I’ve visited ABC in Manhattan, and its Delray Beach and Bronx outlets numerous times. Frankly I feel the store is simply pervasively and profoundly expensive. Furniture and rugs at the outlets are not appreciably cheaper than the main store and every time I visit them, I’m compelled to ask myself, who shops here and why did I bother to visit? Maybe the store is worth using as a reference, but I have to note that reference retailers I visit at least occasionally have real sales and bargains, not a price reduction from astronomical to unreasonable. In 25 years of living in the NYC area I have never found a bargain at ABC, in contrast the Baker showrooms, Stickley-Audi, even Neiman-Marcus have great sales and/or bargains. I was shopping for carpet/rugs this past weekend in NYC, Westchester, and Northern NJ and I didn’t bother to visit there this time. Unfortunately ABC is a waste of my time.

Window shopping describes the best use of this store.

Yes, it is awe inspiring to see the massive space ABC inhabits and how they style it all. But ABC carpet and home is ridiculously expensive. Even the warehouse sales are kind of a joke, unless you're buying small trinkets, candles, or books.

Aside from the vintage pieces, which aren't that plentiful, most of their furniture, bedding and lamps, can be purchased directly from the source.

I love ABC Carpet and Home, largely due to the very large selection of excellent furniture and decor items, but have to agree that the prices are sometimes outlandish. I was there during a February sale and while many items were marked down, I still would often pick up a velvet throw pillow and discover a $700 price tag. A great place if price is no object or to pick up an item like a Cisco Brothers sofa (the only place on the east coast that carries them) which can't be obtained elsewhere. My experience with the sales staff has also never been anything short of positive.

I am a regular shopper of both the Bronx and Hackensack ABC outlets and have always experienced considerable price reductions at these locations.

All of my carpets are from the outlets. I never leave disappointed. The service is phenomenal with the sales staff going out of their way to pull your selections and lay them out so you can compare, then they will bag them up and carry them out to your car. There is always room for negotiation and they will offer discounts on multiple purchases.

Overall, I feel the selection to be unique and the quality unsurpassed. I'd rather search the oulets for one of a kind pieces than purchase discounted mass designs from Bloomingdales', Macy's or Neiman Marcus.

Wandering through the store is an incredibly inspiring experience, which I love for trend-spotting and styling ideas. But, yeah, the prices are certainly out of my reach! I bought a bottle of wonderfully scented hand lotion there once, which might have been the least expensive item in the whole store.

i've certainly seen sale cushions, and once a huge chindi lantern for under $30, just not that often. they styling is very inspiring and it's a good place to go if you want to expand your understanding of linens. a lot of people live with 200TC and less and rarely consider what a fine linen is or why it's so expensive.

and it's nice that the sales staff is friendly and down to earth even when talking about $500 bedding while your eyes pop out.

i once complained about meeting a friend for lunch inside ABC (at le petit quodotien) b/c i would wind up spending $$ on beautiful things on my way to the cafe, and she had the best advice: treat ABC like a museum. if you just look at the beautiful things and don't even look at prices and use it for inspiration, there's no chance that you'll accidentally buy a $3,000 table or $450 tablecloth... no matter how amazing it would look in your home.

The basement of the rug store (stairs to the left before escalator) can be a great resource if you buy the remnants and have them cut and bound to a perfect size (service they offer). We used this source for many projects in the past.
Did not shop much in the store but a great place to take clients to get a feel for what they like and do not like.
I also use this source for my current online interior business,
http://www.designbyphoto.com/Site%206/Home.html

Here is also a link for DIY carpet binding - have not tried it, but curious how hard this would be to do - http://www.curbly.com/ModHomeEcTeacher/posts/6092-DIY-Bind-a-Carpet-Remnant-to-Make-a-Custom-Shaped-Area-Rug

We also like to look, especially at the holidays. They had this fantastic Victorian St. Nicholas wandering around passing out hand rolled spiral peppermint lollypop. Very festive and inspiring.