(Jeffrey J. Kosowsky)


"pray4surf" writes:

"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.

Hello Jeffrey!

You've done an admirable job arguing your case, probably won't convince any
pro's here to change their mind...

Thanks.

I'm more interested your repeated allocutions to pricing via the internet.
Would you care to share with the group these internet sources?

I usually use the Internet more for researching what is available and
finding out competitive pricing is more of a side benefit.

As a 'confirmed' DIY'er myself, I'm trying hard to see your point. Whenever
I've gone to specialty suppliers (the contractor's sources) it has always
been armed with specific item numbers/descriptions/quantity information. Be
it from my own research or advice of a hired pro. However, to go from one
specialty house to another takes up *way* more time than simply stopping by
one of the two borgs in my neighborhood. I maybe saving 10-15% at the
specialty shop, but waste a lot of time doing so... I digress...



I don't disagree. In fact, until recently, I used to just go buy
everything at the big box store, until I started hearing rumors of
inferior products masquerading as name brand product -- hard to know
how much of this is just self-serving innuendo served up by threatened
mom-and-pop supply houses, but it has made me hesitate before just
scooping up parts at Home Depot.


The rumors are generally true. The likes of HD and Lowes have the ability to
get manufacturers to make special lines of their product, sold only through
these respective stores.

Case in point - HD made Milwakee replace some metal parts in their power tools
with plastic in order to cut the cost of, and therefore the price to, Home
Depot.

Kwikset and Shlege locks made only for HD or Lowes.

American Standard and some Kohler faucets which look exactly like the ones
available from any plumbing supplier, yet somehow made in China instead of the
USA and for some odd reason, a few ounces lighter.

And, you don't really believe that either HD or Lowes is getting the best
lumber from the mills, and leaving the seconds for the builder's lumberyards,
do you?

Now if doubts about Home Depot quality lead me to start visiting more
supply houses, then at least I don't want to feel like I am paying
twice as much as the guy next to me just because he calls himself a
contractor.

You wouldn't be paying twice as much. But you would be paying more because
professional supply houses cater to the professionals who have a different way
of doing business than your typical retail customer. And while choosing to sell
to professionals or choosing to sell retail both have their pros and cons,
generally, it is more expensive to deal with the public than on a pro-to-pro
basis.

What I don't understand is why so many disgruntled contractors on this
newsgroup are so offended by this to the point of getting nasty and
ad-hominem. I am not forcing anybody to give me better pricing -- it
is a free country and vendors are free to give me discounts or not. In
fact, it would be quite naive and reckless of me not to try to get the
best price for an item. I mean how many people walk into a store when
an item is on sale and say please give me the regular price instead...

I can't speak for anyone else, but if an Item retails for 100 bucks but
contractors get it for 75. because they spend thousands every month, and don't
take up counter employee time, and don't pay for floor space for pretty
displays, and don't have to pay markups due to retail shrink, and don't pay for
air conditioning and heating hundreds of thousands of sq. ft. of storage
space... and that wholesaler starts catering to retail clients and all it's
added expenses as if there was no comparison, I'd be a little miffed too.