buytile.com thoughts?

Just check return policies and make sure you're comfortable with them. I ended up ordering alot of tiles from Home Depot just because shipping was free and you could pretty much return anything by walking through the door... No hassle. Buy extra tile just in case and return those you don't need. Might be worth considering the extra cost worth it..

always check out web vendors on www.resellerratings.com

I appreciate the comments - but neither answer my question. I've checked for reviews already (and resellerratings has no listing). I've checked BBB ratings. And I've check pricing elsewhere (like Home Depot that also doesn't carry the tile we want). I a specifically looking for people that have bought from buytile or know someone who bought from buytile and can relay their experience.

I ordered a whole lot of tile from them for a weekend house over the past few months. Kitchen, mudroom, 4 bathrooms. Over a dozen different designs and probably 1500 sq ft.

I would use them again. Virtually every internet vendor that I encountered for outfitting an entire new house, from sinks, plumbing fixtures, lighting, hardware, etc. do not actually stock anything no matter what they say, and they do not even touch the product you order. Buytile is no different. The product is shipped to you direct from the manufacturer or from some distributor, and timeliness of delivery is often not ideal.

The good? They are relatively pleasant to deal with. Prices are unbeatable, and selection enormous. All were well-packed, and very few broken tiles. When I ended up needing more of one tile, they were very helpful in locating and expediting additional tiles.

The not so good? The tiles arrived from their respective source separately. Most items arrived within a week or so. Others did not arrive for about a month, maybe longer. One tile they were unable to get (except at twice the price), but they never volunteered that information and I only learned after inquiring why they had not shown up for over a month. This held up some of our construction. They eventually provided a more expensive tile for the same price. And, if you are ordering a lot of the same tile or from same vendor, unless the world is different when shipping to city apartment dwellers, it is delivered by flatbed curbside. A couple hundred square feet of marble or granite tile can weigh a couple of tons.

So, I think they suffer from some of the same warts of most on-line vendors of renovation supplies. But, for me online shopping was far more pleasant than dealing with the obnoxious staff and clientele at the usual tile stores (other than Bella Tile -- the staff there were fine), and in many cases the prices were literally 50% less. And, I am sure that local tile stores are subject to the same lead time vagaries for sourcing tile from the same manufacturers. So, I would use them again, but plan ahead, and order early.

You might also try posting your questions here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/

Thanks NYC Sport - that helps a lot. Do you think it helps to ask at the beginning if the tiles we're selecting can be fulfilled quickly (i.e. easy to obtain in a short timeframe or if they are harder to come by?) The delivery issue I think is always there. They are either going curbside from the vendor, or the contractor would have to go pick up all the tile and then still bring it curbside, no? Either way - a lot of weight/time is going to be spent relocating the tile, unfortunately.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Thanks Kyle - I will. I did post (no replies yet) on city-data.com too

Samcraig -- I agree that the delivery issue is the same regardless of where you buy, I was just cautioning to plan ahead, and be aware that it may be multiple deliveries that you will need to tend to. And, they will probably be able to tell you more about lead times if you call them. The tiles from more recognizable brand names for the most part were the items that arrived fastest. Also, they routinely have sales with an additional 5-10% off, so you might save some more if you time the purchase.

Thanks NYC_Sport. All things to consider!

Be careful buying from Buytile.com. It can really cost you if you want to make a return so I suggest getting a sample first before placing an entire order or just go elsewhere. I was very disappointed.

Just to revisit - we bought our kitchen floor from BuyTile as it was a decent amount cheaper than the competition - same manufacturer/stock #, etc. It was pretty much a no-brainer.

Tile arrived quickly, in tact and was exactly what we wanted/expected. So 100 percent satisfied.

Wonderful. Thanx for the follow-up!

I am currently working on a project and the designer purchased some of the tile through buytile.com. It looks fine to me. We will be installing it in aboout 3 weeks so I will repost when the installation is finished

We just did a purchase from BuyTile.com to get a replacement box of porcelain tile to repair a bathroom floor after a plumbing leak. The leak happened 6 months after having gut renovated the same bath (don't ask). Anyway, we went to the original vendor up in Rockland County and it was going to take 2 weeks to get the tile for a cost of about $7.50 a square foot. We shopped all over the Internet and the price and time were about the same -- plus shipping.

We called Bella Tile -- 2 weeks to get and $11.00 a square foot.

Then we found BuyTile.com. A week to get the tile and $4.20 a square foot. But it gets better: we discovered that BuyTile.com is in fact located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They let us pick up the tile, which saved shipping (we were only getting one box so it was do-able). The tile came early and was available in 4 days. They called immediately and couldn't have been nicer.

My only regret is that we didn't know about them when we did our reno. But I've given their info to our contractor so some future client will benefit. I'd happily do business with them again.

Horrible company - customer service doesn't return calls or email and is completely uncooperative in resolving their mistakes.

I placed a relatively simple order on May 5, 2 sheets of slate 2x2 tile, 4 sheets of glass mosaic tile. On May 11, I received a single sheet of slate tile in a box. Then on May 15, I received another single sheet of slate tile. On the 18th I called to inquire why i still didn't have the 4 glass mosaic sheets. The manager was completely unhelpful and said he'd look into and call me back the next day. He did not. I've also been in contact, FINALLY (only a week delay) with a rep via email, who keeps pointing to a tracking number of the box with one sheet of slate in it, completely disregarding the problem of tile not being included in the box. Nearly $80 worth of tile remains undelivered with none of their customer service staff willing to help. Avoid these guys like the plague.

I placed an order for "dots" from them on July 5, 2011. The money came out of my account immediately. They sent me a confirmation e-mail. When I opened it, it indicated that my order was pending and my payment was "processing." I keep checking but nothing has changed. That's the last I have heard from them. I have a contactor ready to do a kitchen backsplash for me and I have no idea what I should tell him. I called twice. Both times I was told the normal spiel, "Your call is important to us, please hold for the next available operator." About every 30 seconds, I got that message. After waiting a LONG time, I was told that the number was not available to take calls and to "please leave a message." I did. No one returned my call. I tried again later, same result. So, I tried the live chat on their web site, and kept getting the message that they were currently assiting other customers and to please wait. I did, for a LONG time. Finally, I gave up. I left a critique of their web site, thinking I would get a response from that. Nothing. I really do not know what to think. They have my monney, and I cannot contact them. That's pretty much it.

Ripoff, see other websites for similar reviews. Save your money and avoid the grief.

I ordered porcelain tile from Buytile.com for my bathroom floor and for the wall behind my sink. For the amount of tile I was looking for, the prices were very good. I did plenty of looking around at other sites but Buytile has the best prices by far and a huge selection of looks and colors. My items arrived within a week or so which fit my time frame perfectly. I would definitely use them again.

yes they are very cheap....but, what you don't realize when you start doing business with them is that they are the shadiest, undependable, crooks you can imagine. They take a month plus to deliver, regularly push back deliver dates giving excuses that they are out of stock, they are closed all kinds of normal business times... BUYER BEWARE!

I would not deal with HOWARD from Buytile ever again. BS artist. My fault given that I tried to save a few $$'s

the best company ever cheap and gooservice and btw h o w a r d is the best

I had a similar experience (as lucaskole) with buytile.com. They kept pushing back the delivery date - On Thursday they said it's coming on Friday, ultimately it got postponed to next Friday and repeat and repeat. Ultimately I got what I ordered, albeit after many phone calls.

If you have a tight deadline on renovation, I won't use buytile.com. However, if you have time to spare/follow-up, buytile.com is a good choice to save some money (about 15% less in my case).