apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You did well - Levi is one of the smartest people in the business. And always a pleasure to buy from.

I'd be interested to hear what you think about the cooktop and oven after you use them for a while. I've been looking for a 24" cooktop and saw the 3 you were considering (there's not much out there for 24" cooktops), but I haven't seen any reviews of how good these are.

BTW, your link for the oven needs to be fixed.

Another great local place is J & R (NOT the electronics store downtown) on 7th Avenue in Park Slope. I bought a washer, dryer, range, refrigerator and dishwasher -- for just under $5,000 -- that included delivery and installation. They are the perfect example of a local neighborhood store that will match prices, especially when you are buying several major appliances. What's additionally great about them, before they place your order they will come over to measure for you to make sure everything will fit. What you have to do is research what you want by checking out as much as you can and then go to them and they will order for you and beat all prices. They were great!

Maxwell,
I wait breathlessly for each update on your 9 month cure. This is better than a reality show. Will you beat the deadline?

Why did you get a cooktop & wall oven instead of a range?

What do you mean he doesn't charge taxes? If he does not remit sales tax to the state he is looking at some serious penalties. I will have to look into this.

Very curious why you think wall-oven under stove top looks better than a range? Do you have any photos that illustrate the advantages?

PC Richard can be hit or miss (particularly depending on the store location), but I found that when I went to their 23rd street location, I was able to get the same appliances that I had scouted out elsewhere (on the web and in other stores) for significantly less money. Mainly because when you go in to make big ticket purchases, they're authorized to chop some money off of the price.

(Note - this also works in other circumstances - my best friend and I were both mulling over buying flat panel TVs, and were able to get a significant amount of money discounted (several hundred $$$) by going and buying them together. My friend's husband had done a bit of research online, and we got "our" model for less than it was available anywhere else at the time by doing this)

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it is awfully strange and illegal for Mr. Capland to avoid charging sales tax. It will be collected in some other way, either by Maxwell being required to pay use tax to NYS on his tax return, or by the DOR auditing Mr. Capland. Better to keep quiet about these kind of things rather than broadcasting to the world.

Am also confused. What does it mean that he doesn't charge tax?

Frank - I think most people agree that the lines are cleaner when you choose a cooktop and then a wall oven underneath vs a combo unit range and oven. A lot of people have issue with the breakup of the countertop line. This is especially apparent in my kitchen where the eat-in area overlooks the cooking area so that I get to stare at my oven at every breakfast.

It probably means the seller is eating the tax by paying it himself.

usually when stores "don't charge tax" - it means they include it in the price you see, so that you feel like you are getting a bargain, but surely they are still calculating and remitting their fair share of the taxes to the state.
this is done all the time here (Canada) where stores will advertize "no tax all weekend" type sales.
as a side note, in Europe, taxes are usually included in the advertized price, so you don't have to do the calculations before purchasing.

I'm sure you've checked the consumer ratings on the
appliences that you chose, but I would be wary of Delonghi products. I've owned an air conditioner and was given an electric grill.
Both performed very poorly.

Something odd is up with Levi Capland. The old cyebye.com site is now essentially down, and boy, did he make some enemies!

His reviews on epinions go down-down-down:
http://tinyurl.com/geod8

His Better Business Bureau record is "unsatisfactory":
http://tinyurl.com/jjmlq

If you buy from him all the time and he's been reliable, obviously this is irrelevant -- but otherwise, I'd keep a close eye on your order.

Vigilance may just be prudent with appliance dealers, come to think of it... AJ Madison is in good standing with the BBB but has its share of complaints (presumably against larger sales volume):
http://tinyurl.com/fggry

What did you do for a fridge?

Levi Capland . . . yeah.

Don't be afraid to put a stop on your check if there are any problems. I posted about him elsewhere on AT.

My situation worked out in the end, but it was a little sticky for awhile when the freezer of my new Summit/Conserv never fired up and he was reluctant to exchange it right away.

I would love to hear more tips on buying flatscreens. It occured to me that I'm totally daft in regards of 1) what I should pay, 2) does quality have to be a more expensive brand & vice versa, 3) what brands don't suck, 4) HDTV vs. Plasma (in laymen's terms), ... i.e. ultimately what is the best for each price range. Anyone have any sources for this sort of thing? My bulbous CRT ain't doing so great.

Just a quick note to say that I had a great experience using Levi. I ordered a Bosch dishwasher and range from him, and everything was exactly as described with no problems. This was nearly a year ago. Terrific prices, he delivered, no muss, no fuss.

What fridge and cabinets did you end up choosing we are in the process of remodeling a kitchen that is long and narrow and I'm finding it hard to find appliances etc that perform well look nice and are energy star friendly any advice would be appreciated will look at the appliances that you mention however I had read that if you don't have alot of room a freestanding range is the best way to go!!

Jason in BK, I can help but would rather email you so that TV posts don't get mixed in a thread about cook tops and ovens.

Email me at jammypup (at) gmail (dot) com.

Perhaps Max can also email me so that he can see what I say and then add his perspective.
I already have something ready BTW that I emailed to someone else.

Anne, did you see the other 9 month cure posts? Just before the comments start there is a link to them. In case you did not and do not know, Maxwell is getting a a Henry built kithcen and, I think, a summit under counter, counter depth fridge.

Thanks J P I just looked at Maxwell's very inspiring and informative diary I cook alot so am hoping to find a tall thin counter depth fridge with a decent size freezer have seen a few
types by Summit but have noticed that some people
have mixed opinions about how well they perform am Irish and I don't think we have that brand back home so I don't know either.Maxwells appliances look very stylish and neat so will be interested to hear how happy they are with their performance in the future.

This may not be true of the Delonghi, but I was unpleasantly surprised to find the gas connection on the Miele KM360 cooktop (left rear, facing the oven) extends four plus inches below the countertop. This meant that the Miele oven (the discontinued 24 inch 350B) had to be installed significantly lower than I would have liked to clear the gas gizmo.

Anne-

My new fridge/freezer sounds exactly like what you want. It's the ConServ by Equator, which has been discussed here on AT several times. I got a slightly dinged model on http://salestores.com/resident.html for $900. It's tall, thin, and gorgeous. After living wit it for a few weeks, I couldn't be happier. It's energy efficient and *super* quiet.

Since a huge chunk of soggy ceiling fell down last week, I'm planning on relocating my kitchen to where the newly-discovered pipes are. Following Max's progress has become even more interesting as I daydream about the possibilities here.

Anne-
Forgot to ask... are you living here or in Ireland? If there, where?

I agree with Guido and Wende about Levi Capland.

We purchased a 24 inch wide range from him. It arrived broken in three ways (dented top; oven that wouldn't light; and scratched front).

He would not take the range back, and said that we would have to dispute it with the manufacturer.

It was a $1000 range, and it still doesn't work. I've spent 4 days meeting repairmen.

The impression I have is that perhaps their prices are cheap because they are selling restocked or returned items. In fact, that was what the manufacturer said when the serviceman examined the serial number of the stove.

I wasn't able to get a satisfactory response from Capland. It might be fine for certain items, but it's a real gamble.

Trish M

Thanks for the recommendation, I only discovered
AT recently so I have alot of reading to catch up on!!

I'm from Dublin but I live here. My husband and I are in the process of buying an apartment so this site is great.

Welcome Anne.
You found a great site.

And because I'm nosey, where is here BTW? Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island?

Re: buying local. Recently, I needed a new dryer & needed someone to install it on my existing dryer rack (above the washing machine). None of the big chains would agree to install it for me - Lowe's said I needed to buy a new rack & put it together myself. Their delivery guys would just bring the dryer to my door & I was responsible to put the thing on the rack. The guy at PC Richards was mean and condescending & wanted to charge like $100 for delivery PLUS $150 for installation (for a dryer worth $400).

So I went to a somewhat sketchy looking local place. I think I got the same model they had a PC Richards (for $20 more) but two guys arrived the next day -- a Sunday; took the old one out and put in the new one. I did have to pay $100 for delivery and installation and then $20 extra not just leaving the old dryer on the curb (it was not recycling day in my area).

For what it's worth, it's not kosher to put a gas oven under a countertop, or so says the gas association--that's why all of the paper for the DEBIGSS have it up above something like 64". Something to do with the fumes that the fan emits and children. Not a big deal (other people have done such things...I'm not saying me, per se, just, you know...other people) but if there was a fire theoretically your insurance company could refuse to pay.

baby?! :D
congratulations on your growing little person!
what a lucky baby you have!
is this your first?
i'm so excited for you!
get lots of rest now.
where are you registered for baby gifts?

Jamie Pup
We just bought an apartment in Jackson Heights so we shall be moving there shortly....I noticed there was a comment posted by Fiona from J.H concerning bathrooms recently, I agree with her the area needs a nice coffee shop and for my hubby a brick oven pizza restaurant..perhaps Fiona knows of one ?!?!

Hi everyone and thanks for the welcoming comments.
With regards to sales tax-I am not authorized to collect NYS sales tax since my company is not located in NY. The sale is an out of state sale. It would be illegal for me to collect NYS sales tax. The same way aj madison doesnt collect tax in california, I dont collect in NY. As with any internet sale, its the customers responsibility to pay their local sales tax.
Maria when you bought the range from me I was working at eba and my hands were tied since their return policy is not pro-customer. I fought for a smooth return. Now that I am on my own, my return policies are customer friendly.
With regards to cyebye- I sold that company to eba 4 years ago. All the ratings online are with regards to eba, not me. As soon as I walked out of eba last june the cyebye site went down.
Guido- at the end of the day everything worked out. All that was required for an exchange was for the manufacturer to come look at the fridge. They did so and then it was exchanged.

hehehe I was drunk when i wrote the letter above !! LOL
love Levi

Levi operates from Israel

ROTFLMAO @ all the above posts !!!

Brilliant!Just what I'm looking for...Since I just transferred to my new apartment with a 'not that spacious' kitchen;at least I could muster some of the appliances that would just fit in there...
I just finished my redesigning my car,like putting new Audi Q7 Mirror and the like; so its time for my apartment therapy..=)
Thanks!