I just purchased a Delta faucet from my local home center, and was
discussing it at dinner with a friend who's brother works at a
plumbings supply house and he said "You know, the faucets they sell at
Home Depot are an inferior quality to the ones sold at the plumber's
supplyl" I responded with a reasonably feigned "wild, oh really.. "
followed up by him with a "yea - the insides of those are all cheap and
plastic, but the plumbers supply ones are solid metal' .. I again
tried the "wow, O really?" response let the topic fade away.. but I
admit its been gnawing at me..

So I did a search .. found several threads - one concluded 'Hogwash'
the other was up in the air - my brief research reveals that it is. .
.. . hogwash..

From Delta's site:
http://www.deltafaucet.com/wps/porta...sold+at+retail
------------
Frequently Asked Questions

Click on a topic below to view answers to commonly asked questions.
Q: What are the differences between Delta Faucet models sold to the
trade and those sold at retail?
A: There are no differences. All Delta faucets are the same quality
regardless of distribution channel.

Was This Answer Helpful To You?

-----

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone save
a few minutes - and sleep easier.

I know consumer reports just did cordless drills the Hitachi drill sold
at lowes was the same but the battery was of a lower capacity 2.5 vs 3
amp/hr if I recall. I always go by weight when looking at fixtures for
the most part. Brass is heavy

wrote:

I just purchased a Delta faucet from my local home center, and was
discussing it at dinner with a friend who's brother works at a
plumbings supply house and he said "You know, the faucets they sell at
Home Depot are an inferior quality to the ones sold at the plumber's
supplyl" I responded with a reasonably feigned "wild, oh really.. "
followed up by him with a "yea - the insides of those are all cheap
and plastic, but the plumbers supply ones are solid metal' .. I again
tried the "wow, O really?" response let the topic fade away.. but I
admit its been gnawing at me..

So I did a search .. found several threads - one concluded 'Hogwash'
the other was up in the air - my brief research reveals that it is. .
. . hogwash..

From Delta's site:
http://www.deltafaucet.com/wps/porta...Sj9SPykssy0xPL
MnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLd4439goDSZnFW8aHOepHogtZIoR8PfJzU_W D9L31A_QLckMjyh0dFQH
bXu93/delta/base64xml/L0lDU0lKQ1RPN29na21BISEvb0VvUUFBSVFnakZJQUFRaENF
SVFqR0VBLzRKRmlDbzBlaDFpY29uUVZHaGQtc0lRIS83X0NfOE pCLzIw?WCM_PORTLET=P
C_7_C_8JB_WCM&WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=http://wcmprd1.deltafaucet.com:9081/w
ps/wcm/connect/www.deltafaucet.com/Customer+Support/Frequently+Asked+Q
uestions/General/What+are+the+differences+between+Delta+Faucet+mode ls+
sold+to+the+trade+and+those+sold+at+retail ------------ Frequently
Asked Questions

Click on a topic below to view answers to commonly asked questions.
Q: What are the differences between Delta Faucet models sold to the
trade and those sold at retail?
A: There are no differences. All Delta faucets are the same quality
regardless of distribution channel.

Was This Answer Helpful To You?

-----

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone
save a few minutes - and sleep easier.

wrote in :

On 1 Dec 2006 16:22:24 -0800, wrote:

Click on a topic below to view answers to commonly asked questions.
Q: What are the differences between Delta Faucet models sold to the
trade and those sold at retail?
A: There are no differences. All Delta faucets are the same quality
regardless of distribution channel.


True if the model numbers are the same.


For a single piece unit yes. If the box contains anything else
(accessories, wrench, anything at all) then it's a kit#. Different kits can
have the same main unit (same model number). If you really want to know if
it's different, look at the UPC. If it is different then something is
different inside.

There might be a slight difference that you don't care about. In many
industries, one wants to stock as few replacement parts as necessary.
Therefore a good plumbing supply store will carry faucets for
bath/kithen sinks that use the same parts -- sometimes showers too. An
owner might spec that they want they type of fixture so they can keep
fewer parts on hand. A retail store isn't concerned about that and
might want you to buy as many parts as possible.


wrote:
I just purchased a Delta faucet from my local home center, and was
discussing it at dinner with a friend who's brother works at a
plumbings supply house and he said "You know, the faucets they sell at
Home Depot are an inferior quality to the ones sold at the plumber's
supplyl" I responded with a reasonably feigned "wild, oh really.. "
followed up by him with a "yea - the insides of those are all cheap and
plastic, but the plumbers supply ones are solid metal' .. I again
tried the "wow, O really?" response let the topic fade away.. but I
admit its been gnawing at me..

So I did a search .. found several threads - one concluded 'Hogwash'
the other was up in the air - my brief research reveals that it is. .
. . hogwash..

From Delta's site:
http://www.deltafaucet.com/wps/porta...sold+at+retail
------------
Frequently Asked Questions

Click on a topic below to view answers to commonly asked questions.
Q: What are the differences between Delta Faucet models sold to the
trade and those sold at retail?
A: There are no differences. All Delta faucets are the same quality
regardless of distribution channel.

Was This Answer Helpful To You?

-----

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone save
a few minutes - and sleep easier.

wrote:

Was This Answer Helpful To You?

-----

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone save
a few minutes - and sleep easier.


Thats just marketing spin that may or may not be correct. If they have
to cut quality because of pricing pressure by big box stores they
certainly aren't going to publicly acknowledge what they are doing.

The only way to know for sure would be if you actually worked there or
knew a trusted person who did.

George wrote:
wrote:

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone save
a few minutes - and sleep easier.


Thats just marketing spin that may or may not be correct.

They can't actually *lie*. It just means that if you find something
with the exact same SKU at the two stores, they're the same thing.

However, there's nothing stopping them from making a special model for
the big box stores that isn't actually sold to the trade (or vice versa)...

Chris

wrote:
I just purchased a Delta faucet from my local home center, and was
discussing it at dinner with a friend who's brother works at a
plumbings supply house and he said "You know, the faucets they sell at
Home Depot are an inferior quality to the ones sold at the plumber's
supplyl" I responded with a reasonably feigned "wild, oh really.. "
followed up by him with a "yea - the insides of those are all cheap and
plastic, but the plumbers supply ones are solid metal' .. I again
tried the "wow, O really?" response let the topic fade away.. but I
admit its been gnawing at me..

So I did a search .. found several threads - one concluded 'Hogwash'
the other was up in the air - my brief research reveals that it is. .
. . hogwash..

From Delta's site:
http://www.deltafaucet.com/wps/porta...sold+at+retail
------------
Frequently Asked Questions

Click on a topic below to view answers to commonly asked questions.
Q: What are the differences between Delta Faucet models sold to the
trade and those sold at retail?
A: There are no differences. All Delta faucets are the same quality
regardless of distribution channel.

Was This Answer Helpful To You?

Lower quality, not necessarily.

Overpriced, yes.

While this is slightly off topic from faucets, my recent experience
when trying to price shop a garbage disposer supports Chris's "special
model" point.

Both Home Depot and Lowes carry the Insinkerator Evolution line of
disposers, but they do not carry the same models. For example, Lowes
carries the SpaceSaver, HD carries the Compact. Different model numbers
and only slight differences in features - one has an 1/8 of horsepower
more than the other, but the other has a "reversing motor". The same
holds true as you work your way up the Insinkerator line. There is no
way to compare prices on a same-model basis.

I can only assume the same holds true in the faucet aisle. I doubt you
could take a faucet SKU or model number from HD over to your local
plumbing supply house and find the matching item, even on name brand
merchandise.

Besides, even the most rookie DIY homeowner can get some kind of
discount off list at a plumbing supply house just by asking. And if you
need some type of special fixture or professional installation advice,
it's readily available at the supply house.


Chris Friesen wrote:
George wrote:
wrote:

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone save
a few minutes - and sleep easier.


Thats just marketing spin that may or may not be correct.

They can't actually *lie*. It just means that if you find something
with the exact same SKU at the two stores, they're the same thing.

However, there's nothing stopping them from making a special model for
the big box stores that isn't actually sold to the trade (or vice versa)...

Chris

The response below is correct. I work at HD and we can have more than
one SKU on a particular product. Sometimes they are exactly the same,
sometimes not. If I do a computer check on a specific product at the
store it may be supplied to HD from 6 different vendors that all get it
from differenct manufacturers. GE does not make their own water heaters.
Daltile gets their tile from many different sources. In a global market
place, your brand name product is probably manufactured from different
sources and supplied by different vendors and sold under different names
or models to different stores in different lots.

While this is slightly off topic from faucets, my recent experience
when trying to price shop a garbage disposer supports Chris's "special
model" point.

Both Home Depot and Lowes carry the Insinkerator Evolution line of
disposers, but they do not carry the same models. For example, Lowes
carries the SpaceSaver, HD carries the Compact. Different model
numbers and only slight differences in features - one has an 1/8 of
horsepower more than the other, but the other has a "reversing motor".
The same holds true as you work your way up the Insinkerator line.
There is no way to compare prices on a same-model basis.

I can only assume the same holds true in the faucet aisle. I doubt you
could take a faucet SKU or model number from HD over to your local
plumbing supply house and find the matching item, even on name brand
merchandise.

Besides, even the most rookie DIY homeowner can get some kind of
discount off list at a plumbing supply house just by asking. And if
you need some type of special fixture or professional installation
advice, it's readily available at the supply house.


Chris Friesen wrote:
George wrote:
wrote:

So there .. that settles it for me. And maybe it will help someone
save a few minutes - and sleep easier.


Thats just marketing spin that may or may not be correct.

They can't actually *lie*. It just means that if you find something
with the exact same SKU at the two stores, they're the same thing.

However, there's nothing stopping them from making a special model
for the big box stores that isn't actually sold to the trade (or vice
versa)...

Chris