1. your paying for the Shaw name.

2. are the tiles the same thickness?

3. there can be quite a variation in Carrara tile. thus, you may be paying for a lesser quality Carrara. the preferred Carrara has fewer grey veins.

4. did the online price include shipping charges?

Lots of variation in quality around. Be sure you understand what you are getting into using natural stone in a bathroom. I see nasty molded and rusted ones torn out on a regular basis from people who wanted the fashion and not the reality.

Talk with your professional tile setter to find out where he purchases his quality materials. If you furnish the materials, you assume all responsibility for them and the problems that they bring to the job, including uneven setting on the mesh, inconsistent thickness, poor matching fill, and all around poor quality.

Yes, be prepared to pay more for quality than seconds. The average master bath is around 30K. The average temple to marble Houzz bath is going to be double that. More, in a high COL area like SoCal or Boston.

You are also paying for the salespersons time and knowledge, as well as the overhead to keep the mortgage paid and lights on. Unless you are looking at the exact same product online often it's a knockoff. Depending on your use the cheaper product can be fine.

The tiles are the same thickness - 3/8", different brands. Shipping for the tile is free from the retailers I've looked at (Home Depot - ships free to the store - and The Builder Depot - free to home). Overall very good reviews from customers. We are using the tile on the floor of the bathroom, not in a shower base. The difference in price is well over $1000 for the amount we need ... I value shopping locally and the expertise/service of the salesperson, but the price tag seems quite steep.

There really is such a huge quality difference in marble. We have it for a kitchen backsplash. Go to somewhere like Ann Sacks or Marble Systems then go to Home Depot. There is no comparison, you can pay a little more or less but you get what you pay for.