Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. The metal content and gauge or weight may not be the same even if they look the same -- the differences may not be visible, especially when they are displayed hung on a wall above your head, but the use and wear will be very different.

I have shopped Ferguson's but have not used them so far. What was the nearest store when I did my kitchen was hard to work with when I wasn't working with a builder, but there is a new store closer to us and I may work with them on a bathroom coming up.

Thanks for the info. Okay, scrap the part where I compared to HD pricing. Still, the price quote we received is higher than Ferguson's showroom pricing. And yet, the prices for spec items deducted are ~50% less than Ferguson's price (are they really able to get the spec fixtures 1/2 off?). The lady that handles plumbing at Ferguson's does not want to comment on the pricing, as it is from the plumbing company. We asked if we could get the freestanding tub elsewhere. Plumbing company said we could, but they would charge us $1000 (not sure for what), and of course there will be no warranty. Also, a minimum $500 on top of that if not all the fixtures are there when they come install. We don't get to talk to the plumbers directly, it is always through the builder's coordinator. What would you do? Are these additional fees common practices?

I bought 2 Kohler Memoirs sinks at Fergusons after receiving 2 broken sinks from Amazon. They ended up costing me less than the showroom price and less than Amazon. This may be because I caught them overcharging me when I went to the warehouse to pick them up. Maybe they gave me the contractor's discount because I went out in the woods to find the place.

My sinks are perfect. I asked the guy who carried them out to open the boxes for inspection.
It does sound as though your plumbers are overcharging. We are doing most of our own sourcing after learning we could save a lot by NOT using our GCs vendors. But, you are kind of stuck with your crews, unless your GC lets you fire them and you source another company. I have been put in that spot twice when we were overcharged on the foundation and the masonry. It happens.

This post was edited by musicgal on Mon, Jun 9, 14 at 19:31

You're paying a standard change order fee, plus the contractor's markup %. It's industry wide standard practice. ''Overcharging'' is a misnomer. All contractors mark up parts or they charge a higher labor rate if they don't.

Do you have a good relationship with GC? If so, perhaps show him price difference. But...I do know it's fairly common practice to subs to mark up materials by 15%. My brother in law, who used to be a GC, did that on all his materials.

That's complete BS for the plumber to charge more!! They are seeing what they can get away with.

Hollysprings - here's what I don't get. I think plumbers are already getting items at a discount. Why would they charge even more than sticker price? If they charge sticker price, they already have a profit. Builder said at the start that they don't charge anything for a change order, just for the difference in cost materials. But then again, it is a super inflated difference haha.

Michelle1973 - unfortunately, no relationship whatsoever. I think at this point we hate each other actually. We have called them out many times on things they promised but did not deliver on. We have pointed out the pricing discrepancy, and the coordinator does nothing but act as a messenger between us and the plumbers, sending emails back and forth. No mediation whatsoever. I understand that their loyalty is with this company because they will be done with us once our house is done, but still continue working with this company. However, I think there should also be a balance between trying to achieve customer satisfaction and maintaining good relationship with subs.

This sounds like a track builder??

So sorry northpole, that you have those feelings about your GC. We have a fairly good relationship with ours, and things are still strained. For us, the difference is that we are paying for everything independently... actually received two toilets myself at the new house and inspected them with the help of my subs. Those toilets were $300 apiece, marked down from $500 had I let someone else handle all that for me. It all adds up.

Not for the weak of heart, building a house. When I threatened to fire my masonry crew, they sprang into life like sea monkeys.

I am a professional civil engineer and do most of my own plumbing work whenever I can. I decided to try the main Ferguson store in San Diego for some plumbing items and was very surprised by the high prices for pipe fixtures. Ferguson does not put prices on anything and the counter staff will look up the prices on a computer. I did not buy anything from the San Diego store and I asked a contractor friend to see if he could get a better price, which he did. Apparently contractors pay 40% less than the average Joe or civil engineer. No worries, I buy most of my plumbing and building items online now.

No to Ferguson's. Go wherever you get the deal and also quality. Watch out for the box box stores though as some of the parts are cheap plastic vs. metal.

Stay away from Ferguson's! We used them because they were our builder's default source, but they refuse to back any of the items we bought. Our $12k oven was ordered with the wrong configuration and makes horrendous noises, there's "nothing they can do", sent us phone numbers of their suppliers so WE could chase it down.

I had to chase an item down for a customer that I'd ordered from Fergusons today. They told me they'd call me back and did, but this was the first time they've done so after saying they would in about 4 similar inquiries. I buy tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff every year and this is how I get treated.

beyond discounts then mark up to the customer… Contractors use stores like Fergusens because they do everything for them rather than needing to pick out and order supplies themselves such at a big box store. Of course the customer pays for the extra service the contractor is getting. .