Best Kitchen Appliance Packages in 2011

After many requests I am happy to release my 2011 list for the best kitchen appliance packages. My article in 2010 received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, so I am hoping that this article will do the same and more, making your search for the perfect kitchen appliance package to be as stress-free as possible.

We will follow the same layout that I set in the article "Best Kitchen Appliance Packages in 2010" segmenting the packages by customer type.

Package # 1 - High End Customer

The big difference between 2011 and 2010 will be the increased sales in high-end appliances. This section of the appliance industry was destroyed in 2009 and it took heavy promotions from the likes of Sub-Zero, Viking, Monogram and more to get shoppers to invest in high-end appliance packages in 2010. While the sales didn't approach the astronomic levels that the industry saw in 2003-2007, they certainly improved as the collapse of Western Civilization no longer seemed imminent as in the dark days of the fall/winter 2008.

The first important note to be aware of if you are shopping for high-end appliance packages is that all of the promotions are still active yet they will start to expire in the first quarter of 2011. This is huge because these rebate programs NEVER existed in the high-end appliance space and I don't see them being repeated. So if you are in the market for high-end appliances, chances are you will need to act by the end of March. Here is a breakdown of the cutoff dates for the various promotions:

Wolf-SubZero - March 31, 2011

GE Monogram - March 31, 2011

Dacor - December 31, 2011

Viking - April 30, 2011

Thermador - December 31, 2011

So what is my take on the high-end packages? I am a sucker for the value of GE Monogram and the heritage and performance of Wolf and SubZero. Here are a few packages from these brands that I see selling well and offer great quality as well as value.

Wolf / SubZero Appliance Package - In this package you would receive $1250 in an

instant rebate under the current offer:

- Wolf SRT366 gas rangetop with sealed burners (I am not a fan of griddles or grills on

indoor appliances, they don't work as well as their outdoor counterparts, the cooking areas aren't large enough and I believe you can never have enough burners

- Wolf 36" stainless wall hood

- Wolf S030U/S L-series single wall oven

- Bosch SHX58E15UC dishwasher (hundreds below a comparable Miele!)

- SubZero Bi36 S/S/PH - 36" SubZero with pro handles, stainless

GE Monogram Kitchen Appliance Package

- GE Monogram 36" Dual Fuel Range, 6 burners (keep in mind that the Monogram line will be releasing their all-gas ranges sometime in the first half of 2011).

- GE Monogram 36" Cabinet insert (I don't like Monogram hoods as they are way too bulky, so I opted to use the cabinet insert here)

- GE Monogram Pro 24" Dishwasher in Stainless

- GE Monogram 42" ZISP420NXSS pro refrigerator in stainless

Package # 2 - Upper Middle Customer

GE Cafe Appliance Package

On the topic of GE, let's talk up the GE Cafe line, which continues to knock the socks off of this category. At this point, can we please promote the person who came up with this line of appliances? The GE Cafe line was nothing short of a stroke of genius! Where can you get a pro looking kitchen for less than $10k? How about for less than $8k? $7K? You have to look at GE Cafe. Plus, GE will be offering a $500 rebate on GE Cafe kitchen appliance packages for the first few months of 2011. Try this on for size:

GE Cafe Gas Range - CGS980SEMSS

GE Cafe DIshwasher - CDWT980RSS

GE Cafe OTR Micro/Hood - CVM2072SMSS

GE Cafe French Door Refrigerator - CFCP1NIZSS

Bosch Appliance Package

Another brand to check out in this upper middle-tier is Bosch. They are currently offering up to 15% rebate on Bosch kitchen appliance packages through May 31 2011. This can lead up to some significant dollars back in your pockets. Bosch has been forced to get very aggressive with their kitchen appliance promotions because quite bluntly Electrolux has handed them their proverbial lunch in the last few years when it comes to the sale of kitchen appliances. Now it looks like Bosch has regrouped, put together a compelling offer for consumers, and has the ability to make up ground with Electrolux raises their prices. Message to Bosch: Be nice to consumers and hold your price points!!!! You need to get your kitchen appliances back on the consumer radar screen and 2011 is the time to do it.

This is what the Bosch kitchen appliance package will need to look like in order to qualify for the 10% or 15%:

Appliance Package 10%: Purchase at least (3) 300, 500 or 800 series Bosch appliances

Appliance Package 15%: Purchase at least (3) 800 series Bosch appliances.

What I like about this is that Bosch is only holding you to (3) appliances, so it's easy to qualify.

Here's a sample package which I sell the heck out of:

Refrigerator B22CS80SNS

Dishwasher SHX65P05UC

Range HGS7052UC

With this package alone at 15% back you would be looking at nearly $700 in your pocket and that's without selling the products anywhere near their MAP price.

KitchenAid Appliance Package

KitchenAid is a versatile brand. You can go into the high-end stratosphere with their built-in products like the 42" KBFC42FTS French Door Refrigerator and accompanying pro range, or you can nestle quite comfortably in this middle-upper middle category. Let's check out a package that would vie with the Ge Cafe, Bosch and Electrolux lines.This time I am going to mix it up and instead of using a range, we'll do a gas cooktop, double wall oven, French Door fridge and a killer KitchenAid dishwasher. Check this out...

KitchenAid KEBS208SSS 30" Double Wall Oven

Kitchen Aid KUDE40XSS dishwasher

KitchenAid KFCS22EVMS 36" French Door Refrigerator

KitchenAid KFGS366VSS 36" gas cooktop