How to shop for carpet/hard wood flooring? (Edison, Woodbridge: first time home buyer, buyer)

[qwerty14]

I made an offer to a townhouse in Woodbridge, NJ. The property needs new hard wood flooring in living room and new carpeting in 2 bed rooms.

I am wondering how to go about shopping for it. Should I go for Empire Today, they apparently have some specials going on.
Or should I hire an independant contractor and buy the carpeting/hard wood from lowes or homedepot?

I am a first time home buyer and so have no experience, just dont want to get ripped off

[camaro69]

Check out World Wide Carpet (Hardwood) in Edison on Route 1 South.

[GoYanks34]

When I was shopping for carpet what I did was decide on what type I wanted by visiting several stores. Then I either got a sample or wrote the name/brand/etc down. I then visited several stores to see who would give me the best deal. You also need to get the rooms measured or you will not be able to get an accurate estimate.

I did some research on Empire and the only way to get a decent deal with them is to haggle and you need to know what the going rate is for what you want. They will initially quote you a very high price and then work down until you agree. I didn't want to be bothered with that so I stayed away. If your read reviews on them they are generally not good. Just because they get an A rating with the BBB only means that they rectified complaints. The most important you have to look at is how many complaints they have had compared to other companies in the same business with similar volume. They may settle after a complaint is filed but so you really want to go through all that? Not worth the time and aggravation IMO and I'd rather give my business to a local company.

[manderly6]

Are you sure it needs new floors? Can they be refinished?

Personally I wouldn't go to Empire. I would try and find a local flooring place.