Here is a grandfather clock question which is weighing heavily on our minds as a major retailer of grandfather clocks.  We very much want the input of grandfather clock shoppers, especially those with a keen eye for grandfather clocks on sale and who are looking for grandfather clock discounts, but who still want the highest quality.

Grandfather clock shoppers, at least the ones we target, want varying combinations of the highest quality and best value grandfather clocks.  We find ourselves at an interesting crossroads in terms of the selections we may be able to offer our grandfather clock shoppers.  At a time when the global economy is obviously in stress, there is the unusual dynamic of some very high quality makers of grandfather clocks who are bringing among the very best in quality and value of grandfather clocks to market.  At the same time, the grandfather clock market is being flooded with cheap and poor quality imports, but that is a subject for other posts in our grandfather clocks blog.

OK, so you are a grandfather clocks shopper, and presumably you are reasonably comfortable shopping at our 1-800-4CLOCKS.com website or one of our stores.  But you also look at other websites.  So, what if we offered grandfather clocks which had our own brand name, which would be the Museum Clocks™ (that we have made and sold in past years, but not in large numbers) brand on the dial.  They would have high-grade well-known brand German mechanical cable driven clock movements, and would have solid wood cases made in North America.  Many of the clocks would in fact be inspired by museum quality grandfather clocks and among the most stunning antique grandfather clocks.  Grandmother clocks too!

Might you be as likely to buy a grandfather clock made with 1-800-4CLOCKS’ own Museum Clock™ grandfather clock brand name?  You would recognize the name of the German maker of the movement.  The case would be solid wood and exactly as described and pictured.  There would be a 2 year grandfather clock warranty against against manufacturing defects.

So how much of a premium, if any, might you be willing to pay for a Howard Miller grandfather clock, or one of the Ridgeway grandfather clocks or Hermle Floor Clocks, when you perhaps could get as good or better value, and different grandfather clock designs or models, by choosing one of the Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks from 1-800-4CLOCKS.

Your input and feedback would be greatly valued and appreciated.  And because we are not providing specific grandfather clock comparisons here from which to choose, we fully recognize it will require just a bit of imagination and extra thought on your end.

Museum Clocks (tm) Grandfather Clocks by 1-800-4CLOCKS

When purchasing a grandfather clock or grandmother clock, especially when looking online vs. an an bricks and mortar Retail location, one faces a dizzying array of choices.  Some people start by searching on Google, Yahoo or Bing.  Others use comparison shopping websites.  And many many shoppers start their grandfather clocks discount shopping, or grandfather clocks on sale.

Is eBay a good place to look for brand new Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks or floor clocks by other makers?  It can be, but just like shopping online, one has to be extremely careful.  We ourselves at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com have an eBay Store which you can visit at  http://stores.ebay.com/Grandfather-Clocks.  We feature pretty much the entire Howard Miller Grandfather Clock Collection, including Howard Miller Presidential Grandfather Clocks and many Limited Edition grandfather clocks, including tubular chimes grandfather clocks, cable driven triple chime and Westminster chime mechanical clocks, and several chain-driven grandfather clocks.  Quartz, or battery-driven grandfather clocks, are also available, and are almost all at lower discounted price points.

One has a choice of many grandfather clock features, including auto-night shut-off, chime-silence option, volume control (on quartz grandfather clocks only), working rotating moon dials, subsidiary seconds dials, single, almost always Westminster, vs. triple chime grandfather clocks.  A few even have the choice of the Schubert Ave Maria and Beethoven Ode to Joy chimes.  Very few, but some, mechanical grandfather clocks, offer that option.

There are clear risks of buying on eBay, of which one must be keenly aware.  Many of our customers either call us up or shop on our main website after they first find out about us on eBay.  As one of Howard Miller Clocks largest Authorized Dealers, with a Better Business Bureau Rating to date of A, and with much positive feedback on eBay already.  Many sellers of new grandfather clocks are not authorized as dealers for the clocks they sell, such as Howard miller, or Hermle Grandfather Clocks or the Ridgeway grandfather clock collection.  If one buys a grandfather clock from a dealer who is not authorized, any warranty is automatically null and void.  Many shady operators sell well below the most competitive pricing available from Authorized dealers, and may not be dealing in legitimate merchandise, and the seller may be a fraud altogether.

Another risk is that many Authorized Dealers will sell floor models and pass them off as 100% brand new.  So you may end up getting a grandfather clock that has been sitting in a grandfather clock showroom for 2-4 years, having been touched by hundreds or thousands of people, have multiple years of wear and tear on the grandfather clock movement, and finally, may no longer be covered under manufacturer’s warranty (many decent clock dealers are completely unaware of this.

Pre-owned or used grandfather clocks carry with them the risk of developing a “money pit”, poring good money after bad to get, with the potential for many used grandfather clocks.  Many of the same risks exist for antique grandfather clocks, but that is really a wholly different clock purchase proposition.

Finally, while eBay can be a good and safe place to purchase clocks, if you are dealing with a reputable company, like us at 1-800-4CLOCKS, you may be able to get the best deal by visiting one of our stores or simply calling.  We are also very happy to educate the customer about the different types of grandfather clocks, including brands, movements, features, chimes and much more.  Shipping grandfather clocks overseas also creates special challenges.

Howard Miller Tubular Chime Grandfather Clock J H Miller II 611-030 611030

Should one purchase a new grandfather clock?  What about a so-called used antique grandfather clock.  Antique grandfather clocks are used grandfather clocks, are they not?  Are the floor clocks made in the last 20 or 30 or 50 years as good as the new grandfather clocks made today, by such makers as Howard Miller Clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, and Hermle Clocks.   Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, Ridgeway Floor Clocks, and Hermle Grandfather Clocks and Grandmother Clocks are among the most popular high-end brands on the market today.  Interestingly, these same grandfather clock makers have each been manufacturing grandfather clocks for nearly a century or more.

So what is an educated grandfather clock shopper looking for the best selection and savings to do?  When considering new vs. used grandfather clocks, we think it is best to compare “apples to apples”, meaning to compare for example a new howard miller grandfather clock to a pre-owned or used howard miller grandfather clock, or a new hermle grandfather clock to a pre-owned hermle grandfather clock.  Given the many thousands of makers of antique grandfather clocks and antique grandmother clocks, trying to compare a new or used howard miller grandfather clock to an antique grandfather clock would require the comparison of a dizzying array of details which would be at best difficult to compare.

So should one seriously consider buying a pre-owned or used grandfather clock, such as a howard miller grandfather clock.  We would suggest the same caution a smart shopper would or should use when considering shopping for a new or pre-owned automobile.  The most basic tenet being sure one knows what one is purchasing, and ideally also getting a “no lemon” guarantee or a guarantee that lasts for a meaningful amount of time.

The risk is that one buys a money pit, and throws good money after bad in trying to get one’s grandfather clock, whether made my howard miller or ridgeway or hermle or kieninger, to run as well as it did when it was new, and to have the longevity that would come with a new grandfather clock.  Also like automobiles, if a grandfather clock is not well cared for, one will end up paying a lot more over time in grandfather clock maintenance and for grandfather clock repairs.

At 1-800-4CLOCKS.com, we have to date resisted the temptation of offering pre-owned or used howard miller grandfather clocks that would also come with a warranty we would offer, as but one example of offering used grandfather clocks.

But as with most things in life, we are keeping our grandfather clock options open.

Perhaps you have read over the last day or two about a Baby Grand Piano that was mysteriously found floating but grounded on a sandbar in Key Biscayne Bay in Florida.

Now would not it have been as cool or more so if a grandfather clock or grandmother clock were found sitting on that same sandbar, or perhaps, and I am getting inspired here, having multiple grandfather clocks each on its own tiny raft, and providing the time and chimes and gongs to passing boats and passerby’s. Maybe sometime soon, and remember you read it here first. I can see a cluster of grandfather clocks such as a Howard Miller Grandfather Clock, one of the Ridgeway grandfather clock collection choices, an autowind Hermle Floor Clock, and, after all, at least 1 time and tide clock, an atomic wall clock suitably mounted, and 1 nautical ships bell clock.

Interesting thing about taking credit for a creative idea, whether a piano in the middle of a Bay, or almost anything. Interestingly, a baby grand piano is very much the same type of item a person who buys a grandfather clock might also own, or considering owning. Same holds true for a person buying grandfather clocks being a similar demographic to piano shoppers (some stores, of which this writer knows of none currently in existence, carried on their floor both grandfather clocks and pianos in their showrooms). Once the piano caper, as I will call it, started to get a lot of national publicity, see piano not a grandfather clock by clicking here , others started claiming credit for it as their idea.  It was not.  Finally, a 16 year old boy, who at least now if not before is calling himself an artist, said he placed it out there as a statement of his creativity.  He hopes it will help him get into a college of his choice.

While it most probably will work, a grandfather clock on a sandbar would have made him an absolute shoe-in at any institution of higher learning.

Here below is an actual letter we at 1-800-4clocks.com received from a grandfather clocks customer who recently purchased a really nice cable-driven Howard Miller grandfather clock for his Father as a very special gift.  Read it, enjoy, and think.

I wanted to thank you for all of your help with placing my order. I received the clock yesterday and as you said, setting it up was pretty easy. Even easier than I expected it to be. I should also let you know that your delivery service was great. They arrived exactly when they said they would, which gave me time to get everything set up before my dad got home from work.

When my dad got home from work I presented the clock to him and he was overwhelmed. Tearing up, he told me that he had abandoned his dream of ever owning one because of all life’s other financial demands.   He was simply stunned.

But what really showed how special it was is how much he knew about the clock without even looking at the manual. He immediately identified it as a Howard-Miller. When the clock gonged on the hour, he immediately identified it as the “Big Ben Gong”.   He knew the difference between the the three chimes and even began telling me about their origins. He looked inside the casing and was able to explain to me how the moon dial worked, which gears and weights operated the chimes and the gong and the clock mechanism itself, and even knew why and how to wind it.

I knew he’d always wanted one, but I never knew just how much this man loved clocks.

So thank you again for your help. I offer my best wishes that your family and business stay healthy and thrive this Christmas and in the new year to come.

Merry Christmas,
Name withheld

P.S.  Attached is a picture.  Sorry it came out a bit blurry.

We at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com get many requests for varying forms of customization of grandfather clocks.  Some are easy, such as adding a engraved brass plaque strategically placed on the grandfather clock.  Others are much more involved, with customers wanting to use corporate logos on dials, or even of the pendulum of the grandfather clocks.

We must always be careful that whatever trademark of a logo, whether it be of a cartoon character, university, corporation, major baseball league or NFL or PGA, that we either have the requisite permissions and/or that we are not violating any trademark or copyright laws when we produce custom grandfather clocks.  The same holds true when we are making customized wall clocks, custom office clocks, atomic clocks, or mantel clocks.  The same rules apply as for a custom grandfather clock.

As most readers would imagine, individuals can be quite creative when coming up with ideas for customized grandfather clocks.  Pictures of loved ones on the dial, a sketch of an individual on the pendulum bob, wedding anniversary pictures — the perfect wedding anniversary gift — pictures of the bride and groom to be, or shortly afterward with an actual wedding photo can be the ideal wedding gift.  Then there are grandfather clocks with cartoon characters, company logos, individual names, and many other variations.  Grandfather clocks with customized sounds or voices, or even custom clock chimes, is a request we get quite often.  We may one day be able to meet this market need, but not as of yet.

Many organizations use the customization of grandfather clocks or mantle clocks in particular as recognition awards, sales achievement gifts, years of service award, retirement gifts, corporate party gifts, incentive awards, and for promotional incentives or specialty gift prizes.

How creative can you be in the design of a one of a kind grandfather clock?  Grandfather clocks are a gift that can be treasured by generations, and an interesting of effective customization could help in making the floor clock or grandmother clock even more of an heirloom quality special piece of furniture than it ever otherwise could be.  Tell that one to your interior decorator or when consulting with your interior designer on your home decor.

Until these specific and wonderful Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks and Hermle Grandfather Clock Models run out or year-end, whichever comes first, we are offering discounts on these select models of up to 50% and more off of the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).

We have 3 models of grandfather clocks that fall in to this category, 2 Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks and 1 Hermle Grandfather Clock.  All are cable driven grandfather clocks which are popular and higher-end grandfather clocks amongst the highest-end floor clocks.  The Hermle grandfather clock was made 100% in Germany, including both the case and the German Hermle mechanical weight-driven movement.  The 2 Howard Miller grandfather clocks are both designed by Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and general home decor and home and interior decorating and home and office design fame.  These elegant contemporary grandfather clocks also have German weight driven cable driven movements, made by Kieninger, and the cases are Made in the USA at Howard Miller’s Michigan Factory. Some of these clocks might well also be considered grandmother clocks, and are always known as floor clocks.

These are the three grandfather clocks and grandfather clock discounts you may want to take a very special look at:

Howard Miller Joslin Grandfather Clock 611-156 611156

Hermle Grandfather Clock Model 01166-Q20461

Howard Miller Harvest Moon Grandfather Clock 611-146 611146

These are three grandfather clock specials that will not come likely come along again anytime soon.  It is somewhat ironic that this post is being put up just after Black Friday came to an end and Cyber Monday is ending.  But if you are the sort of grandfather clocks shopper who is looking for grandfather clocks on sale, and looking for coupon codes for 1-800-4CLOCKS.com, these are the best deals you are likely to see both now and for some time to follow.

When shopping for grandfather clocks, how are people able to tell not only good values on specific clocks, but also whether the floor clocks they are consider are truly of good quality.  A basic grandfather clocks shopping thresh-hold question should be, in our view, whether people, once they know and have researched clock options, would truly consider the grandfather clock to be of heirloom quality.

Making the determination that a particular floor clock, or even brand of grandfather clock,  is one of the finest kinds of grandfather clocks available, is quite difficult for people who are new to shopping in this niche.  Being a smart grandfather clock shopper can be extremely difficult, especially as more and more of the low cost imitations flood the marketplace.  And guess what, the cheap imitations frequently look a lot like the high quality grandfather clocks in the photos advertising them.

Some of the inevitable surprises or risks of surprises when not shopping as an informed or educated customer include having to assemble clocks, having grandfather clocks with inferior movements, cases that may have plastic, or plywood at best.  The sad reality is that many of the so-called grandfather clocks sold today, including some at major department stores, can be legitimately classified as standing pieces of junk.  We get calls daily from customers wanted to know how to operate, or how to put together, their new xyz grandfather clocks.  Interestingly, many of them are given names that are quite misleading because they are named after specific models of well regarded grandfather clocks.  But the same name is where the relationship ends.  When we suggest these unfortunate consumers contact the manufacturer or the retailer who sold the clock to them, or consult the instruction manual included with the grandfather clock, we are almost always met with the responses that there was no instruction manual and that the retailer they purchased the grandfather clock from has no further information available.

So how can a grandfather clock or grandmother clock shopper be smart about getting a great quality floor clock while still getting a great discount, including grandfather clocks on sale, before they plunge in and make the big purchase?  Like most things in life, doing ones homework pays off in so many ways.  Consult people who know the differences between the major brands and who can explain the different types of grandfather clocks, such as quartz driven movements vs. cable driven grandfather clock movements vs. chain driven grandfather clocks.  The best place is a grandfather clocks specialty shop, like 1-800-4CLOCKS.com, where the people in their stores will take the time to explain these and other differences.

Differences between grandfather brands is also key to making the right purchase decision.  Understanding Howard Miller Clocks and Hermle Clocks and Ridgeway Clocks, as examples, is key to beginning to understand the potential differences and similarities with, say, a Howard Miller Grandfather Clock and a Hermle Floor Clock.

An educated consumer is the best shopper.

With Black Friday approaching in just a few days, and many retailers including furniture stores and grandfather clock shops alike have been having so-called early Black Friday sales, we at 1-800-4CLOCKS are sticking to our year-round grandfather clock discounts and grandfather clocks on sale pricing strategy where we aim to offer the lowest price available all the time, and every time of the year.  Add great customer service with the sale of grandfather clocks, mantel clocks, and wall clocks, it is our goal to surprise and delight the customer year round, absolutely including the period from Thanksgiving and through Christmas.

As many weddings take place during this upcoming seasonal Holiday period marking Thanksgiving and Christmas, we continue to also see many grandfather clocks shoppers who our using our Stores and website as a kind of bridal registry, for that perfect wedding gift, most frequently given as a present from the parents of the bride or groom to be.

Many grandfather clock shoppers are taking their time, not only of courses comparing prices, but also trying to understand, and taking the time and effort to make sure they do understand, the differences between different types of grandfather clocks, such as cable driven grandfather clocks vs. chain driven grandfather clocks, as well as difference both between brand such as Howard Miller Clocks and Hermle Clocks and Ridgeway Clocks, as well as differences between different clock models within and between various brands and types of clocks.  The major advantage of shopping with us is that we take the time both to educate the customer on the basics, as well as to get down to the very nitty gritty details many well informed customers and smart shoppers want to understand before making a final decision.

It is probably our single greatest advantage in being able to add value as a specialty store staffed by grandfather clock experts, as well as experts in all types of clocks including mantle clocks and wall clocks.  Go to a major Department Store or Mass Merchandiser or even  a furniture store and ask any semi-sophisticated question about a grandfather clock they may have available for sale, and the odds are overwhelming the answer you get, while perhaps not silence, may actually be of negative value because of their lack of expertise in this area.

We welcome inquiries from grandfather clock and grandmother clock shoppers, as well as people on the hunt for atomic clocks, wall clocks, and mantel clocks.  Whether a mechanical grandfather clock by Howard Miller Clocks, or a quartz chiming Floor Clock by Hermle, or a quartz wall clock by Ridgeway Clocks, we will be here to discuss all your questions.

And not unimportant, we also love what we do, and are quite enthusiastic about most all types of quality clocks.

1-800-4CLOCKS.com is very pleased to announce the introduction of Rhythm Clocks, complete with videos of the Rhythm Wall Clocks and Rhythm Mantel Clocks in motion.  Our only regret is that Rhythm has yet to make Grandfather Clocks, as far as we know.

For those of you who have not seen Rhythm Clocks in action, you will likely be amazed if not mesmerized by the sight, movement, and sounds that these Rhythm Clocks make.

Take a look at this link which features this clock.  Beneath the photo of the clock, you will see a video with a built in player where you can see and hear this clock on our very own website:

Rhythm Grand Encore Legend Wall Clock

Click on this link to see this  and other Ryhthm clocks in motion, with moving images and sound, on our website at    http://www.1-800-4clocks.com/Rhythm-Clocks-Grand-Encore-Legend_4MH834WB06

You might also want to take a look at our Animated Clocks and novelty clocks, including the Simone Cat Clock and the KitCat Clocks, dog clocks, a Felix the Cat Clock, and even a Betty Boop wall clock.

And please do not forget to look at our extensive collection of Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks, Ridgeway Clocks, Floor Clocks by Hermle, and a great selection of wall clocks and mantle clocks and atomic clocks by Howard Miller.