DIYbanter - View Single Post - Customers purchacing their own material (long)

thetiler

wrote:
I'm really wondering why any contractor should make money on the
supplies they use to do a job.

It's called responsibility. If there are any problems or even
future problems with the materials, I'll be held liable.
To not make some money for that risk would be foolish.

If you charge a proper hourly amount
(or fixed amount by job - whatever), IMO, you should not need to charge
any markup on supplies.

"Markup" or whatever you call it, is simply payment
for dealing with and handling/hauling/guaranteeing the
materials.

I am happy to pay a contractor for their work (including time it may
take to obtain/determine necessary supplies). I'm not willing to pay
him/her for someone else's work (the supplies themselves).

Are you willing to pay for material failures? Materials
can fail. It is rare but does happen. More common is
materials that come damaged, or mis-matched shades
and dye lots. All this causes a hassle, and the contractor
sure can't look at the customer and say "sorry, it's your
problem". You're paying a "markup" on the material so
the contractor is responsible for it all.

This is
part of the reason I've started to do most repair/remodel work myself.
Finding an honest and reliable contractor these days is difficult at
best.

I do most personal repair/remodel work myself too because
I'm able to, but most of my customers are not able or
willing to do tilework.
It's true there are a lot of bad contractors. People must
really do their homework and check out potential contractors.

thetiler