"How about any volume discounts?"

Sure, I get them at Fergusons, but I buy over $50,000.00 worth of fixtures a year. How many houses do you plan to build?

You pay for service, just like anywhere. So either pay your plumber to put together an correct order, or pay Ferguson’s to do it. You don’t get bare bones nothing pricing and service. You pick one or the other. And you earn any discounts. A single little order doesn't earn anything to a billion dollar company.

A showroom will help make the decisions easier and you may get to try out things like faucets and hand showers. The plumber may have a preferred plumbing supply house so ask him before you order online. Typically they get a discount. Some plumbers will pass the discount on to you. If you can, buy through a local plumbing supply company. The only thing we bought online was our Kohler sink but we ordered it through Home Depot and had it shipped to our house. I did that for easy returns and we did have to return our first sink to the store because of a flaw in the glaze.

I've found Ferguson's to be a bit more expensive than Build.com, but now that Ferguson's owns Build I don't know where to go to get cheaper prices.

I just finished a remodel and I had my GC and designer order everything. I went to showrooms to select the styles but they did the actual ordering.

In general - at least for those items which I knew the theoretical price for - i.e. my Toto toilets; Toto washlet; specific faucet choices, the end price I was invoiced for was comparable to what I would have paid if I bought myself - i.e. they charged me their cost plus their contractual markup.

I have no idea nor do I WANT TO KNOW what the theoretical cost for the rough plumbing supplies were because it was those were not items that I had any interest at all in providing or researching. I did not want to be responsible for making sure that everything ordered was correct; delivered on schedule and was exactly what was needed. That was their responsibility and what I was paying them for.

I did provide a kitchen sink that I ordered on my own because it was a special design from Havens Metal but the sink was on site with the specifications and the GC/plumber/cabinet maker all constructed and installed whatever was necessary.

We go to a large plumbing supply house showroom (Banner Plumbing) in the Chicagoland area. (There's also Ferguson and Studio41 in our area but we prefer Banner). That way we can see the faucets, test the handheld shower heads, etc. and the salesperson orders everything that we need correctly and they coordinate with our GC to deliver everything (including an almost 400lb cast iron tub) when it's time for our project to begin.

The plumbing supply salesperson seems to know every faucet on the planet. So if we point to one faucet we like in the store but it's a brand we can't afford, she'll find us other options on display that are very similar in style but within our budget. One time we went in thinking we wanted a particular faucet, but once we saw a bunch on display, decided to go with a different one (it was one I had seen online but ruled out but when I saw it in person, it looked a lot better). The salesperson makes the purchasing process a lot easier and that way it's on her and the GC who pays for the final order if anything gets misordered or arrives broken, etc.

They seem to price things about 15% higher than prices one sees online (based on our original quotes compared to final invoices), however, our GC (who's not a big GC) lets us have his discount so the price comes out to about exactly to what the online prices are at places like build, etc. Even if they didn't, it's worth the extra 15% IMO to be able to see all the store displays and fixtures in person, test out shower heads, get expert help, and have the GC and plumbing supply store be responsible for any issues rather than me.

I think the only thing I'm providing for our current hall bath remodel is a regular toilet seat I ordered off of amazon. (The plumbing supply place does sell non-washlet toto seats but I'm not a fan of toto's non-washlet seats. I wanted a non-washlet seat but something better than what toto offers.)

Can you send the links to your plumber in advance? That's what I did and it was good to confirm all of the items would work together before he started. I'm remodeling a bathroom right now and I avoid Build.com because their return process isn't great and they charge you to ship it back. Amazon and the big box stores are a lot more user friendly if you can order the items from them.

rosiewells7b, I have had this very same experience at our local Ferguson's three times now (I returned the third time just to make sure I wasn't imagining it). Granted, I do tend to "dress down," but that's very common in our area, with most of us wearing flip-flops year round. I am happy that sales people don't bug me, but it would be nice to be acknowledged or simply told, "Let me know if I can answer any questions for you." I had similar experience at two Kohler showrooms. It's amazing to me that any company can stay in business like this. The one place I did get great service was Expressions Home Gallery. A lot like Ferguson's without the snotty attitude.

Your contractor makes the appointment for you with his rep at one of his connected showrooms, including possibly Ferguson’s. He gives the rep the list of what’s needed. You just show up, ask for his rep, and pick the styles. That’s part of what goes into the contractor’s standard markup of materials.

If you want to buy direct from Bob’s Discount Internet Plumbing and Veterinary Supplies, to “save money” then that’s all on you. Including the trip charges for when you get it wrong. And no labor warranty at all.

Mittens,

We actually tried to go twice. One time I was dressed down and the other time I came in dressed to the nine. Neither time made a bit of difference in how we were treated. So sad to hear this as we walked in ready to give them our business. When I wrote my review, the manager responded and said he was sorry and to come in again. Now why would we do that? I am sad to say I am seeing more and more times where we go out wanting to give businesses our money and we get terrible customer service or none at all. I cannot count the times where we have been immediately judged and found lacking. They act more like we need to prove we are worthy to spend our money at their establishment.

That is not the way to run business in this day and age where it is so much easier to make a few clicks online and save a lot of money. Even if someone "dresses down" that does not mean they are there to spend less money or are on a small budget. Sometimes those are the people who might spend the most!

So true. I do not do well with these attitudes at all, especially at snooty restaurants. But here's some good news: I just tried shopping for remodel stuff on Etsy and found some incredibly nice humans who go to great lengths to please, with prices half of what I'd expect to pay! Too bad there aren't any bathtub makers...

I had very different experiences at Ferguson and Snyder Diamond (a Los Angeles equivalent to Ferguson).

I wanted to see fixtures and appliances in person and so I made multiple trips to these stores to see stuff in person. I certainly do not dress commensurate with the money I was planning to spend LOL. I would typically walk in and be greeted by someone who asked if I needed assistance and most of the time I would tell them that I didn't need help at the moment.

When I actually requested assistance, I found the salespeople to be quite helpful - and also extremely knowledgable. When I was looking at rather expensive bathroom fixtures (Phylrich) the sales associate hauled out the book as well as bringing over the fixtures I was considering so that I could compare the subtle differences.

Oddly the only place where I had trouble getting any assistance was the relatively down market Pacific Sales/Best Buy where the sales associate couldn't even be bothered to point me in the direction of counter depth refrigerators. When I went looking at refrigerators at Snyder-Diamond, the very knowledgable and professional sales associate showed me all of the models that were in the range of what I was looking at and explained the differences.

I also would recommend looking at fixtures in person. Many of them look different than on the internet. Also they feel different or work differently than one might expect. I thought I wanted a kitchen faucet with an articulating arm - when I finally tracked down a showroom that had one and tested it, I realized that the articulating arm didn't really reach very far and that there was no corresponding spray attachment that could be pulled out so that I would have been effectively limited to the arc of the faucet. So I wound up with a Kohler Artifact which I was also able to see and test in person. FWIW, this is also true of finishes as I found that finishes between different brands could be different - I was looking for oiled rubbed bronze and I wanted as much copper accents showing through as possible.

Glad you received nice treatment! I also went there so I could "handle" the handles, etc. Super important to me to know how it will feel.

BTW, I mentioned it before but should restate: I had excellent, down to earth and wise customer service at an Expressions Home Gallery, which has about 17 showrooms nationwide (and, oddly, they seem to own or partner with the Kohler showrooms where I had a negative experience).

I’ve had the same experiences at Ferguson’s as Mittens and Rosie. I no longer darken their doors. A local plumbing showroom may have less on display but treat you professionally. I’ve had good luck with local Hajoca outlets in NC and VA, if you have one.