I bought everything online... a lot cheaper I think and I didn't have any problems.

It's a mixed bag - the manufacturer warrants the parts but it you buy through the plumber, he'll usually include his labor to replace bad parts. If you buy on your own, you'll pay labor for replacing a defective component.

I bought locally. At the outset, I believe one plumber said he would charge more if he didn't make money off the fixtures. He seemed to think I had a lot of nerve buying what I wanted, but at the time I was unaware they even sold products and made money on markups. The guy who installed my tub said most people just choose things from his binder, which looked very unappealing! I can't imagine anyone doing their bathroom that way, but I am particular about what I like or don't like, on the TKBO side. There was no discussion with whoever ended up installing things, as they were just called in for existing fixtures. So I can't compare pricing with and without. A lot of places are willing to give you the 20% contractor discount, without even asking.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 1:12

I bought things myself, but used my plumber's supply house, which gave me his discount. I had to use my plumber's account, but I paid for them.

Everyone is different, but my plumber didn't have to take the trip to the supply house, which saved him money, and I got exactly what I want. You do lose the warranty on the labor for installation, though, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. I buy good quality plumbing fixtures, and my plumber tests them to make sure everything's working fine. I've never had a problem with this approach. And you definitely save money.

I bought my sink and soap dispenser from expressdecor.com. I bought the faucet locally from Ferguson's because they had it in stock and I wanted a very particular model. We looked and looked at all the local businesses carrying sinks and couldn't find one we wanted. Several online sources carried the Krauss sink we wanted, so we went with best price.

We hired the plumber through a local plumbing outfit to do two very specific jobs: change out the old under-sink connectors to the newer kind and hook up the sink and DW, and install a gas line to the fireplace (different guy, different day). We didn't buy through the plumbing store, just called up and asked for a plumber. We've done this over the years for small jobs like this and couldn't be more pleased with each of the plumbers that have been sent. In no way did hiring their plumbers obligate us to buy the goods from their store.

Mix....some where cheaper going through the builder's supplier, some they couldnt even come close to what I could find online.

I bought from International Bath and Tile in San Diego. They have all the high end brands. I worked over the phone with one of their salespeople who was really knowledgeable. They are a bricks and mortar showroom but sell online and over the phone too.. When I did my bathrooms a couple of years ago, I bought almost everything from them. I had a really good experience, so I went with them again when I did my kitchen. For the kitchen, I got my Julien sink, Waterstone faucets and Forms and Surfaces pulls from them.

We did a kitchen and two bathrooms. We bought online and one sink from the fabricator for the vanity top.

I bought on line and Costco.

I gc'd a whole house reno including master bath addition. Most plumbers with whom I spoke said or at least intimated that they would charge more for labor if I purchased my own fixtures. They make some of their profit by upcharging on goods. That irked me so after interviewing more than 16 plumbers over a year period, I found a finish plumber who just charged me a fair price to install my own fixtures I'd purchased from both a local store (at plumbers pricing) and online. (I hired out all the rough plumbing first from a plumber who I ended up firing for stalling, being difficult, not being able to do the work he said he could, not showing up, not informing me of overages along the way, and being disrespectful. Actually, I had DH fire him because I thought I might finally lose it if I had to deal with him one more time. )

I bought mine in a small shop in PA even though I live in MI.
I tried to find a sample in MI but no one had it - I lucked out and they had it in PA - the rep brought it in for my to ogle and feel - Sold!
Shipped to MI.
GC and plumber were fine with whatever I wanted to do.

I gave my plumber the opportunity to match the prices I found online. He has a showroom and sells the products with or without his services, so I would have been buying directly from him. He couldn't (wouldn't ?), so we used our plumbing fixtures allowance to buy other places. This was for new construction.

We were going to buy through our contractor for new construction through Ferguson's. Got quotes there, then came home & looked at their online shopping and the prices were cheaper. Huh??? That led us to scouring the internet and we bought from build.com - - which I understand is a Ferguson affiliated company. That gave us the best prices. We will probably have warranty issues, but my husband is very good at fixing things so we're not concerned.