What is Promotional Grade Carpet?

We’ve been asked many times over the years what is meant by promotional grade carpet. We thought it would be a good idea to explain exactly what it means here.

Promotional Grade carpet is a generic term used by carpet manufacturers to describe carpet sold at a substantial discount to its normal price. The carpet is sold through the mills’ promotional goods department and usually does not have a warranty. The carpet may or may not have defects, but you should be made aware of why the carpet is being sold through the promotional department.

Several reasons may cause both residential or commercial carpet to be sold as promotional goods:

1. Dropped Style: When a style is dropped by a mill and most of the best colors are sold off, often the remaining rolls will be sold at a substantial discount through the promotional department.
2. Off-Shade: This means the color does not match the sample swatch and therefore cannot be sold as a running line product. The carpet is then sold as off-goods through the promotional department. These off-shade rolls are sold as off-goods or promotional goods even though they have no defects. Off-shade carpet is usually a tremendous value.
3. Side-Match: After carpet is dyed, a swatch is cut from both sides of the carpet to be sure they match. If the sides do not match, it is called a side-match problem, becuase placing opposite sides together at the seams will cause an obvious color variation. A bad side match will not be visible in smaller rooms where no seams are necessary.
4. Streaks: There are many degrees of streaking, and many causes. Most streaks are caused by one strand of yarn having a different twist level than the rest. This may result in what is called chicken tracks. There may also be a high line or low line that was caused by a problem in tufting or shearing. Streaks may be very minor (A seconds), very noticeable (B seconds), or somewhere between. It is best to see streaked carept before you purchase it, or have your sales representative inspect the carpet for you. Small rooms, especially bedrooms with lots of furniture, will hide most streaks.
5. Dye Spots: These spots can be a splothcy look to the carpet or small drops which may or may not be very noticeable. Like streaks, they just need to be looked at and evaluated. Slight spotting is not very noticeable and usually fine for small rooms.

Side-match problems, streaks, and dye spots are only visual defects and in no way hurt the life or performance of the carpet. However, there are other carpet defects which most consumers should avoid. These include loose jute or backing, delamination, wet carpet, and I’m sure there are others. These are structural defects that compromise the integrity of the carpet.

Promotional Goods cover a broad range of 1st quality carpet, carpet with slight visual defects, as well as carpet with major defects. At Carpet Express we are very open with our customers and try to represent the promotional carpet we sell completely and honestly. Your sales person at Carpet Express will ensure you know exactly what you are buying. Promotional carpet can be a tremendous value not only for rental property, but also for your home.

The primary business of Carpet Express is selling 1st quality, running line floor covering complete with Manufacturer’s Warranty.