Compact Appliance

Full review
We chose to do business with Compact Appliance when buying our Haier washer/dryer combo because they were located in our hometown of Austin, Texas (the only other Retailer was located in NYC). They also had the widest selection of washer/dryer combo's we'd ever seen (7 different models by 4 different manufacturers). The useful information on each appliance, and the reduced price both helped us in deciding which model to buy. And we were quite pleased with our decision (you can read our review of the Haier Washer/Dryer Combo at http://www.epinions.com/content_92171177604 )

Compact Appliance has a great deal of information on each appliance and that really helped us out when deciding which machine to purchase. The following is the specs and other info provided by Compact Appliance:

1) Description - This section is really a combination of the manufacturer's & the Compact Appliance marketing team's efforts to sell the product to you. And they do a great job outlining how the product works & the major benefits of buying it instead of a traditional top load. But it really is just a flash view of the product. The other sections were much more helpful.

2) Specs - this section gives you the capacity of the machine, the different features, the cycles of the washer and the water level choices, the weight, the maximum water usage, the weight, and other information about the machine.

3) Shipping Info - This is really important since what's being shipped are bulky appliances. This section gives you information on the cost of shipping (in our case, $85 on a 175lb washer/dryer), and also what the price you pay for shipping includes... in our case, it only included "to your door" service with an additional charge for placing it inside the house (we went outside when it arrived and helped the driver get the package up to the house, and he was happy to help us get it inside without any additional charge). It also gives you important planning information, like "There must be an elevator present if going above the 1st floor." Finally, it gives information on what you should do when you receive the appliance BEFORE the delivery guy leaves -- you have to open up the package and check it to make sure everything's okay and in good condition. If the unit is damaged, you're supposed to refuse delivery and contact Compact Appliance.

4) Energy Guide - This section tells you wheither the appliance is energy star, but also gives you info like the voltage needed for the machine (so you know if you need to have 220 volts for your appliance, or if it just uses a standard 115 volt outlet), the estimated annual energy usage, and the maximum amp draw that it uses.

5) Dimensions - just like it says, this gives you the height, width, and depth in inches.
We placed an order late one Saturday night for the washer and by Monday, the order information appeared online (I expect the delay was a result of Compact Appliance not being open on Sunday). The website allows you to follow your order through Compact Appliance's website, then provides a link to their carrier's (in this case Con-Way) site where you can track your package minute to minute. If you are an impatient recipient of your appliance (as we were... we really didn't want to go back to the Laundromat when our package was only 50 miles away!) this may not be good for you because the package may arrive at a service center near you on the weekend, but it won't be delivered until Monday (we even tried to go pick it up, but there wasn't anyone there).

When we placed our order on the Compact Appliance website, we made a few errors when entering our billing information (we thought we remembered the CC number and were just being too lazy to go dig it out), so we had to call Compact Appliance to fix the order so they could ship it (this appeared on Monday when we looked up our order). Their customer service department was very friendly, even though we called back a few times over 2 days to correct everything, and to make sure the corrections had been made to the order info on the website. (I should also mention that Con-Way freight, the delivery company, was also very friendly and courteous).

The washer/dryer arrived 7 days from when we ordered it (after correcting our information with Compact Appliance) instead of the estimated 10-14 days that was predicted. We were also told that we would receive a telephone call before the delivery man came our way (we were told this by Con-Way, not Compact Appliance) but the delivery guy just showed up without calling (which was fine since we’re student’s and one of us is always home). It arrived in a large heavy-duty cardboard box with rope handles on two sides and a large wooden pallet that was supposed to remain with the machine. If you are unsure of how to hook up the washer (it's portable, so it's very simple -- screw the two water hoses on under a sink and hang the drain tube into the sink) they'll hook it up for you, but it costs an additional $50. We found the washer in perfect condition, thanked the driver, and sent him on his way. The product was well made, and easy to use (although this is really more of a comment on Haier, the washer manufacturer, than Compact Appliance, who is really just a distributor), and the entire buying experience was quite easy. We don't have to go to the Laundromat any more, and we're very pleased with Compact Appliance and our new washer.