DIYbanter - View Single Post - Any tricks for getting "contractor" discount on supplies?

(Greg) writes:
Everyone here seems to be ignoring the value to the supply house of having a
pro come in, buy whole boxes of things at a time and signing for them. When
this is all handled by the computer the paper flows and costs are reduced. If
the counter man is wasting time answering dumb questions, breaking boxes and
handling cash it simply costs more. Of course volume decides what column the
contractor gets priced in. I suppose Harry Homeowner wants the same price as a
contractor who rolls a few million bucks worth of supplies off the dock.

Not ignored at all -- in all my posts, I have acknowledged that volume
allows for some discount, however the impact of volume is much less
than people think given the increasing efficiency of retail sales and
the supply chain behind it. Second, even contractors don't buy all
that much volume in the grand scheme of things. Third, many if not
most contractors don't buy all that much volume of any single part;
rather, they come in every day (or sometimes several times a day)
making a series of relatively small purchases -- the advantages of
volume are mostly about single part/single transaction volume rather than annualized transaction
volume.