I have recently been asked about what quantities to order for some tiles and hardwood flooring. More that they are concerned there will be some left over. Left over tile and hardwood is not necessarily a bad thing. While it can be appreciated that while there is a cost attached to having an amount left over it will be a godsend if the day arises that you need to replace a tile or a board and you will have the exact match available. It may be a bit short sighted to want to return them. It is important to note that when an installer is quoting on the amount of product that will be needed for the job, they are also including a waste factor. Depending on the product size or pattern there may not be a large waste involved but it is important to have more than not enough when doing the job. There is nothing worse than being almost complete to discover that you are five tiles short to finish the job and the tile is backordered for the next 8 weeks or worse yet it isn’t available any longer. If you do decide to return there is usually going to be a restocking fee of at least 25%. Distributors don’t like to have the additional costs of shipping on weighty items to put them back into the stock.
The same thing can be told for fabrics as with the changing times the quantities and availability is often limited or take an extended period of time to get orders in. With more and more of products coming from off shore and with shipping costs on the rise distributors are keeping stock to a minimum to ensure they can sell what they have, we are all faced with the unfortunate situation that so many times delivery is an extended period and dye lots are at issue. While some may feel it is a waste to have square feet or yards left over it is certainly the better way to go. It usually isn’t a significant amount and having a box of tile or two feet of fabric left shouldn’t be a problem.
