Tariff and Shades
US consumers are getting anxious about the Trump tariff affecting imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. If you're in the market for buying blinds, how can you minimize damage and prevent overpaying for your shades?
There is an old saying about 'not putting all your eggs in one basket.' As a consumer, the greatest power against retailers is choice.
The internet helps you a lot when it comes to providing options, in general. Amazon.com and Walmart.com are full of bargains, and quality can be hit or miss, but you can easily compare prices and understand what the product can do for you quite quickly.
Unfortunately, when it comes to custom shades and blinds, the experience is not quite optimal. When someone buys shades or blinds, below are the steps many follow:
- Find someone/somewhere that sells you shades
- Take accurate measurements of your windows and assume full responsibility for wrong measurements
- Find and order the right product for you from thousands of choices, colors, and styles
- Somehow transport these shades and blinds safely to your home (some are very long)
- Assemble and mount them on your window
You start seeing the limitations of internet shopping very quickly when you see this daunting process.
To solve this problem, there are many custom window providers that provide you with 'high-quality products exclusive to us,' and only sells those. Or you could be talking to the manufacturer - like Hunter Douglas or Graber. Ask them: "Do you sell other brands?" or "Do you have more cost-effective options?"
It is true - I have mystery-shopped before and saw it before my eyes. One manufacturer showed me a faux wood blind, which costs $400 - a little expensive but not completely unreasonable. Quality was … questionable. After I checked the label and found out where the product was coming from, I found the same product for $30 at Walmart.com and Amazon.com. This is not to say that Amazon or Walmart sells poor-quality blinds, but would you have paid $400 if you had known?
Budget Blinds of Central Indianapolis is always excited to answer that choice question because we partner with more than 20 manufacturers whose quality has been carefully vetted by national headquarters so that all 1,500 Budget Blinds locations can deliver high-quality products with manufacturer-backed warranties. Some do manufacture in some tariff-affected countries like China and Mexico, but we also carry products that are made in (for now) low-tariff countries like South Korea and, of course, US-made products. If you really want to shop locally, we have 2 high-quality shade manufacturers who make their shades right here in Indiana.
We are on the hook to provide you with the service and quality for your money. So we are happy to tell you how one type of shade may be cheaper or better quality than others. After all, we cater to any budget.