Yes, I know buying the things we want online is real cool and convenient. We research the product on line, get all the info, click the trusty mouse and watch for the UPS guy. However, I would not recommend buying plumbing fixtures and faucets online.
First of all, if you are buying plumbing fixtures and faucets online, it means you are not going through a plumbing contractor. You think you are saving all this money and why should you allow the licensed, bonded, insured, plumbing contractor to make any more money on you than he already is by installing it for you. I am finishing a custom home and the customer supplied all his own fixtures and faucets. What he does not realize is that the plumber LOVES the fact that he is not supplying any of that stuff! The plumber does not have to spend time ordering the stuff, warehousing the stuff, delivering, or picking up the stuff. Most importantly, he does not have to GUARANTEE the stuff. This means that after the owner brings the items to him, if he opens the box and the toilet or sink has a defect, he can just hand it back to the owner and say: “GET ME ANOTHER ONE”. And be quick about it because I do not want to make extra trips to this house to install just one toilet. “CHOP CHOP !” It’s not said in quite this way, but the plumber’s feelings are well communicated. I did not supply it, I made no money on it and I do not have to guarantee it. And if it takes too long to get, and I have to make an extra trip back to install it, there will be a charge. Now the customer must talk to a machine and be put on hold when he calls the online company to return the item. Tons of fun! Put it back in the box, which is destroyed or already discarded. I love that, myself.
When my father, the plumbing contractor was in business there was no such thing as a handyman license and there was no such thing as a homeowner buying their own plumbing items. If a person walked into a wholesale plumbing supply and asked to buy a toilet, the counterman asked him who his contractor was. If he did not have one the counterman told him he was sorry, he could not help him. If he had one he could be sold the item, but he would pay retail and the difference from wholesale to retail would be credited to the contractors account. If the contractor did not have an account with the wholesale house, again, no sale. This was an ironclad spoken, unwritten rule. A wholesale house caught selling retail would incur the wrath of ornery contractors. I have been at the sales counters when these confrontations occurred and have even initiated a few myself. Do you know the character Wolverine from the X Men films? I closely resembled him in these situations.
Home Depot changed all that. They sell brand name plumbing for close to wholesale prices. That’s okay. We can guarantee the installation, but not the item. Cool. But the plumber will need to raise the labor charges to offset the profit margin he is losing by not supplying your fixtures and faucets.
The moral of this story is if you want to buy your own plumbing items, go to a local store. If it has a defect, it will be easy to return. And you will be doing your plumbing contractor a favor.
