If the product number is exactly the same, it's the same product.

Thanks, @sushipup1. Costco doesn't seem to have the product number listed on their website. Appreciate your input.

Costco does have an excellent return policy, just in case!

Call the manufacturer and ask if they are the same or made differently for Costco.

Whether you buy it at Home Depot or at Costco or at your high price local plumbing store, the products are identical if they are the same product number. Admittedly, the product number is sometimes harder to locate at Costco, but I bought a Hansgrohe kitchen faucet from Costco earlier this year and the construction was clearly top quality. And besides Costco's return policy, many name brand plumbing manufacturers provide lifetime warranties. Last year I got a 15 year old Moen faucet replaced for free, and this year I got free replacement cartridges for a Newport Brass shower valve.

" Last year I got a 15 year old Moen faucet replaced for free,"

Yes, that is great customer service. I have had similar experiences. The problem is when it is not just a simple replacement part but the whole faucet, for instance. Most of us have to hire a plumber to have that done which is very expensive!

Thanks for your input, everyone! Yes my concern is more with the cost of hiring a plumber....we are buying plumbing fixtures for new construction, so there are a lot of faucets to install (and a lot that could have problems). Our builder will warrant the plumber costs for products purchased from Ferguson's (I think for 1 year), but we are on the own for plumber costs if we purchase from a Costco or a big box store and the faucet is faulty or breaks within the first year. Just trying to figure out what kind of quality we will be getting if we go the Costco route. I think I'll order from Costco (presuming I can find the product number on the box somewhere) and see if they match up. I contacted Hansgrohe to inquire, too - good suggestion, @snookms!

Buy from Costco and save the money. An installed faucet that functions fine after the install is highly unlikely to have a problem in the first year, so your contractor's assurance is easy for him as he's probably never had to follow through. Then, learn how to change out a faucet in case you ever need to in the future. It's one of the easiest DIY projects and will save you having to spend big bucks on a plumber. The last time I did one, it took 10 minutes to remove the old one, and another 20 minutes to install the replacement. Make sure you keep all the receipts for your purchases in a file along with the installation instructions...uninstalling is a lot easier when you have the install instructions to refer to 10 years from now.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and suggestions. For other people who may have a similar question, here is the response I received from Hansgrohe:

The main difference
between items sold at Costco, is that Costco offers a select few products,
while other showrooms offer our full line. The price differentiation you
see is based on Costco’s buying power: they are able to buy in bulk and pass
that savings on to the consumer.

The differences within Hansgrohe are mainly between Hansgrohe, our premium
line, and Axor, our luxury designer lines. All products are made in Germany,
however Hansgrohe products are hand finished in the United States, while Axor
products are produced, start to finish, exclusively in Germany.

I have attached the installation guides for the Talis C and Metris faucets sold
at Costco for your review. It includes includes function and install
information. Please let me know if you have any specific questions
regarding either of these!

We remodeled a condo the included changing to plumbing and fixtures in two bathrooms and a kitchen. The fixtures were all brushed nickel from Hansgrohe (showers), Moen (kitchen faucets), and Kohler (bath sink faucets). Some fixtures were suggested by someone on Gardenweb.

We visited a Ferguson showroom but purchased everything online from either faucetsdirect or efaucets. Key is item part number. Big Box Stores tended to have 2nd tier products from all companies.

Our plumber stood behind their work. No problems after 2 years with any products.

The Hansgrohe Thermobalance I - Tango C cross handle shower valve trim control that we really like in our condo is no longer available.

Does anyone know if the Hansgrohe Tango C widespread bath faucet from Costco is made in China?

My guess is the Costco purchasing model is different than HD. Like Wal Mart, HD has the buying power to dictate new models built to their specifications in the race to the bottom. Its impacting the whole industry w lots of sub branding and off shore factories. Costco is an opportunistic bulk purchaser or surplus or overstock so some offerings are temporary and I find mostly high quality items at the store weekly,

My client supplied some of these Hansgrohe last year. They were fine but we couldn't find a CA approved matching tub supply. I also decided to buy 9 under sink leak detectors so I could sleep well. No issues.

I like that one can see these in person at the store before purchase.

The online purchased stainless sinks were packaged spectacularly like a cell phone, for $200, but were not perfectly square as their templates.

Jeffrey-

I doubt that Costco is dictating specs to major manufacturers (presumably so they are cheaper and lower quality?). No major brand like Handsgrohe is going to compromise their reputation by providing Costco with a substandard product. It’s the same reason that big box stores don’t have “special” faucets that look identical to more expensive ones, and have the same product number, but cheapo internals. That concept is another urban myth that has been disproven. I’ve bought lots of stuff from Costco over the last 20 years, including faucets, and never had an issue. And if I would have, I know that Costco probably has the most generous, no-questions-asked return policy.

Costco does have enormous buying power, but that translates into getting quality products that they can offer at good prices, not in getting lower quality products that they offer at cheap prices.

@kudzu9 That's what I said.

Jeffrey- You’re right. I misunderstood what you were implying in your post.

I beg to differ. While the big box, mass merchants may not dictate specifications and certainly whomever isn’t manufacturing “special” faucets, the big box stores do have enough purchasing power to dictate price. As in, “we’re willing to buy a 100,000 faucets but we’ll only pay x dollars per faucet.” It’s up to the manufacturer figure out how to make a faucet at x dollars each and still turn a profit. All too often that means cheaper components and, of course, labor. Then the manufacturer may be required to provide signage (POP), displays, labor to move the displays, and buy-back of merchandise that doesn’t sell.

Want some interesting reading, try “slotting fees” in grocery stores.

mike-

But if one is looking for a particular faucet, the manufacturer will not use the same product number on items of differing quality even if they look the same or similar externally. I'm aware that big box stores carry some cheap faucets that may be of marginal quality, but they will have their own product numbers. I'm also aware that the big box stores carry or can special order quality products that are identical to what you would get at a plumbing supplier, but often at a better price. If customers buy well-regarded name brands and check product numbers, there should be no concerns that they will unknowingly get duped by a big box store.

I guess I could have phrased that differently. I wasn’t implying that a manufacturer would use the same product number for two different products sold at two different stores. But rather than the big box stores do have enormous influence on the quality of products we purchase because price IS the driver. Moen, Delta, Kohler sell $80 faucets and $800 faucets. The later aren’t on display at the big box stores (because they don’t sell) but are available as a special order (which a lot of people don’t realize).

Big box stores will often have a different letter or number system. For instance, Home Depot will place HD at the end of a prodct number , and yes, it IS definitely different quality.

any thoughts on Costco Hansgophe shower system (with 1.8GPM shower head) , has a rain shower and hand held. was listed at $599 at costco, similar ( slightly better showerhead 2.5GPM ) sells for $1400 elsewhere. Its very confusing trying to compare these as costco does not provide part numbers. I am almost leaning to getting the $1400 one to be safe, thanks

If you are flipping a house, buy the Costco unit and let the future homeowner deal with the lack of product documentation and likely difficulty in sourcing replacement parts. If it's for your long term use, buy the real thing. Would recommend Grohe over Hasgrohe for the simple fact that the former is not selling Chinese made ___ under their brand name in US big-box stores. Also the Groheflex universal rough-in box is a genius product that ensures a quality shower valve install and provides a way to change out the cartridge without having to turn off the water main.

Awesome. Thanks, not flipping, so want something good and reliable. I will also check on Grohe. The store I went to, recommended Hansgrohe, but now with information, I will get back to them! Thanks again

Which do you go with, @JASPREET SINGH ? I am in the same quandry.