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hzdeleted_6115699

Graber Blinds Quote - Costco vs. Blinds/Drapery shop

User
9 years ago
I received a quote from Costco for Graber cellular shades (Scroll line / color Taupe / 3.4 cell / Light filtering / Top Down/Bottom up / Cordless. Costco came in at $7500, Drapery place came in under $5k and Lowes came in under $4k; how can there be such a discrepancy when it's all the same product? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Costco rep said Big Box stores don't get the same product (it was the same number and the same sample book)???
Featured Answer
  • PRO
    Delmarva Blinds & Shutters
    9 years ago
    Costco doesn't sell blinds directly they go through a lot of small company's recommended by Grabor. That way they can supply a national company with a lot of different stores. To cut to the chase you are paying two company's for your blinds.You will pay less calling someone that specializes in blinds alone, and you will get better service and a better price.

    Comments (107)

    • laurarosenberg3
      6 years ago

      Do they carry Graber at Budget Blinds?

    • laurarosenberg3
      6 years ago

      I just had a rep leave my house and Graber from Costco doesn't have a lifetime warranty, only 1 year labor and 3 years parts.

    • annaneve
      6 years ago

      I just got a quote from Costco/graber. It's less than 1/2 of the least expensive Home Depot/Hunter Douglas quote I got last week, plus discounts. Budget Blinds is coming tomorrow. I will probably go with the least expensive, I was shocked by the HD quote!

    • laurarosenberg3
      6 years ago

      Annaneve, keep us posted

    • Mike
      6 years ago

      OK I will give you the quick low down on Costco, Graber and Hunter Douglas. I have been a dealer for both Graber and Hunter Dougas since 1994. If someone selling one of these products tells you that it is poor quality, they don't know what they are talking about. They are both excellent manufacturers and both of them do an excellent job about standing behind their products.

      Hunter Douglas is more expensive and has more choices. Their motorization products used poor technology for years but they have finally caught up and are now excellent. They have some products that are unique to them and if you want those products you will pay dearly for them. Their shutters are way over priced though and not the best on the market. If you want beautiful sheer products you can't go wrong with silhouettes or a luminette.

      Graber makes excellent products but is never on the cutting edge design wise. The fabrics they use for cellular shades tends to be a little heavier than what Hunter Douglas uses but both are excellent. If you want a very good and durable 2" blind get a Graber Lake Forest blind. Graber should always be priced a little more friendly than Hunter Douglas. Most of their manufacturing is done in Mexico but both companies have nearly all of their parts made overseas.

      Costco used to use Hunter Douglas. In fact they were the largest Hunter Douglas purchaser in the world. That relationship went south and in came Graber. I will tell you that Costco was more expensive than many dealers when they carried Hunter Douglas and I am sure they are more expensive with Graber also. The reason is because you are adding another layer of middlemen. Dealers such as myself do the work for Costco and of course Costco get their cut. This raises the price.

      If you want to get ideas you can read my new blog at Dress That Window. Next week I will be adding a post on plantation shutters with an ebook guide available. Currently there is an ebook available for custom drapery side panels this blog post Drapery Side Panels Complete The Look!

    • justonemore333
      6 years ago

      I just had costco come in and do a quote and compared them to a local company that has the most, and highest, reviews in the area I live. The Costco rep has some design background, great personality, and was my favorite of the quotes we have received. The warranty covers everything for a lifetime vs. 7 years. However, the price shocked me that it is 63% higher. To some, working with Costco and peace of mind might be worth it. I expected the prices to be much similar. (Costco's price included 10% cash back discount, 4% for having costco credit card, and $300 rebate). Quote was just under $7k for our home and doing Gerber roller shades.

    • mrsbjwarren
      6 years ago

      Still wondering if anyone knows anything about Norman brand shutters?

    • Mike
      6 years ago

      As for Norman shutters it would depend on which product you are looking at. Real wood or one of their synthetics. The Woodlore is a shutter made with MDF.

      Personally I recommend you read the following blog post about shutters and download the Plantation Shutter Guide that is available in the post. It will give you a lot of information and will also tell you who has the best warranty in the industry.

      https://dressthatwindow.com/beauty-of-shutters/

      Shutters are expensive so you want to make sure to buy a quality product that will last.

      Good Luck!


    • Rebecca L
      6 years ago

      looking for motorized cellular shade for great room windows. What do you think about lutron shades? wired vs battery operated?

    • Mike
      6 years ago
      last modified: 6 years ago

      Lutron is a good product. Wired is best but battery operated is very good today. You will have to be able to reach the shade to change the batteries so if it is not convenient to reach you will want to have hard wired.

    • Rebecca L
      6 years ago

      Thanks, Mike! The upper windows are quite high. They are doing electrical rough in now (new construction). Does it need to be pre-wired now? Is the hard wired shade much more expensive than the batteries operated?

    • Mike
      6 years ago

      I would definitely have the windows pre-wired. I am not familiar enough with what Lutron is offering in motorization to give you a definite answer on cost differences. What you will normally find is that cost will depend on the type of motors that can be used. This will depend on the shade type and size. If the shade you are looking at is available with batteries then you should be able to use a low voltage adapter that will plug into an outlet and it replaces the batteries. This should be nearly the same price as using the battery operation. If your shade is large or heavy and needs 110 volts for the motor, then your costs just went way up.

      Since you have mentioned Lutron, you may well have a home automation computer being set up by Lutron. Other motorized shades you could look at would be from Graber or Hunter Douglas. They can both be integrated with the home automation with no problem.

      Good Luck

    • Lulu
      6 years ago

      We ordered Graber cellular cordless shades through Costco and are really displeased with the BEIGE metal rails that the factory considers a "match" to the WHITE shade we ordered. After protracted back and forth, Graber will take back shades and give us a refund. I blame this fiasco on Graber not Costco.

      Costco also carries Bali. Any opinions out there on their cellular cordless shades?

    • Masood Yousaf
      6 years ago

      Costco take a cut from that deal. Yes it cost more but look at the return policy Costco will take it back and no question asked.

    • PRO
      Interior VUES/ Floor 2 Ceiling Designs, LLP
      6 years ago
      last modified: 6 years ago

      In reply to the last post:

      And therein lies the problem. The fact that Costco will take back product 'no matter what', is great for the customer but horrible for the middle man dealer. It would seem that since there is a "partnership" and contract between the local dealer and Costco, that Costco would have the dealer's back and best interest. But no... Having worked with the Costco program, I have seen personally where they will screw over the dealer in a heartbeat to keep a customer happy. I had so many customers that SIGNED the many, many pages of documents that Costco requires and agree that everything you have written down as far as product and options is correct and WHAT THEY WANT. And THEN, when the product is being installed say, "oh no... I ordered cordless... top down bottom up..." or whatever it might be. I would show them the paperwork and what they signed off on and they would feign ignorance or claim the language barrier was the problem and that I didn't explain it clearly enough. They would then complain to Costco and in most cases, our company would have to "eat" having the product remade. In rare occasions, they would work out something where the cost was covered three ways by them, Graber and us. But it was rare and we had to fight tooth and nail to get them to agree.

      The customers know Costco's policies and take advantage of it at EVERY TURN to the point they were downright nasty in dealing with us as the dealer. And they always failed to understand that Graber is considered a premium product... it's not going to be the cheapest.

      It is a horrible program. Too much paperwork that ends up being meaningless because they will always take the customers side, even when it is clear the customer is in the wrong and/ or blatantly lying. As The salesman you have to work twice as hard to close the deal and get nothing but misery for your effort.

      When I stopped working with the program a year and a half ago, I let my Costco membership expire and have never set foot in one again.

    • ebaumruck
      6 years ago

      I get it. My experience has largely been that they're willing to compromise with the dealer. They have a NEW (yes... one more piece of paper to add to the overload of documents) form that requires the customer to sign off on the cautionary issues with each product hoping to avoid more of the issues you address above. But yes... the member is always right. I guess the upside is the amount of business (leads) generated makes it a more viable option for some. I hope you're doing well in your new venture!

    • Gretchen Schneider
      6 years ago

      mrsbjwarren

      I don't know about the quality of Norman Window.

      I do know they have been making shutters for years. My company has sold them through custom decorating for years.

    • Kathryn Wall
      6 years ago
      I have been in the custom decorating business for 31 years employed by JCPenney for the past 9 1/2 years. We carry the Graber, Hunter Douglas and Norman shutters. I sell only the Norman Shutters for many reasons. Superior quality, frame selection, specialty shapes and motorization. They produce every part of the shutter themselves from harvesting the trees for their Woodlore Composite to making the hinges. Yes, they do take time as any truly custom product will.
    • bld322
      6 years ago

      I had the same thing happen to me and the dealer Windows Expression in Utah and they gave me a run around why they are $1000.00 more.

    • kate Ring
      6 years ago

      Has anyone purchased Graber roller shades from Empire and whether the quality is similar to Graber shades from Cosco?


    • PRO
      Delmarva Blinds & Shutters
      6 years ago

      Graber roller shades will be the same whether you buy them through Empire or Cosco. However both places seem to charge more than other window covering companies!

    • Ystebad Von Schlegel
      5 years ago

      Thanks for all comments. Researching zwave compatible dual solar blinds as a possible solution for new florida home build. Hard to find information. Also considering plantation shutters - wish they could be automated.

    • jsshrout
      5 years ago

      return an item

    • Gretchen Schneider
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Per Catherine Walls' comment above, regarding JCPenney and selling Hunter Douglas ,Graber and Norman shutters...... JCPenney has two different ways to buy custom blinds and shades. They have in-store customer service people which I was for 5 years. In the store they sell Bali ( Graber,) Levolor (now part of Hunter Douglas ),JCPenney home & Liz Claiborne. Their shutters are by Bali.

      If you go through in home custom decorating, they sell Graber, Hunter Douglas, and Norman window shutters. The in home custom decorating service allows The Decorator to come to you show you samples measure your windows and install the product after the sale. Catherine must be an in-home custom decorator.

    • Scott
      5 years ago

      We just received quotes from Costco Graber and Budget Blinds for Window Treatment of a rather large window. Budget Blinds was offering a 25% discount on Blinds and install. With that 25% discount they came in with an almost 20% higher bid than the Costco Rep. I am wondering if the Costco Rep is quoting us the less expensive version of Graber, that one can buy at the Big Box Stores. When I asked the Rep, who was doing the measuring about warranty, I was told the blinds are only warrantied for 5 yrs. We are a little skeptical of what exact Graber Line Costco Rep is going to install. I have a call into the Rep to try and clarify but after 2 days still have not received a call back. From the above experiences our seems to be the opposite as far as cost. We received quotes on Cordless Cellular Shades Top Down Bottom Up if that helps. We are also getting a 3rd quote from JCPenny using their in home decorating service.

    • lady_slipper
      5 years ago

      What about Levolor? They have a product with an "energy field" component and I wonder how it compares with the double cell cellular shade for insulation. Also finding wide variations in price with blinds.

    • qdesign4me
      5 years ago
      I wish I had found these reviews before I had entered into a contract with Southwest Blinds (Costco Northern California area). My complain is all the errors and lying we have been dealing with due to our “designer” ,through Southwest blinds (Arizona Co.). We found out at six weeks when I called that the order had been sitting all this time because the size didn’t meet fabric width restrictions by half an inch! Since we have an outside mount we said change the size since it didn’t make a difference. The designer and the installer had measured our windows at the time of our order. Our designer again told us the order would be expedited which was a lie, we are still six weeks out from making this change. Still waiting for a call from Costco contract center, I updated my complaint and said I wanted to cancel my order. I’m sure I won’t be allowed to cancel due to the “3 day cancelation period”. I will do what I can to warn anyone else thinking about using Costco. Truly not worth the headache when you are paying thousands of dollars. I will finish the rest of the house using someone else. I did have JCPenny out but I wasn’t impress with the “designer”. I really wanted professor advise and they were 1000.00 higher.
      FRUSTRATED!
    • G J
      4 years ago

      I've been reading this entire string and found some great information. i recently ordered Graber via Costco and they used Best Buy Window Treatment. The line that was ordered was Simple Selections 2" premium faux wood blinds. Shortly after ordering the company called me to inform they couldn't get my 2 living room windows in that size so they were upgrading me for free on those two only and they would look exactly the same as the others. They came to install and we noticed the mistake the sales rep made. The two that were "free upgrade" were supposed to be the standard ladder type we wanted (slats braided through the center) for the entire house. What they installed in the rest of my house was the ladder routeless type which is for less light leakage. The way the slats are looped with string individually is terrible quality.. The loops are very loose and hanging all over. We have asked for the company to replace the rest of my house with the same standard ladder type in the family room. They now state that is an upgrade and will cost us an additional approx $1000.

      Does Graber sell different quality lines or is the simple selection just there brand for Costco? I've researched and the routeless ladder type is the upgrade, not the standard one so i'm not sure how they justify my living room windows to be an upgrade. Any thoughts?

    • Lawrence Kirby
      4 years ago

      I’m in the window covering industry for 40+ years and am very familiar with Costco. They marked everything up big time and make it look like you’re getting a good deal with their Costco card holder discount. However you’re not. They are way over the top with prices. Buyers beware.


    • G J
      4 years ago

      thanks Lawrence. Do you by chance know what the difference is between Graber Simple Selections and there Lake Forest line?

    • HU-738889877
      3 years ago

      okay,,,,, so its nov 2020 and I am considering using Costco in Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii for Graber Lake Forest Faux Wood blinds for 9 windows in our condo. Any advice from anyone.

    • Masood Yousaf
      3 years ago

      Graber and Bali are own by same company. I called company according to them it is the same quality product the difference is style and color. Costco get kick backs from Graber franchise so they will cost you more. If you can install yourself or find an installer I will recommend Bali or check with local Graber agent. Good about Costco is they will take blind back if you don’t like for some reason. I wish you good luck

    • HU-738889877
      3 years ago

      Thank you Masood. I will take this into consideration.

    • HU-341709084
      3 years ago

      Hello! Happy New Year!!


      We've put off window treatments during Covid year. Today I got quote from Graber/Costco for 16 double cell cellular, up/down, cordless shades from their Splendor-Santuary collection. The quote after all it was said and done is $5k! I did not realize window treatments cost this much 😳.

      I am not sure if this is a good prize or not???

      Does anyone in this group have any suggestions or comments????


      Thanks!!!!


    • HU-341709084
      3 years ago



    • qdesign4me
      3 years ago

      long story short, Costco/Graber only got half of my house window order. Yes thousands! It didn’t seem to matter to them so I visited a designer in a near by town who was very willing to travel outside of their area to get my business. This design center gave me a discount to compensate Costco’s pricing, gave me another discount when I paid them in cash and gave me an amazing designer that had great knowledge of details to finish the job. My advice to you is buy local. They want your business and are more likely to meet your needs. I’m in the central valley of California. I used World Class Window Coverings.

    • Alicia Riley
      3 years ago

      Highly recommend purchasing through Lowes. We purchased Levolor and are now looking at Bali for some other windows. Bought solar roller shades. Lowes seems to always have sales on the brands of shades. And they know when a manufacturer typically runs their sales. So we purchased on Black Friday for 40% off. Super happy with the style, quality, and service.

    • HU-853500598
      3 years ago

      I contacted Costco for a quote on blinds. They contract with local companies that sell Graber products. The company they contract with in my area just so happened to be the same decorating center that I already use for paint, etc! The rep from that center that they sent to my house to measure would be the same person they would send if I walked into the decorating center and said I wanted to buy Graber blinds. I asked what the difference in pricing is. She said as a Costco rep, she is running recommended manufacture's retail price, but "nobody pays manufacturer's retail price." She actually ran the prices both ways (going through Costco or not going through Costco), and said Costco was a better deal. I don't know if that's because I get 10% off with Costco (in the form of a gift card) and she also gets a kickback, or she wasn't being totally honest. Anyway we went the "through Costco" route. I'm now having a major fraying issue with the pleated blinds that were installed, started after only 3 months. Not happy since they are a very expensive product. Graber won't take responsibility; says "that can happen, just trim it." Rep is not happy with it either. She is handling it for me and trying to find a solution.

    • trillium44
      2 years ago

      I just went thru a mess with Bali and Graber both owned by Spring Window. They use cheapo Fedex whose Troutdale hub is a black hole for anything shipped. Endless threads on this on Reddit. Lowes staff is sick of the complaints regarding Fedex too but execs at Lowes still support these brands. I canceled the order since they could never get it to arrive in full. I waited over and over again for delivery based on Fedex lies. Just done. The Graber brand charges way more than the Bali brand but they use the same parts! The quality control is not great since Spring Window has them made in Mexico and shipped across the border and then uses Fedex zonal shipping which is the cheapest worst black hole shipping method. The beads get sucked into the clutches way too easily. On my testing blackout and solar shades I found the blackout had glue on it which made a tearing sound with closing them. I cleaned off the glue but the glue ruined the finish on the vinyl. They sent a replacement and realized they cut the first one wrong and was narrower! Quality control is iffy at best in Mexico with Graber. Dealing with Lowes escalation department is a joke and they bully consumers when those customers have had it with all the games. They requested that I either donate the only two blinds and want me to drive around and take care of that or they wanted me to cut them up and send a picture and then put in my garbage. I told them have Fedex come pick them up since they caused most of the problems with all this. I also had to say I will then submit a claim with my credit card if they won't give me a refund. Since they want to play hardball with all this. Lowes and Spring Window do not allow you to pick the shipper either. Also with zonal cheap delivery with Fedex neither Fedex or Spring window scan the packages but load them up on pallets and ship them to regional hubs and then they are scanned and then take the slowest method to the destination. I watched how the tracking stopped at three CA cities that were not far from each other before they headed north to Oregon. Talk about your pony express. Then thru all that they lose them. Won't do that gain and won't use any online retailer that uses Fedex.

      I don't mind if things take longer but I really do mind being lied to over and over. That was the worst of it. I don't like the fact that Lowes knows there is a problem with Fedex and still puts their customers thru that meat grinder shipper. I am kind of rethinking what to do with this but right now this past year with the pandemic and so many retailers lying and not being honest about availability etc I am just tabling anymore buying until things improve.

      Also Fedex lost the Amazon contract this past year. I know Fedex likes to say they dumped Amazon but in realty Amazon waited till they were able to deliver 50% of everything before they made their insulting offer to Fedex. The offer was so bad Fedex had to turn it down. So I get the frustration Amazon had with Fedex and made their point that way. But I see their stock dropping and top executives cashing out more stock which they tend to cash out when the stock is doing better. So it wouldn't surprise me if Fedex finally files bankruptcy since it has had financially problems for decades. If Fedex can't be valued more during a pandemic when folks are stuck with using shippers that says a lot about the lack of confidence investors have with this company overall. Fedex saves money subbing out workers and trucks and still they can't get things done right. Whereas UPS hires their own workers, owns their own trucks and pay benefits and the staff have a vested interest to getting things done. Plus they make sure the fleet is has regular maintenance done to keep the trucks in operation. I bet they have less stealing too.

    • Debbie Renfrow
      2 years ago

      We are in the market for cellular shades-top down bottom up. Graber (through Costco) came out and gave us a quote of almost $5000. We want to get other quotes. We’ve recently had issues with Lowe’s on a microwave trim kit installation so we are leary of dealing with them. Any suggestions? We are in Dallas, Tx area. Thank you

    • karenayres
      2 years ago

      We recently purchased Graber cordless faux wood blinds through Costco and overall, I'm pretty disappointed. On the positive side, the price (after an additional Costco rebate) was comparable to a quote I'd gotten from Budget Blinds, the designer who came to help make selections and place the order was good to work with, and the installer (an independent contractor) was excellent, but that's the best I can say. The product itself, though, not so much. We got three blinds for standard size windows (about 36") and each one has four rows of 'guide holes' - they look like perforated sheets of stamps! I chose the cordless upgrade so that I'd have a cleaner look, and with all of those guide holes, you can see so many cords, I'm not sure what the point of the cordless option is. I thought I'd done my homework looking at the Graber site before I ordered, including using the site's 'virtual design' function and nothing I looked at showed all of these holes and cords. As a previous post mentions, you sign pages of disclaimers that you understand what you're ordering, so it feels like you have very little recourse unless there's a mechanical defect. If I could, though, I'd return these in a heartbeat!

    • Tom O
      2 years ago

      In the process of pricing out window coverings for new home in N. CA - 18 total windows - 5 in master bedroom / bath in a motorized sheer shades, room darkening material, 2 in great room / kitchen in a motorized sheer shade, standard material, 1 sliding door in a motorized vertical sheer shade; the remaining 10 in vinly shutters - priced with HD at a few places and at $16-$18k with all the bells and whistles… looking at about $12k for Bali thru Lowe’s but self install.. is HD quality and install worth $5k? is Levolor quality worth pricing out?

    • PRO
      Delmarva Blinds & Shutters
      2 years ago

      So sorry I missed this but very curious what you decided and why?

    • inakatz
      last year

      Deciding between hunter douglas and graber: faux wood

      2” blinds cordless lift. designer endorses HD for superior light rise. says grabers mechanism is

      less reliable and functional. graber is quoted at $100+ less than HD. is HD much better/worth higher price in anyone’s personal or professional experience?

      thank you!

    • Judy Grizzard
      last year

      The afternoon summer sun glares in the big beautiful windows I have looking out at a lake. I wanted the needed window covering unobtrusive when not in use. I bought these from Bali through Costco. Light Filtering, inside mount, contour valance, Fiji, pearl whilte, loop silver chain. I installed them completely on my own. I love them. They are bright white but the light texture softens them. 06/2022 the cost for 4 large windows was about $1300.00 delivered. The look amazing and work wonderfully. I used the books at Home Deport to select material for the shades. Online image looked dark and it took weeks to get samples if they had them.



    • Mittens Cat
      last year

      @Judy Grizzard, would love to see some photos (with good lighting). Also, what part of the country are you in? Thanks!

    • Lisa
      last year

      I'm looking for Roman shades. I have someone from Costco coming out to measure but I'm also looking at The Shade Store and Smith & Noble, but I can't believe how expensive they are. I need to do custom shades due to my window sizes. Has anyone had experience with any of these companies for Roman shades?

    • Arlene Patuc
      8 months ago

      I recently ordered Roman shades through Costco and Graber. Graber uses Springs Window Fashions for its manufactor. Avoid them at all costs. I sent material to be evaluated to be made into blinds and after three months I am still struggling to get my material back. They kindly repackaged it into an oversized box and I will have to pay $140 in shipping costs. They are unresponsive to any customer complaints or concerns. Customer service just sends you into a vortex of unanswered phones and emails. Springs Window Fashions has a 1 rating with Better Business Bureau. This is the first bad evaluation of a Costco product I have ever made. I would keep looking for another manufactor even if it is more costly. Any Costco savings pales in comparison to the frustation I have experienced in the last three months.

    • DM
      6 months ago

      What about The Shade Store or Smith and Noble? Anyone have any experience with either of these companies for Roman Shades?

    • PRO
      JTL Home Creations, LLC
      4 months ago

      We just used Shade Store for our most recent project. They’re on the pricier side but the selection, quality, and customer service is top notch. We’re in Bergen County NJ and use the Paramus location. I’m in real estate and wouldn’t have any issues recommending them to my clients. Happy New Year!

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