Appliance stores: price vs. selection.

You buy monster packages of pasta, gallon jars of mayonnaise, best-selling books, and even tires at Costco. But should you consider buying a refrigerator there?

Yes, our readers say. For price and product quality, Costco registered higher marks than did any other major-appliance chain in our latest appliance-shopping survey. Overall, our readers who bought large appliances were as satisfied with Costco as with higher-priced independent stores and significantly more satisfied than with chains such as Best Buy, But Costco is not the place to go if you want a wide selection or kitchen designers on call. The pickings were slim and service was lacking, our survey found. Readers who shopped at independent stores, meanwhile, were very satisfied with both service and selection, although not so much with price. The survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, represented more than 32,000 purchases.

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For smaller appliances such as window air conditioners, gas grills, and vacuum cleaners, our readers prefer to let their fingers do the clicking. For the second straight year, online powerhouse Amazon.com had the highest shopper-satisfaction score, compared with any chain retailer, mainly because of the superior selection, as well as price.

Wal-Mart was at the bottom of shoppers' lists for small appliances, disappointing them with selection, ease of shopping, service, and checkout. While 76 percent of survey respondents who told us they shop at Wal-Mart said they went for low prices, the store got only average scores for price.

BEST WAYS TO SAVE

Our readers were at least fairly well satisfied with their experiences at every retailer. But not every retailer works for everyone. Much depends on what type of appliance you're seeking and whether you're looking to replace an entire kitchen or just one or two appliances. At a local Costco, for instance, we found just four electric dryers, two washers, and four full-sized refrigerators. A Costco official told us the online and in-store selections often differ.