Do your research, know exactly what you want by name, make, model and part
number, and find out the retail price, go to a local wholesaler of that item
and ask his price. Ask for his trade price it should be anywhere from 10% to
33.3% lower than retail. If you act professionally, they may give you the
trade price. If they don't, try somewhere else.


"Jeffrey J. Kosowsky" wrote in message
...
Now that the Internet has made pricing so transparent, it gets even
more frustrating to walk into a local supply house and realize that
you are not getting the same deal that contractors get.

- Any tricks on how best to get "contractor discounts" from the local
suppy house?

- How big are the discounts typically to their parallel off-the-street
retail (not list) price?

- Is the discount typically the same for plumbing vs. electrical
vs. building materials vs. gardening/landscaping, etc.?

- What about for "finished" fixtures (e.g., lamps, fawcetts,
cabinets) vs. basic materials (e.g., wire, pipe, lumber)?