Best places to buy appliances

More shoppers are clicking the "buy" button for appliances: Roughly twice as many subscribers bought coffeemakers, food processors, and even some large appliances online as in 2007, according to our latest Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Survey.

Low prices and strong service helped put QVC, which sells mostly online and via TV and phone, up there with Amazon.com among the top stores for small appliances. Twenty percent of small-­appliance buyers made their purchase online, our survey shows. But walk-in stores dominate even more for the big stuff. Only 7 percent bought major appliances online, up from 3 percent in 2007.

Even if you don't buy online, you can browse your way to a deal. More than a third of major-appliance shoppers who successfully haggled for a better price had trolled the Web for bargaining power.

Superb selection is among the pluses that landed Chicago-based Abt Electronics and its 80,000-square-foot showroom on our large-appliance winners' list. Abt is the only store in that category that matched independent local retailers for service—an area where mom-and-pop stores still win for small appliances. Indeed, service heavily influenced how satisfied subscribers were with major-appliance stores overall.

The experiences of the subscribers in 30,000 shopping trips can help you get more than just great prices and friendly service. We also found winners in a separate survey on service and support after you buy. Here are more ways you can succeed in your shopping.

Go online to prepare

More than 90 percent of our readers who researched online said doing so was helpful. Price-­comparison websites topped their list of strategies, followed by retailer sites with buying advice and discount coupons.

Shopping tip: Register an e-mail address with manufacturers and retailers you're considering. In addition to discount coupons, benefits include invitations to members-only events such as the "family and friends" sales common at Macy's, Sears, and other stores. Discounts on store credit cards and rebates on Energy Star appliances are other perks.

Feel free to haggle

People in our survey who tried this tactic had something to show for it: a 74 percent success rate for a major appliance and 66 percent for small appliances. The median savings was $95 for major appliances and $58 for small ones. A top strategy of successful hagglers was searching for better prices at other stores, despite stores' efforts to keep consumers from "showrooming," or shopping at one place and buying elsewhere.

Shopping tip: All major stores in our survey offer a price policy to "meet or beat" other retailers, usually from a list of competitors. The policies are often good up to 30 days after purchase. Downloading apps from stores can boost discounts further.

Don't get lured into extra coverage

P.C. Richard & Son, which received mediocre selection and service scores, was among the pushiest when it came to extended warranties, which almost 25 percent of our large-­appliance buyers purchased. Sears and HHGregg stores were also more likely than other retailers to push added coverage, and independent stores were least likely to bring it up.

Shopping tip: Our extensive research has shown that repairs during the extended-­warranty period are likely to cost roughly the same as the warranty. Check our brand-repair data for appliances we test, and choose a model that comes from a reliable brand.

What happens if you get your new appliance home and it starts acting up?

Subscribers who reported on experiences with more than 21,000 appliances were much more satisfied when they called an independent repair shop than other choices, such as the manufacturer or retailer. The reports involved appliances serviced since January 2011 and overwhelmingly were for products readers had bought, rather than those left behind by a previous owner.

Though satisfaction was higher for independent repair shops, most outlets got average scores for solving the problem. LG was below average, and Frigidaire, Maytag, and Whirlpool got our lowest ratings.

Refrigerators and washing machines together accounted for about half of all appliances serviced.

Guide to the Ratings

A score of 100 would mean all respondents had been completely satisfied; 80, very satisfied on average, 60, fairly well satisfied.