Plumbing FAQs - Why Can't My Plumber Match the Material Prices I Find Online??

With the advent of internet shopping, many customers will ask if they can provide their own plumbing material.  Click here for our original post on providing your own plumbing material.  

In most cases this question arises because the customer is able to find material online or through big box stores for cheaper.  So often we get the question:

-Why can't you match the price I found online or in the store??

• First off most local plumbers cannot compete on pricing with these retailers.  Due to their large volume of sales and stock - they can often unload products for cheaper than we can.
• The products we sell are more expensive in some cases because they are of better quality - even though from the outside they may look exactly the same.  A good example is a lavatory bathroom faucet - most of the faucets that homeowners provide will have a plastic drain assembly, the faucets we buy from suppliers have higher quality metal drain assemblies.  Plastic drain assemblies are more prone to leaking, and sometimes tricky to install - this can increase the cost to the customer.  The plumber may have to forego the plastic drain assembly in some cases, and install metal drain assemblies just to get a finished product that they can stand behind - this again increases the cost to the customer.  Or, they may install it, and you may have to pay them to come back out for a service call to replace it at a later date if it begins leaking.  
• Most plumber's prices include a one year warranty on the material and installation.  So if there is a problem within one year, they will come back out and take care of it for you.