Can't your plumber pass along his contractor's discount to you? He should get one at that store, which would bring the prices down. We came up with a list of fixtures from the big box stores, then I took it to Kohler (the plumbing store) and their sales guy picked out similar looking/priced fixtures from their stock. I need to go in next week to finalize the list...the decisions are making me crazy. :-( ...we could probably do better with the big box store (price wise), since we can use their discounts for retired military, but like you, I like not having to worry about having the correct parts for everything. I don't trust the big box store to do that.

Ask for a discount.
I went into a local plumbing supply place and they gave me some sort of discount. I paid cash (so they didn't have to set up an account or any extra work) and it was less expensive to do it this way than getting them online (which I have done in the past). (incidentally, if you need to get them online--national builder supply and "weselltoto" dot com both were great. But, as I said, my local plumbing supply was able to beat the online prices, even without me telling them what the online prices were.)

I tried asking for a discount after I compared the local prices with online, and the store said no. They said the reason is that we get a better warranty with them. Not sure about the validity of that statement though.

We are already getting the contractor's discount and it is still at least 20% more.

Am I remembering correctly that you are in in SF Bay Area (south)? If so you might try Saratoga Plumbing Supply in San Jose. We haven't purchased anything yet but we have been looking at Grohe and Hansgrohe and they were quoting prices comparable to or below internet for some of the fixtures we are considering.

A manufacturer's warranty is not effected by source of purchase. I don't understand the "better warranty" claim. I think they're BSing you in an obvious profit grab.

Oak town, that is where we are looking, and their prices are higher than what we can find online.

I think they may offer more if a warranty than the company itself. They will replace any part or fixture that breaks, it is a lifetime guarantee.

"They will replace any part of fixture that breaks, it is a lifetime guarantee"
so long as they are in business.

And, so do Moen and Price Pfister, directly.

Interesting -- seems I need to do a better job looking online. Do you have a secret source? :-) I'm willing to pay a bit more for service and a showroom but 20%-30% is more than just a bit!

PM me and I'll send you my comparision worksheet!

Make sure you include your email in the text of your message.

I just bought mine a few hours ago and got everything from Faucet Direct. They are part of Fergusons, so everything will come from Ferguson without the $3000 extra that they wanted me to pay them.

Faucet direct also gave me 5% off, which helped on an order over $10K.

I've bought our shower fixtures, door handles, and tubs from build.com. Outstanding customer service. We live in a rural area where the choices are non-existent without a 2 hour drive. They are very convenient for me!

The "better warranty" they are referring to that you are paying more for by using the plumber's/GC's vendor has to do with coverage on more than just the fixture itself should it fail. When you buy online/at a non-preferred store, the only thing the plumber/GC will warrant is the install. When you use their supplier, they warrant the fixture, the install & any damage that may occur to surrounding flooring, cabinetry, etc.

So let's say you buy your bathroom sink faucets online, they are defective and fail within the first year of install flooding the vanity cabinetry, warped the custom tub deck, and soaked the carpeting in the adjoining bedroom and closet & destroying the bathroom floor. You call the GC/plumber & they say the install was not to blame, it was the fixture itself. You are now on the hook to contact the manufacturer, handle the warranty replacement hassle yourself + the cost of removal & re-installation of the fixture + repairing all the collateral damage that occurred at your own expense.

Now if you had bought the same fixture through the GC's/plumber's supplier, they would immediately replace the fixture & take care of the warranty paperwork hassle for you with no waiting, they would re-install at no cost & cover the costs of repairing all the collateral damage.

So the next question is, how often do fixtures fail within the first year? I can't say for sure. What I can tell you is that my DM & DD bought all of their fixtures for their5 bd/3.5ba home online & none have failed. We bought most of ours through our GC/plumber's supplier + 2 fixtures online & only 1 has failed --the handshower (supplied by the plumber's supplier) started leaking out the sides of the twist control. It was promptly replaced within a week (it was special order to start with so we felt a week was reasonable).

That leaves the final question of what level of risk are you willing to take / is the 20-30% higher price worth the peace of mind of knowing you're covered in the event that the worst happens? Only you can answer that one.

You may want to do a search on the 'Bathrooms' forum on this topic--there are plenty of threads on there discussing this very topic. To answer your actual question of where we bought our fixtures--the ones we bought ourselves were purchased from www.irawoods.com. Hope this helps!

This post was edited by mydreamhome on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 23:35

Mydreamhome!!! Thanks for the very detailed explanation! That makes sense, and I think we will likely take the "risk" and buy online.

Otherwise, regarding the prices I have found I don't have a secret, I am just a fantastic google-er :) If information is out there, especially if it involves shopping then Incan find it! Ha