Best All-Clad vendor?

I am looking for a good place to buy some All Clad as well.
Anyone have any thoughts on this site?
http://www.cookwarenmore.com/product...Collection=Yes
They are irregulars, but I heard the problems they have are pretty minor and are only cosmetic. Anyone have any first hand experience with them?
The savings would be quite substantial, but I am reluctant to buy from them.

http://www.cookwarenmore.com

It looks like you and I are in the same boat as I too am wanting to order from www.cookwarenmore.com and am also reluctant.

If what they say is true, and the irregularity is only cosmetic then it would be a great purchase for me as I could care less what they look like provided they cook like normal pots.

Has anyone purchased anything from this company?

Thanks,
David
St. Louis, MO

Phil, I'm in the market for the same 12" pan. My local department store wants $125! I'm interested in buying one, but not at that price. I'm willing to wait to find out how this site works out, as I'm in no rush just now.

There was a post on another cook's-talk forum from someone who has bought 5 ss All Clad pans from Cookware & More - all irregulars - who described the flaws as minor cosmetic, if noticeable at all. I have my heart set on a 12" ss saute pan. A good basic choice? I would appreciate some advice.

SallyC
Asheville, NC

Cookware and More is in Flemington, NJ, one hour from where I live in NJ.

I bought all my All-Clad there. Yes, their pieces have slight factory defects. Most of the "defects" are minor scratches that would eventually happen anyway from normal use. All of their All Clad is 1/3 less than retail, AND, if you buy 4 or more pieces they take another 20% off, thus you are getting All Clad at 50% off retail. Moreover, they occasionally have a 20% off sale, (going on currently in the month of of April). Now you can get the extra 20% off without having to buy 4 pieces.

If you can go to the store, you can go through the boxes and choose the piece you want which has the slightest defect. On some of my pieces the "defect" was so minor, it practically wasn't even noticeable. You can order over the internet but then you don't have the luxuruy of rumaging through their stock to find the least defective piece. I'm sure if you asked them to pick out good ones, or to avoid pieces with the defect on the inside (where food will touch), they would accomodate that.

But they are worth the trip, especially if you don't live far away and need multiple pieces.

My 12" AC stainless steel saute pan arrived yesterday from Cookware & More - an irregular. I found a tiny (1/4 inch) scratch near one of the rivets on an otherwise perfect pan. At their substantial discount plus 20% off, I think I got a great deal! The total with shipping was about $138. Will certainly visit these folks again!

SallyC

Assuming that are wanting/willing to purchase online, go to froogle.com and search for the peices or sets you're looking for, you can sort by price from lowest to highest.

Amazon is usually pretty good too if they have what you're looking for because they sell in volume and often have free shipping and coupon codes.

I bought a saucepan from them and there were only minor cosmetic defects.  Then I purchased a 12" omlette pan.  I received it and saw a minor casting defect on the handle, some minor scratches, and then to my suprise  . . . . . a significant convex bump in the bottom of the pan near the edge.  There were some minor scratches on the outside of the pan in the same location.  The pan was obviously damaged.  It was not a manufacturing defect.  I called them to explain the problem.  Of course they told me I could mail it back at my expense.  I explained that shipping me a damaged item was not consistent with their policy.  They emailed me a shipping label.  I sent the pan back. Then, I checked my credit card statement and found that they charged me for the shipping without any further communication.  If anyone wants pictures of what I'm talking about let me know.  This company will prey on their mail order clients.  I'd only buy from them again if I could inspect the item pre-purchase.  Otherwise it would get too expensive shipping things back at $10 to $20 per shipment.

If you have a Bed, Bath & Beyond near you, they may be worth a visit.  It's easy to get a 20% discount even without their almost ubiquitous coupon, they accept returns or exchanges no questions asked, and my dealings with them have always been positive.  While it's possible that some items may be had for less at places on line, often those places charge for shipping, sometimes sales tax, and charge shipping for returns.  You're buying an item sight unseen.  In this thread alone, with just a few comments total, at least one person (or was it two) had problems with an on line dealer.

EBay can sometimes be a good option, but you must be very clear with the seller about their return policy. 

I guess thge other question is, what is best?  The lowest price?  IMO, price is only one factor.  Good service at the time of sale, good service afterwards, dependability, how problems are handled, are all aspects of what makes the "best" dealer.
Edited by Schmoozer - 3/9/10 at 12:15am

>I guess thge other question is, what is best?  The lowest price?  IMO, price is only one factor.  Good service at the time of sale, good service afterwards, dependability, how problems are handled, are all aspects of what makes the "best" dealer. <

Which, as you note, are what put BB&B among the best, if not the best. I sometimes think they're the last place in America that understands the concept of customer service.

On the other hand, that empatically does not describe All-Clad itself, which arguably has the worst customer service in the cookware industry. So, if you're not buying at BB&B it behooves you to make sure about the company you are buying from: return policies, warranty applications, etc.

I've read your comments about All-Clad.  While I've not had to deal with them and, therefore, can't speak to their service, I'll certainly agree that in many instances havving a good retailer is the way to go.  Regardless of the manufacturers service, it's usually easier to go to a neighborhood store to solve any problems, and that's one reason why I like to shop locally.  That, and I don't have to wait around for UPS to deliver a damaged package.

The staff at the local BB&B are great - warm, friendly, and very helpful.  When I ordered my Le Creuset Theresa and I ended up talking about cooking and recipes, had a few laughs, and finished up our transaction with a big hug.  Can't do that over the internet

 I don't know about other states, but BB&B in CA  specifically excludes All Clad on their coupons.  I've ordered All Clad from ebay, MetroKitchen and Amazon.com and have never been disappointed.  You save at least 8% by not having to pay tax most of the time.

MetroKitchen has good prices, a wide selection and offers free ground shipping. 

They must like you because the coupons do list exclusions and AC is always among them.  The same is true with Macy's coupons.

When I shop at BB&B, I find it is better to go to the men cashiers than the women because the women are picky about everything, as though they own the place; the men, on the other hand, allow a lot of leeway on cashing coupons.

The past holiday season, Macy's did allow AC on one of their promotion coupons but it was specified on the front

I have never had a BB&B coupon not accepted, even for products on the exclusion list.

Recently bought a  Wustoff Chef's knife, for instance. Wustoff is on the excluded list, but there was no question about using the coupon.

If you read them you'll note two things of interest: 1. They all carry expiration dates. and 2. They are limited to one per customer per visit.

The next time either of those are enforced will be the first time.

I've said it before, and it bears repeating: Bed Bath & Beyond sets the bar when it comes to customer service. And they set it very high.

KY wrote:
I can only add:  Hear, hear!

BDL

Quote:
I have actually been denied the use of a coupon when trying to buy and All-Clad pot at BB&B.  My guess is some of the cash register people must not know the restrictions and just simply allow it.

I'm with KYH and BDL on enthusiasm for BB&B.  They really take care of the customer, and the discounts come fast and furious.  We've always got a couple coupons in the shopping folder we carry in the car.

I will say that Kohl's also plays the discount game real hard. We were there looking for a Cuisinart Griddler. We had a coupon, it was on sale, and... standing in line at the cashier, we chatted with a lady who had a 30% off coupon.  She said "let's ask her if you can use my coupon, too" The cashier said "sure, why not?"  So we got the Griddler for about $85 with the sale price, our coupon, and our new best friend's coupon all piled one upon another. It has a "list" price - whatever that means - of around $150.

So, we always check our coupon stash and the local Kohl's whenever we need a new kitchen toy.

Another good-luck find: I just broke the lid of out 1983-or-so Cuisinart food processor, and was looking at about $65 for a replacement lid, when Bloomingdale's - of all places - announced a one-day sale of that current model for $100!  We got one before they ran out of stock. They were doing a really brisk business that Saturday. All my slicing discs for the old one fit the new one, so I'm feeling really smart... or dumb-lucky.

Whatever.

Mike 

I guess it depends on how diligent the cashier is. My husband and I went in the evening and their were boys manning the BB&B store. I bought a kitchen Aid stand mixer. The took acompetitors coupons from Macy's and didn't notice the coupon did not include electrics. I pointed it out to them because I don't think it is worth saving money by being dishonest.  The boys said it was okay!

However, when girls take care of me, they are picky about everything

I will say that Kohl's also plays the discount game real hard.

They do and they don't, Mike. Excluding additional coupons and special deals, Kohl's day-to-day discounts are BS. What they do it label the product with the list price, then discount it to a level that's competitive with other area retailers.

More often than not, their "discounted" price is the high end of price spread.  For example: Take an item that lists for around $32. Check local retailers and it will be selling for from $18-21. Kohl's will have it labeled at $32, with a "sale" price that brings it down to $21---or even a little higher.

The biggest joke, to me, are their "discounts" on Food Network products. Considering that they're the exclusive retailers of those products, why play games about discounts when they don't really exist?

I just don't care for that intentionally misleading way of doing business.

On top of which, there is never a sales person around if you have any questions. Or if there is one, it's like K-Mart---the person selling cookware today was selling ladies undergarments yesterday---and likely doesn't know much about either.

Given the price of All Clad, I'm not surprised to see everyone seeking a bargain. Some things you may want to consider before you consider purchasing AC right now:

Take proper care of the AC and you will have it for a very long time. Makes cost of ownership a little more affordable.

TJ Maxx sometimes has AC.

AC introduced it's new d5 cookware right after Christmas. This is the new 5 ply versus the older standard 3 ply. It is currently exclusively available at Williams & Sonoma for the next year. Then the d5will most likely replace All Clad's 3 ply as the main offering. I would guess that a lot of 3 ply stock will then be available at many discount outlets. W&S sent all their 3 ply stock somewhere at the first of the year, so it should have increased the available stock in the discount channels.

I have used the 3 ply and loved it. However, at Christmas I bought a 15 piece set of the new d5 cookware, which has several improvements over the older 3 ply. Specifically a little more comfortable handle, rolled lips on the pans to make pouring easier, larger helper handles and larger lid handles for use with mitt, and best of  all, in my opinion, better performance in heat transfer and distribution. I love the performance and have purchased 3 non-stick pans since then.  My experience with Williams & Sonoma has been great. We originally got the brushed proffessional set which is also 5 ply just before they announced the d5 stainless. After christmas I called W&S to ask about differences between the two sets. They said they were sorry they did not make me aware of the newer d5 being released after Christmas and offered to exchange the 3 ply for the new d5, even though I had already used it. So I did. W&S do offer some discounts on select pieces from time to time. I got a 10" non-stick skillet with lid for $99 and a 12" skillet with lid for $129. Also got the 8" non-stick skillet which does a great job with omelets.

Last week I purchased a Vollrath Mirage 1800 watt induction cooker. The new d5 AC works really well with the induction cooker. ..very quiet and responsive.

Good Luck

That is what I call a stand-up company.  I never bought anything at WS but I go to their site often.  I will pay closer attention to the emails I receive from them because good customer service is important to me

Wow, OldSubMan, our experiences with W-S have been absolutely opposite. After a very bad experience at one of the stores I contacted the customer service people at corporate. I've never gotten such a run around----including an email saying that they couldn't do anything about my problem because it happened at one of the retail stores, but that I could contact so & so. Which I did. And got nowhere.

I'd have to say they have the second worst customer service in the industry, running just slightly behind All-Clad.

Some interesting parallels. Both All-Clad and W-S are the priciest in their respective areas. Both have lousy customer service. I wonder if there's a causal relationship there?

Even more interesting is that its current incarnation already has twice as many posts as the original. Go figure.

Customer service at W-S can be largely up to the store manager.  I worked at one for about a year just to get the discount and the store where I worked was wonderful, we would take back anything and bend over backwards to make customers happy.  Store policies changed in February 2010 though and now you can't return or exchange anything without a receipt, no exceptions.  If you do have a receipt, it's good for 90 days, after that, you can't even exchange.  I don't know what the manager will do if a product is defective.  I'd like to think they'd still stand behind what they sell and not require the customer to deal with individual vendors.

I don't know why anyone would shop at WS if the desired product was available at Bed Bath & Beyond.  Often BB&B is less expensive and they have a SUPER customer service, all the time.  You can return an item for exchange or refund for any reason, at any time.  I damaged a pot through carelessness and returned it to BB&B after 90 days, without a receipt, and received a brand new pot, no questions asked.

Every time I've dealt with WS there has been at least a small hassle.  If a store could have an ego, I'd say WS is pretentious and full of themselves.