Sears usually offers a discount if you use their card, or so many months free financing. Stores have to have some way to pay for all the gimmicks. Sears advertises that they do price matching.

In reality you as a consumer need to do a little research. So decide who you want to deal with if there is a problem. If you are buying a warranty, then also throw that into making your final choice. Then go to that store with your information and see if they will price match.

Don't forget to get any paperwork that may pertain to getting rebates from various governmental agencies.

Sears offers an extended warranty that is the highest priced of any I have seen and they require you to use A&E for service. Since A&E killed my last washer, that was a negative. Sales and prices are going to vary store to store and week to week. Most will price match, but you have to ask and they have to be able to verify the price and terms.

I recently bought a W/D from Sears, then found a lower price elsewhere. Sears matched the price on the website I found. We were happy with Sears installation.

When I was researching HE washers early last year, I found a wide disparity in price ranges at various stores. It was very helpful to be able to quickly access each store's information at their websites. The best buy I found, both on price and extended warranty, was at Home Depot. We've bought four major appliances from them over the last three years, and I've been very pleased with their sales and service.

Yes, where you buy matters. Sears charges double the price for their warranty than Lowes and their prices for the appliances are higher too. They say they will price match on the appliances, but its up to you to do the research and prove to them you can purchase elsewhere for less.

But hey, if you can buy for cheaper at Lowes, why bother going to Sears and going through the hoops to prove you can buy for cheaper at Lowes or somewhere else?

Plus, if you have a problem with your appliance, Sears won't always come through on their warranty. For example, if rust eats up the inside of your washer, Sears claims it cosmetic and won't cover it. And believe me, Rust has eaten us some of Sears's brand machine in about 18 months.

Home Depot doesn't carry all of the brands; plus I found their people to be less knowledgeable about the products.

In the past I've used local family owned appliance only stores and with our most recent purchase of Samsung W/D in March 2009 we purchased at Lowes.

We had a issue with Lowes turning the dryer upside down to install the pedestal (stopped them before they flipped the washer); but they sent out a new dryer and all is well.

Service service service. Everyone sells cheap especially if you don't have to be responsible for service.
Find out who services the equipment you buy. Where do they put the retailer you bought from on their priority list. Most retailers use a local who also sells the same equipment. They under cut their price but rely on them to srvice it.

Does where you buy matter? Well the question is whether it matters to YOU. Does price matter? Does service matter? Does buying local matter? There's a lot of issues. I think you're asking if it matters buying the cheaper from HD rather than from Sears. If it were me, I'd laugh at Sears on that one and assume they're the same unit essentially.

Remember, SEARS DOES NOT MAKE APPLIANCES. This is such a common misconception. So if a Sears unit rusts, so will another unit because Sears has their units built for them to their specifications. And Sears uses a variety of manufacturers to supply their appliances so not all of their washers are made by one manufacturer.

Service contracts are a debatable thing. I seldom see a need. Have never bought one. I guess with me, I feel if the unit is so unreliable that I have to buy a service contract, I question if I'm buying the right item. Fact is, at least 99 out of 100 times you'd be better off saving the money and use it as a repair fund if you must but financing the repair yourself has many benefits that few want to look at.

I would check with some small appliance stores. I like to patronize the local businesses when I can. However that little Amana unit is interesting and HD has a good price on it.

No, I do not think so unless there is a problem in the delivery. The other area might be if you are not happy with the appliance but it is not defective or it is defective and the defect is such that you would not want another one from the same company. Some places will take it back for a limited time, many will not. I would ask about that ahead of time and you may find you get different answers, although whether any place will honor what they tell you is a different matter. If your product just needs to be serviced within the regular warranty period, as long as the dealer was authorized to sell the product, it does not matter because the manufacturer services it, not the dealer.

The warranties are expensive at Sears. I hate Sears because the price match thing is a hassle and the one time I tried it, they did not have the item in stock (neither did Lowes who had the best price). Since it was a fridge and I was desperate I ended up negotiating something with a local appliance store. We have bought from the local appliance place before and after but a couple of years ago they really tried to rook my DH on a big screen TV. He ordered a Sony from them that was about 200 cheaper (on 2000) at Amazon and every place else. We ended up canceling the order and I am no longer interested in buying from the small place. I am not using my hard earned money to subsidize the owner's new Infiniti (yes he does own one, I know him personally)

Lowes often has the cheapest in our area but their price tends to fluctuate. I check online first. I bought a freezer a year ago from Lowes, my local small store would have charged over 100 more plus delivery. At Lowes it was free. The price did vary by about 50 from week to week and I made sure to get the low end. I have also used a web based Appliance Buy Phone Service. I had no problems, it was 100 cheaper than any place else. It was delivered by PC Richards which is a local appliance chain but was not sold by them

BS Sears doesnÂt make appliances. Sears owns the Kenmore brand, thus Sears is ultimately responsible for the development, engineering, and manufacturing of THEIR brand. When Sears sells a consumer a top of the line Kenmore Elite washer AND a $300 extended warranty to cover all service and repairs (which is twice the price you pay for a comparable extend warranty from Lowes) and 18 months later your washer is full of rust on the inside and Sears says they wonÂt cover the damages/repair because its "cosmetic" well to hell with Sears in a hand basket.

A smart consumer will stay away from Sears Kenmore and refuse to pay $300 for the same warranty that they can get at Lowes for $150. While shopping for a W/D we went to Sears twice and Lowes three times; Sears price was higher on every brand we considered, plus Sears' extended warranties were twice the cost for the exact coverage Lowes offered. Sears clearly rips the consumer off on price.

Don't forget to price at Best Buy also.

yes BestBuy had the best price on my W/D, but Lowe's beat it by 10% so I went with Lowe's. I didn't price BestBuy's extended warranty tho.

Also, Lowe's had the rebate for the pedestals which made them free.

Yes. My repairman pointed out that appliances sold by Home Depot are made to its specs and those may not be as good. Which is why my HD machines had so many problems. After losing several, two GEs and a Maytag, at just past their warranties, I have learned an expensive lesson. I will not be buying any more appliances from HD.