Cork Flooring Buying Guide Where To Buy

Where you purchase your cork flooring is almost as important as the material you purchase. We've provided some general advantages and disadvantages to consider when deciding whether to buy from a local or online retailer.

Local Retailer

Advantages

• In–person service: Retail store salespeople should be able to answer any questions you might have about purchasing cork flooring.
• See the product yourself: See and touch the different types of cork floors firsthand, and take samples with you to see how the color and texture choices work in your home before you purchase.
• Easy follow–up: Follow–up questions about your flooring, maintenance, or other issues can be answered by calling or visiting the store.
• Project resource: Return to your flooring retailer as often you want for specific cleaning products and future advice on your cork flooring.

Disadvantages

• Selection: There may be a wider cork flooring selection online.
• Price: Online retailers may offer lower discounts or prices than your local flooring retailer.

Online Retailer

Advantages

• Selection: View images of the varieties of cork flooring, and order multiple samples to compare in your home.
• Consumer reviews: Customer reviews of the online flooring retailer or cork products may be available firsthand on the website. Reviews for your local retailer may have to be researched before or after your visit to the store.
• Price: Prices for cork flooring may be less than your local floor covering retailer.

Disadvantages

• Warranty issues: Resolving warranty issues from an online purchase can be more complicated than resolving issues that may arise with a local flooring retailer. You'll have to communicate via phone calls and emails to an online retailer, which may be time–consuming and cause delays to your installation.
• Overall costs: Although the price per square foot of cork flooring may be less expensive from an online retailer, this price may not include extra fees such as shipping, delivery, labor and installation.
• Restocking fee: If you receive the wrong flooring and try to return it, you will probably be charged a restocking fee. This fee could be up to 30% of the overall cost of your order.
• Out of stock/discontinued products: Flooring websites may have incomplete inventory, and some cork flooring that you view online may not actually be available for purchase.
• No in–person service: Any follow–up concerns you might have, from the purchase to installation questions, has to be resolved through email or phone calls.
• Shipping: You will need to plan for not only the shipping time, but also possible delays caused by shipping errors.
• Accessories: Moisture barriers, adhesives, molding and trims may not be available through the same online retailer.
• No affiliated installer: Online retailers generally don't have qualified flooring installers available in your area. If you purchase materials online and then hire a local flooring installer, working with two separate businesses may make it more difficult to receive prompt assistance or quality customer service.

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