Complete and utter junk that no good tile setter would work with. Only a hack would take a project with box store anything. Find a good tile contractor and use their approved sources. It’s the only way to get a good job that is guaranteed. https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

Lowes buy these in massive quantities... Color variation is typically an issue between boxes. If you install them I recommend darker grout. Buy extras and complete the job quickly as you will be returning some of them back. These are the bottom of the barrel tiles. But $.67/sq ft you obviously realizes that.

Hmm, I figured these would be fine since I don't want anything too fancy and it'll just be me and my small cat walking on them every day. Wonder if any other wholesalers in the area have anything better. I really prefer to supply my own materials even if it means I can't hold the installer liable for any problems with them.

From reading more online, it seems like these tiles may be factory seconds, which apparently Lowe's and the Home Depot do pretty often. Is that necessarily a bad thing, or is it basically like buying a Gucci purse at TJ Maxx instead of the boutique, where the end product is not perfect but absolutely usable? What if they are all from the same batch? Also, they don't come with a warranty, which I'm fine with, but I wonder if a professional would be willing to install seconds with no warranty. I'm trying to save some cash but also wouldn't want to aggravate anyone working for me were I to hire someone.

I measured a couple out of just one box and they measured a little more than marked on the box but were consistent. Same thickness as marketed.

Sure, some tile guys might install those. But not for a standard labor cost of first quality tile. The difficulty goes up, and do does the labor price. Time is money. Sometimes the labor goes WAY up. Also, the grout joint widens to have to deal with irregular potato chip tile. Plenty of them have 1/4” variations in size. You can’t do a standard layout with something that isn’t a standard size. They will be pretty far from rectified, and can be parallelograms. Place them face to face to see how warped they are. That’s common too.

All of those issues is why a real tile Pro controls the source of the tile. Find a good installer first, then go shop at his approved sources. Tem bet that a tile guy and a tile Pro are not the same thing.

Go to a store that specializes in selling tile.

The difference between these tiles and the Gucci purse from TJ Maxx is that you only buy one purse and it's not that noticeable if there are a few things "off" about it, because it's just hanging from your arm/shoulder and moving and not the focus of the outfit. The tile, if they are seconds, means that they are ALL a little off, and when you lay them all down next to each other, the small differences will all become magnified and more noticeable. And they will all be off in different ways. Tile is one of those things that, unless it is a really rustic, handmade style, is MEANT to be uniform, and you are guaranteeing that what you get will not be uniform.

Additionally, the only tile installers that will install it will be either the extreme pro, who will charge extra for the labor needed to make it look ok (note, it will not look great, just ok) or the tile setter with very little experience or very low standards who doesn't understand the challenges these tiles represent. He will say "sure, I can lay those tiles, it will look fine" and then when you complain about the installation he will tell you that the tiles are the problem and you should have expected the result. Go read some threads about bad tile installations (most of them are bathrooms or backsplashes, but the concept is the same) and you will realize that you don't want to go down the road of having cheap tiles and an less-than-expert tile installer.