I'm looking for inexpensive, but decent quality click lock engineered hardwood for my finished basement. Can anybody point to some reputable brands that I should pay attention to (and brands I should avoid).

Mirage but then it is not "inexpensive". Quality and inexpensive do not go hand in hand.

Kahrs is a good one but like Stephen said quality and price go hand in hand

I totally understand that quality=higher price that's why I said "decent", not "very good". After all that's for basement, not my living room, so I would settle for "decent quality for its price"...

How about the Kahrs Builder grade?

Only 6 few selections but...

http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/Hardwood ... Grade.aspx

It's an option but not your standard looking plank type floor. Lot's of small pieces make up long planks. Some people like it, others do not.

I would love it if people would stop recommending online stores. Hosking's gets their wood from the same distributor I do but they can sell many products cheaper then I can even buy it for. I know the Distributor will say it's because of their volume, give me the same price they are getting and I will sell the volume also. I know other installers that buy from him because i can't match the price but they do check with me. How can we compete?

I know where you're coming from Jeff, but that's the way things have been trending for quite awhile. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the future because some sites now aren't allowed to show pricing. But that may have much to do with how serious each individual manufacturer is when it comes to "protecting" their brand. Kahrs tried it a few years ago (I got a letter saying take down prices, but nobody else followed) but it didn't go far.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/techn ... wanted=all

Its tough to compete especially with the prefinished products. Some manufactures say they wont sell to online retails but its pretty hard to police the internet. If they buy thru distribution then its even harder to police. Ive found too that all it does in general is erode margins to all time lows and becomes more of battle of "how low will you go?" Reminds me of a job I bid this morning, 7000 sf of 3" solid prefinished. He told me the customer has been shopping for three months looking for the best deal. First off I wondered why in the Hell a 3-4mil dollar house is using a cookie cutter 3" Gunstock floor. Then I start to wonder why they would even consider a guy who doesnt even know the differences in grades. Then it comes to me, there just cheap or someone is trying to keep under a unrealistic budget. I gota feeling he would install for a buck a foot, kills me to see a potentially good profitable job go to the dollar a foot guys slaming in cabin grade. yuck.

My thing is it's the same distributor that sells to the both of us, yet he can sell a certain product for $00.17 for less then I can buy it for. If I buy from him rather then the distributor their losing money. They should at least sell it to me for the same as he will.

Good choice. This is a very quality flooring.

Indeed you can't have both, quality and a cheap price, but you can search for he best, I would go for the Bellawod or even Bamboo.