Axiom has high standards when it comes to quality control during manufacturing. If a speaker even has the slightest nick or blemish, most times impossible to find, it gets discounted. They carry the same warranty, and are technically the same as the A stock. The standard line and custom shop are in a vinyl wrap, as most companies mfg. They do have a custom wood shop as well at a premium price.
I started a poll a few years ago on the Axiom thread, if memory serves me correctly, about 60% of the people who took the poll, purchased all or part of their speakers from the outlet.
My first 7.1 setup in mansfield beech and current 7.3 setup in Ebony Pica came from the outlet, and I have yet to find anything wrong cosmetically.
The left/right surrounds are pretty important for movie watching, as is a sub. The 60's put out some great bass, but won't reach as low as the sub channel. Some people leave out a center, and use the mains in phantom mode, which is done by turning off the center channel in the receiver. The VP100 is also a great center and very similar to the VP150. For large rooms the VP150 does a little better.
If your room is small the EP125 would be fine, but I would try to get the new EP350v3 if budget allows, it is killer over the previous EP350v2. I just figured from the factory outlet if you got 2 x 60's, 2 x Qs8's, 1 x vp100, 1 350v3 it would be $2,175 total. You could leave off the center or sub for now, but keep in mind you need to purchase 5 items to get the extra 5% on top of the 10% from the FO.
In regards to cables, buy everything from Monoprice.com , don't waste your money on Monster or other expensive hype cables.
There is no tax.