not advertise their process or tell their customers that the appliance has been tested to verify it works 100%. Ask them if it has been tested or ask about their testing and inspection process. A few questions can go a long way with helping you make the decision if this scratch and dent appliance store is a good fit for you or not! This is such a simple task but you would be amazed how few people ask this. At Neu Appliance Outlet we have a remarkably thorough testing process including a highly trained staff, documentation and processes that go into our testing process. We feel that’s what really makes us stand at the top of the pack of other scratch and dent stores. So of course we want to show our customers that. You will find that reliable or higher rated scratch and dent appliances stores will have that same strategy and the good ones are vocal about it…..Like us!

How Big of a Scratch or Dent On Your Refrigerator Is Ok?

Congrats on making it this far! You know what type of refrigerator you want and now you know how to pick a good scratch and dent store! You are almost there, don't stop now! Now for some of the more obvious stuff like, “How big of a Scratch or Dent on your refrigerator is ok?” Well if the refrigerator works perfectly but it has a scratch or dent it should just come down to the savings you are getting for that dent or ding right? Otherwise why wouldn’t you want an undamaged brand new one? When you're shopping at a scratch and dent appliance store you should be thinking “The bigger the Ding the bigger the discount.” You should compare the MSRP of that appliance from the manufacturer to the discounted price at that scratch and dent store. This is a pretty good indicator of value for the dent or ding you can use to shop with. Scratch and Dent Stores that go the extra mile *cough* *cough* LIKE US *cough* *cough* do that for you! For instance at our appliance outlet we categorize appliance conditions into groups to make the savings make sense. We group Scratch and Dent appliances like this: Open Box Appliances- little or no visible cosmetic damage - 100% functional. Minor Scratch and Dent- minor visible cosmetic damage - 100% functional. Moderate Scratch and Dent- moderate cosmetic damage - 100% functional. Major Scratch and Dent- major cosmetic damage - 100% functional. Each scratch and dent refrigerator’s price is dependent on their condition vs retail price. Customers will get the best value buying your scratch and dent refrigerator from a company that follows this pricing business model. A surprisingly large number of scratch and dent appliance stores have a simple approach of generic or blanket discount pricing on their appliances no matter how big or small the scratch or dent is. As a scratch and dent appliance customer you should pick an appliance store that will give you a great deal and the size of the dent or ding should be a factor.

Scratch and Dent appliance store, some fridges on sale with scratches and dents in Austin, Tx. Discounts applied for the cosmetic dings and damages

Picture of a refrigerator with scratches and dents showing their location on the fridge circled in red

Where is the Scratch or Dent Located on the Refrigerator

A refrigerator has 6 sides to it, maybe the scratch or dent is on one of the sides you can’t see when it’s in place. Can you see the scratch or dent when it is installed in your kitchen? Most household refrigerators will go into a spot in the kitchen that has cabinets, counter tops, walls or other areas that could hide a scratch or dent beautifully and save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Try to envision where the refrigerator will be and what is surrounding it in your kitchen. Take all the measurements into account when you are shopping for your fridge.
If a dent or ding is on the front of your fridge, could you cover it with something? Are you a refrigerator magnet person? I am. Do you have the kiddo’s drawings and artwork on display on the refrigerator anyways? Is your household’s grocery list on the front of the refrigerator right now? Would it cover a dent or ding? Might be something to consider. If you save hundreds of dollars and the only downside is a small $5 magnet to cover a dent….That sounds like a win to me but you can make the call.

Scratch and Dent Refrigerator Buying Guide Recap

I hope you got some information out of this article that helps guide you on your refrigerator buying journey! I hope you consider all the points we talked about above:
- How to pick the right refrigerator
- What is a Scratch and Dent Refrigerator Store
- Why Do Refrigerators End Up At Scratch or Dent Stores
- How to Pick a Good Scratch and Dent Appliance Company
- How Big of a Scratch or Dent On Your Refrigerator Is Ok
- Where is the Scratch or Dent Located on the Refrigerator
Now the only thing left is for you to apply your new strategy to your scratch and dent refrigerator shopping. Take your time, do your research and we hope you will consider us for your refrigerator purchase. We try to go the extra mile to ensure our customers get the best value and best experience possible when shopping with us.