BBQGuys review: the grill retailer that acts like a contractor

The 60-second read

BBQGuys is an online specialist retailer for grills, outdoor kitchens and outdoor living, running out of Baton Rouge since 1998. It carries Weber, Napoleon, Blackstone, recteq and Blaze alongside its own BBQGuys Signature line, with grills spanning roughly $480 for a Blackstone griddle to over $7,000 for a Blaze Professional LUX. What separates it from a big-box site is the service layer: free 3D outdoor kitchen design, 0% APR financing, a price match policy and staff who get eight weeks of hands-on product training before they answer a phone.

Buy it if / Skip it if

• Buy it if you are planning a built-in outdoor kitchen and want someone to design it before you commit $10,000

• Buy it if you want to talk to a person who has actually used the grill you are considering

• Buy it if you are buying a premium brand like Blaze, where specialist retailers beat general ones on knowledge

• Buy it if spreading the cost matters and you want financing on a large project

• Buy it if you are a contractor or landscaper and the Pro programme pricing applies to you

• Skip it if you want a basic $200 grill from a shelf today — a hardware store is faster and simpler

• Skip it if you need installation included, because delivery and installation are separate problems

• Skip it if you are buying one commodity item and nothing but the lowest price matters

Who BBQGuys is

BBQGuys has been selling outdoor cooking equipment online since 1998, operating from South Louisiana under ShoppersChoice.com. That longevity matters in a category where most competitors are either enormous general retailers or recent direct-to-consumer brands with one product.

The business runs on three layers. It is a retailer, carrying Weber, Napoleon, Blackstone, recteq, Mont Alpi, Darlee, Bromic and more. It is a house brand, through BBQGuys Signature and Victory, developed by an in-house R&D function. And it is a service business, doing free 3D outdoor kitchen design, running physical design centres, and operating a Pro programme for contractors.

The customer splits in two. One is buying a grill and wants expert help choosing it. The other is planning a whole outdoor kitchen — a far larger project, where design, equipment packages and financing all matter more than the price of any single item.

What BBQGuys does differently

It designs your outdoor kitchen for free, before you spend anything. BBQGuys will produce 3D renderings of your space at no cost. For a project that can easily run past $15,000, being able to see the layout before committing is the single most valuable thing the business offers — and it is the reason people buy a $5,000 grill here rather than from a marketplace listing.

The staff are trained on the products, not on scripts. BBQGuys states its customer service representatives go through eight weeks of hands-on training with the products before taking customers. In a category where the difference between a $900 and a $3,000 grill is genuinely hard to explain, that is the difference between a sale and an expensive mistake.

It develops its own equipment rather than only reselling. BBQGuys Signature covers islands, cabinets and storage, and the Victory line covers accessible grills — the Victory 3-Burner with infrared side burner sits at $599.99. Running an R&D function lets the retailer fill price gaps the brands leave, and it creates margin that funds the free design service.

Financing and Pro pricing turn a purchase into a project. With financing as low as 0% APR available, an outdoor kitchen stops being a lump sum and becomes a monthly figure, which is how most people actually buy one. The Pro programme extends dedicated pricing and support to contractors and landscapers, which is why BBQGuys appears in builds the homeowner never specified directly.

The range, decoded

Products worth your money

Blackstone Original 36-Inch Griddle Cooking Station with Hood — $479.99

Best for: Breakfast, smash burgers, and anyone who cooks for a crowd.

Why it stands out:

• A 36-inch flat-top cooking surface, which does things no grate can — eggs, pancakes, fried rice, smash burgers

• The hood version retains heat better and protects the surface between uses

• The most forgiving entry into outdoor cooking, because nothing falls through

One honest limitation: It is not a grill. If you want sear marks and charcoal flavour, this is the wrong tool entirely.

Bottom line: The best-value item in the catalogue and the one most likely to get used weekly rather than monthly.

Weber Genesis E-325 Propane Gas Grill with Sear Burner — $849

Best for: The default recommendation for most households buying a proper gas grill.

Why it stands out:

• Weber’s Genesis line is the category benchmark, with the parts availability and build quality to justify it

• The sear burner adds high-heat capability that cheaper three-burners lack

• Weber’s warranty and service network are the best in the business, which matters over a ten-year ownership

One honest limitation: At $849 it is well above supermarket grills, and if you cook outdoors three times a summer that is hard to justify.

Bottom line: The grill to buy if you want one decision you will not revisit for a decade.

Blaze Premium LTE 32-Inch 4-Burner Propane Grill with Rear Infrared Burner and Grill Lights — $2,699.98

Best for: Serious grillers who want built-in quality without building anything yet.

Why it stands out:

• A rear infrared burner for rotisserie cooking, which is the feature that separates premium grills from good ones

• Integrated grill lights, genuinely useful for anyone who cooks after dark

• Blaze build quality carries into built-in installations later, so the grill can move into a future outdoor kitchen

One honest limitation: Triple the price of a Weber Genesis, and for casual weekend cooking you will not use what you paid for.

Bottom line: The step up that makes sense if you cook outdoors most weeks and plan to build eventually.

Blaze Professional LUX 34-Inch 3-Burner Natural Gas Grill with Rear Infrared Burner — $5,799.98

Best for: Outdoor kitchen builds where the grill is the centrepiece of the project.

Why it stands out:

• Professional-grade construction intended to sit in a permanent installation for decades

• Natural gas connection, which removes propane tank management entirely

• Rear infrared burner and the heat output a serious cook actually wants

One honest limitation: Natural gas means a gas line, which means a plumber — factor that into the budget before you order.

Bottom line: A project purchase, not a product purchase, and exactly the kind of thing BBQGuys’ free design service exists to support.

What owners actually say

Consistently praised:

• Product knowledge on the phone, which is the single most repeated point in customer feedback

• The free 3D design service, which customers describe as the reason they bought here rather than elsewhere

• Range depth — the brands and configurations a general retailer will not stock

• Packaging and freight condition on large items

Consistently criticised:

• Delivery scheduling on oversized freight items, which is slower and more complicated than parcel shipping

• Returns on large equipment, which are inherently awkward and expensive to arrange

• Price differences against marketplace sellers on commodity items

• Lead times on built-in and custom island configurations during peak season

The money question

For a single commodity item, BBQGuys will not always be the cheapest. There is a price match policy, which narrows that gap, but a marketplace seller clearing stock can still undercut a specialist retailer on a mainstream SKU.

For a project, the maths inverts. If you are planning an outdoor kitchen, the free 3D design service is worth real money — a designer would charge for the same work — and getting the layout right before ordering $12,000 of equipment prevents the kind of mistake that costs far more than any discount saves.

Financing as low as 0% APR is the other lever. On a build running into five figures, spreading the cost without interest changes what is affordable more than any sale does.

Free shipping over $49 covers accessories and smaller items comfortably. Large equipment goes freight, which is where the delivery complexity sits — budget time, not just money.

How it compares

Buying it

Buy from bbqguys.com, or visit one of the physical design centres if an outdoor kitchen is the plan — seeing the equipment at full scale changes decisions.

Free shipping applies on most orders over $49. Financing is available with rates as low as 0% APR on qualifying purchases. There is a price match policy, a rewards programme, and protection plans available on equipment. Pros can register for programme pricing.

On discounts: BBQGuys runs continuous brand-level promotions rather than sitewide sales. Current offers include 10% off Blaze grills with a free toolset, up to $3,000 off BBQGuys Signature islands, up to 20% off Signature cabinets and storage, up to $800 off Mont Alpi islands and up to 30% off selected Bromic heaters. There is also a clearance section and warehouse deals on used and refurbished stock. The deepest cuts land in the pre-Black Friday window and at the end of grilling season.

Questions people ask

Is the outdoor kitchen design service really free?
Yes. BBQGuys produces 3D renderings of your space at no extra cost, and it is the strongest reason to use them over a general retailer for a project build.

What brands do they carry?
Weber, Napoleon, Blackstone, recteq, Blaze, Mont Alpi, Darlee and Bromic among others, plus their own BBQGuys Signature and Victory lines.

Is Blaze worth the premium over Weber?
If you cook outdoors most weeks, want rotisserie capability, or plan a built-in kitchen later, yes. For occasional weekend grilling, a Weber Genesis at $849 does the job and you will not miss what you did not buy.

Do they install?
Delivery and installation are separate considerations, particularly for built-in equipment and natural gas connections, which need a qualified installer. Plan that into the project timeline and budget.

Can I price match?
There is a published price match policy. Check the terms before ordering, since conditions vary by brand and seller type.

Is financing actually 0%?
Rates as low as 0% APR are available on qualifying purchases, subject to approval and terms. Confirm the specific offer at checkout rather than assuming the headline rate applies.

The verdict

BBQGuys has worked out something most online retailers have not: that in a category where the products are expensive, confusing and permanently installed, the service around the sale is worth more than a few percent off the price.

Free 3D design is the clearest example. Outdoor kitchens are the kind of project where people make expensive layout mistakes — a grill too close to a wall, a fridge on the wrong side, a counter run that does not work when two people are cooking. Fixing that on a rendering costs nothing. Fixing it in poured concrete costs thousands. Giving the design away and making it back on the equipment is a smart business model and a genuinely good deal for the customer.

The honest caveat is that none of this helps if you are buying one ordinary grill. For a $300 purchase, the design service is irrelevant, the financing is unnecessary, and a big-box store you can drive to is simpler. BBQGuys is built for the bigger decision, and the bigger the project, the better the case gets.

Use them for the outdoor kitchen, for the premium brands, and for the moment when you genuinely need someone on the phone who has cooked on the thing you are about to buy. For everything smaller, buy wherever is convenient.