Business Owner Buying Materials

Exactly. But the proposed idea became that I still facilitate the order but just don’t pay for it. When it’s time to check out he’ll use his credit card. Yet it will be on my account at the supplier. So all the design, all the purchasing, all the delivering, but when it comes to the financial transaction I’m excluded and it’s just him and my supplier. So it wouldn’t necessarily be wrong parts if we did it that way but now it’s “why did they make me buy a whole reel of 12 thhn when you only spec’d 30’? Why is there so much extra? Why did you forget these widgets?”
 
I've had people want to buy the materials, and I say sure thing. Then when they ask me for a list, I give them a price for that list.

I'll tell them that buying the materials includes knowing what to buy.

I've also explained to people the concept of open boxes and partial rolls. They either "get it" or I walk away.

I have no respect for someone who wants all the benefits for themselves and all the liability for me
 
I have always said that a homeowner that goes through a remolding experience, could write a book. A contractor that survives the first five years in business has a good chance of making it for next five years.
 
James L said:
I have no respect for someone who wants all the benefits for themselves and all the liability for me
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Its a good deal if you can get someone to go for it.

We have a lot of customers who supply some or most of the parts. It is not that big of a deal as long as they tell us what they are supplying up front so we can add in the things they are not supplying. Often customers do not even realize how much stuff is missing.

Some customers do this because they think they get a better deal on parts then we do (almost never true). Others because they want multiple panel builders to bid and since some panel builders get much better deals on at least some parts, they want it to be "fair".
 
petersonra said:
Its a good deal if you can get someone to go for it.

We have a lot of customers who supply some or most of the parts. It is not that big of a deal as long as they tell us what they are supplying up front so we can add in the things they are not supplying. Often customers do not even realize how much stuff is missing.

Some customers do this because they think they get a better deal on parts then we do (almost never true). Others because they want multiple panel builders to bid and since some panel builders get much better deals on at least some parts, they want it to be "fair".
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Some of that's true, but I think this is more of a scenario where somebody needs 45 ft of wire and the electrician cuts it off of a 500-ft spool.

Or you need to use some connectors, whether it's Romex connectors or EMT fittings or whatever it might be. The electrician is going to buy them in boxes of 25 or 50 instead of the customer going and buying a two pack or a three pack.

Same with devices. Buying them in 10 packs makes them cost less but you may not need 10 for that job

When that customer wants to buy the materials, all he's thinking is that he doesn't want to pay a markup. He wants to win on that exchange.

But then let one of his parts fail and he'll call and say "hey, that stuff you installed last time isn't working. Can you come out and take a look to see what's wrong?"

And that same guy will get his panties in a bunch of you tell him the warranty does not cover his parts, so if it's determined that his part failed you're gonna give him a bill at $120 to show up, $140 per hour with a minimum of two hours

That kind of guy is hoping to save some money, then give the liability to someone else.

No thanks. I wanna smack people like that
 
I would not give back the markup. There is a cost associated with receiving, inventorying, and inspecting the parts. You can charge that as extra labor or some percentage of parts cost but somehow you need to be paid for it even if the parts are supplied to you.
 
jim dungar said:
Speaking as a non-contractor.

Make sure you leave most of your profit and extra charges in the final price you give to the owner.

Give him a breakout price of only your material cost with maybe a 10% profit. Yes, his savings will not be a large as he thinks they would be.

This is one of the problems of using 35-50% material markup rather than increasing your hourly labor rate.
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Maybe this is why IVe never really cared if a customer wants to supply material - My markup really just covers the hassle of dealing with material, and its actually quite nice to have someone else go pick up the stuff and best of all not have to warranty anything. OF course the customer goes to home depot and they think they have the best price, which they dont, but customer is all happy thinking they are saving all this money - and I get to avoid a HD or supply house trip and less paperwork, sign me up!
 
ptonsparky said:
Early on I had a customer supply the recessed cans in a remodel. Those early ones with the thermals to prevent overlamping. Yea, they wanted me to fix them. Uh, nope. One call back and explained the issue. I did not make another.
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Holding your ground is harder in the days of online reviews that's why setting expectations is so important now
 
James L said:
Some of that's true, but I think this is more of a scenario where somebody needs 45 ft of wire and the electrician cuts it off of a 500-ft spool.

Or you need to use some connectors, whether it's Romex connectors or EMT fittings or whatever it might be. The electrician is going to buy them in boxes of 25 or 50 instead of the customer going and buying a two pack or a three pack.

Same with devices. Buying them in 10 packs makes them cost less but you may not need 10 for that job

When that customer wants to buy the materials, all he's thinking is that he doesn't want to pay a markup. He wants to win on that exchange.

But then let one of his parts fail and he'll call and say "hey, that stuff you installed last time isn't working. Can you come out and take a look to see what's wrong?"

And that same guy will get his panties in a bunch of you tell him the warranty does not cover his parts, so if it's determined that his part failed you're gonna give him a bill at $120 to show up, $140 per hour with a minimum of two hours

That kind of guy is hoping to save some money, then give the liability to someone else.

No thanks. I wanna smack people like that
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EXACTLY! I even explained that I’m cutting 30’ of #12 off my reels but they’ll make him buy 500’ reels and I included selling him 30’ off my truck but if he doesn’t want my mark up then he’s not getting my stock so he has to buy his own so now he’s gotta get 500’ in order to get 30’. Plus I’m charging more labor for losing revenue. Would be so much easier if they didn’t play games and just decided if they thought we were honest or not.
 
Biggest issue I've had that customer gets all bent over is they want to buy their own materials, and they end up buying off Amazon or now TEMU and it is all unlisted and in some cases was even a forged UL and I tell them I won't install it. (But I liked it, it was so pretty!)
Or they do price comparison against you off one of these sites. Definitely not Apples to Apples comparison.

Had someone come to me that they had gotten some SD QO AFCI breakers for only $20 each. Guy willingly sacrificed one. It was only a switch inside not even any overcurrent or short circuit components.
 
I would not give a lump-sum labor cost because many labor variables are out of my control when someone else provides the materials. However, I would do my best to order the best material prices for him to build trust and goodwill. Instead of a lump-sum, I would give him an hourly rate for tech and helper and if it is small project a service fee. My labor rate would be more than my regular rate when I provide the parts too.
 
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