WINDOW BLINDS

There are many types of window coverings available to today's home decorator. Wood blinds, plantation shutters, pleated shades, roller shades, faux wood blinds, and roman shades are just a sampling of the products. Then you have a variety of colors and brands to choose from. Finally, you need to decide what stores you'll visit while you hunt for the best price.

Fortunately, you can do all of this from the comfort of your own home. There are many reasons to shop for window blinds online. First, you don't have to fight the crowds and visit different stores to compare brands and pricing; you can visit the virtual stores from your pc. Second, you can save money by not having to pay sales tax. Third, your purchased items are conveniently delivered right to your door; and many times the shipping charges are free.

When looking at window blind stores, there are a number of factors you should consider. Some of these include:

•  Cost.  You want to shop at a site that consistently offers low prices. If you can match that up with a superior level of service, you've got a winner.

•  Selection.  Some companies offer name-brand window blinds, while others offer only in-house products. How important is recognizable brands to you?

•  Navigation.  Some sites offer an enjoyable shopping experience; others are downright frustrating. You don't want to waste your time (and emotions) on an under-performing website.

TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best window blind stores available today. We hope you find these reviews helpful in decorating your windows!

 

 

Blinds.com is the premier window blind store on the internet. They have plenty to offer and they organize it well. From the home page you can browse by type, shop top sellers, and get helpful information such as design advice. You also have access to design ideas, measuring guides and useful information for first time visitors. Sales and rebates are clearly indicated on a rolling billboard and Blinds.com has a Price Watch section that compares their prices to the same name brand blinds priced at Lowe's and Home Depot. This is very helpful to the shopper because chances are, they are either going to purchase blinds online or at a mass retailer. Speaking of price, Blinds.com had the lowest prices of all the websites we reviewed.

As you shop by category, Blinds.com has concisely organized all the needed information for you to make a purchase. Each category has a description of the item, special offerings associated with that type of window covering, and sale prices for particular brands within that category. The descriptions actually contain useful information instead of sales jargon. Blinds.com takes it one step further and provides a feature chart listing price, insulation ability, room darkening factor, whether it's kid-proof, and whether it's easy to clean. This chart is on every description page so comparison shopping becomes extremely simple. The different brands are mapped out in an easy to read chart that enables you to sort by price, brand, product, type and best sellers. Each category has a gallery to view the product in different settings, which gives you an idea of how the window covering will look in your situation.

The customer service available at Blinds.com is exceptional. Free samples are available to help you order with confidence. Blinds.com offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all items. Blinds.com even offers to find a "pre-screened" handy man to install your blinds for you. Customer service is available via Live Help, a toll-free number or email. Blinds.com offers FREE shipping on orders less than 90" wide and delivers via UPS or FEDEX.

Blinds.com earns our highest rating due to their easy-to-use website, unmatched features, and the lowest prices for both in-house and name brand blinds. If you are shopping for window blinds, Blinds.com is a must-stop shop.

 

 

The Select Blinds website is divided into an extensive array of categories. The choices include wood, faux wood, honeycomb, mini, vertical, bamboo/woven, roller, sheer shades, roman, or shop by all products. Each category has a description of the product and pricing by brand. From there you are able to choose a specific product, which gives you a detailed description,color choices, features and shipping information.

Select Blinds prices fall in the middle of all the sites we reviewed, which was a little disappointing especially since they only offer their house brand.

The home page displays sale information, a list of top sellers, and celebrity testimonials (Ty Pennington to name one) to encourage the shopper. Free samples are available and recommended to ensure the coloring is correct. Select Blinds will happily overnight the samples to you for $5.00. A few other incentives include free shipping and a "Google checkout". Select Blinds also offers to find a professional to measure and/or install your blinds for you. If you do decide to install your own, Select Blinds provides installation guides in PDF format to help the do-it-yourself weekend warrior in you. Customer service is available via phone, email or fax.

The only problem we found with this site is that you constantly have to change the measurement of the blinds you are ordering. Every time the page changes, the default measurement resets. However, the best feature of this site is the "all products" option. This is a comparison shoppers dream as all products are displayed, categorized by type with prices listed.

Select Blinds is a dependable company with high-quality products and a very friendly website. If you feel that in-house blinds can be just as good as name-brand blinds, you should check out the selection at Select Blinds.

 

 

Just Blinds is a simple site that only sells blinds. The home page couldn't be simpler. 13 different types of blinds are listed down the left side of the homepage. Tabs across the top hold all the must know information such as Products, Measuring, Installation, the History and philosophy of Just Binds, and Help. Special buys, top sellers, and a quick quote calculator occupy the middle of the homepage for easy reference.

The novice shopper can be taken thru a step-by-step process of deciding which blinds would best suit their needs. However, the experienced shopper will be better off using the quick quote feature. Simply enter the dimensions of the window and search by a specific product or see all products with that dimension. The only downside is that Just Blinds does not offer brand name blinds. But they are featured on networks such as HG-TV, DIY Network and boast of over 200,000 satisfied customers whose testimonials you can scroll through.

Just Blinds prices were some of the lowest we found in our research. Just Blinds offers free shipping and free samples with a maximum of 10 total samples per customer. Just Blinds also offers a 30 day satisfaction guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase. Customer service is available via phone or email.

Just Blinds is a very good site if you want high quality blinds at a great price without the name brand sticker.

 

 

Star Decorating is an online home-furnishing superstore. Their major areas of focus are blinds/shades; area rugs; wallpaper and carpeting. From the left side of the homepage you can shop by manufacturer (such as Hunter Douglas and Levolor); across the top of the homepage you can shop by category (such as blinds, rugs, and wallpaper). The rest of the home page lists sales, benefits of shopping with Star Decorating, and shopping by types within each category. Star Decorating is so sure of their pricing they challenge you to find a lower price; if you can find a lower price for the same item, Star Decorating will beat it.

As with most sites we reviewed, Star Decorating offers their own brand of blinds plus a plethora of name brand blinds to choose from. The "house brand" prices are very competitive, as are the name-brand prices. You have to go thru a little more work than other sites to get at an actual price, which is a bit labor intensive, but sometimes the price is worth it.

The shipping is free, however there is no mention of samples. Free samples are a feature common on many of the sites in our review, so we were surprised that Star Decorating didn't offer this option. Customer service is available 6 days a week via phone or email.

Overall, Star Decorating is a good site with great prices. With a few user friendly website updates, and free samples, this site would certainly move higher in our review.