Home Depot Wire

[laketime]

Does Home Depot use its wire as a lose leader? They are way cheaper than my wholesaler on romex and #10 and smaller.

 

[rodneee]

Does Home Depot use its wire as a lose leader? They are way cheaper than my wholesaler on romex and #10 and smaller.

i have found that the only time home depot is cheaper on all sizes of romex is when raw copper prices jump up in a hurry...a week ago 14/2 was $187.47 per M @ home depot and $201.21 per M was the best i saw at any supply house...i would be willing to say this was a short term oversight as they never seem to try to be cheaper on romex.

 

[Tiger Electrical]

Home Depot is slower than wholesale suppliers on price changes. They also use variable pricing so the common items are lower and the unusual items are higher.

 

[K8MHZ]

i have found that the only time home depot is cheaper on all sizes of romex is when raw copper prices jump up in a hurry...a week ago 14/2 was $187.47 per M @ home depot and $201.21 per M was the best i saw at any supply house...i would be willing to say this was a short term oversight as they never seem to try to be cheaper on romex.

Make friends with the manager of the electrical department. They know in advance when the prices are going to change.

I have got great deals on wire and cable there just by buying at the right time. Every time I go there I check the prices and occasionally they are very low. When that happens I grab a bit of it for future use, knowing the price will rise.

 

[mark32]

Does Home Depot use its wire as a lose leader? They are way cheaper than my wholesaler on romex and #10 and smaller.

This is true, I know we (HD) sometimes pay more for wire than what we sell it for.

 

[ElectricianJeff]

This is true, I know we (HD) sometimes pay more for wire than what we sell it for.

Very true.....my supplier will try and match their price for me but often times I'm told "thats less than our cost".

 

[chris kennedy]

We have found recently that on large wire orders HD is willing to be 'flexible' and knock a few percent off.

 

[goldstar]

I find that HD buys in such large quantities that the smaller supply houses can't compete with them. I can't speak to the 1K foot reels but the 250' coils are usually $10-$15 cheaper than at the local supply huuse

 

[LarryFine]

Semi-sorta-related: I've found that the 1000' reels at the orange and blue stores are to the penny the same price per foot as the 250' rolls, so why mess with the weight? If I was doing a large job, I'd use them and set up spindles.

 

[laketime]

I find that HD buys in such large quantities that the smaller supply houses can't compete with them. I can't speak to the 1K foot reels but the 250' coils are usually $10-$15 cheaper than at the local supply huuse

Yesterday 500' roll of #12 solid was $60 and HD my wholesale house quoted $89. Thats a big difference.

 

[K8MHZ]

Semi-sorta-related: I've found that the 1000' reels at the orange and blue stores are to the penny the same price per foot as the 250' rolls, so why mess with the weight? If I was doing a large job, I'd use them and set up spindles.

I like the 250 foot rolls for just having in the van and as mentioned they are a good value. I have found that almost without exception, the plastic reels the 1000 foot rolls come on break after being in the truck a while and sometimes to the point of the roll coming off the side. Which really sucks.

 

[goldstar]

Yesterday 500' roll of #12 solid was $60 and HD my wholesale house quoted $89. Thats a big difference.

Agreed. I wouldn't go out of my way and make a trip to Big Orange for a dollar or two but $29 a roll makes a big difference.

 

[laketime]

Agreed. I wouldn't go out of my way and make a trip to Big Orange for a dollar or two but $29 a roll makes a big difference.

Yeah I stay out of HD as much as possible but for $29/roll....:roll:

 

[cowboyjwc]

You have to remember that while they call it a wholesale house, most of them don't have near the buying power of HD or the big blue. They also don't have to adjust their price as quickly as the wholesale house, since your dealer probably bought 10,000' of wire HD bought 1,000,000, so they probably got a bigger break on the cost and don't go through their stock as fast.

 

[roger]

You have to remember that while they call it a wholesale house, most of them don't have near the buying power of HD or the big blue. They also don't have to adjust their price as quickly as the wholesale house, since your dealer probably bought 10,000' of wire HD bought 1,000,000, so they probably got a bigger break on the cost and don't go through their stock as fast.

This is the key to the whole issue. They may also lock into a copper price for a set weight way before they actually order the wire.


Roger

 

[cowboyjwc]

This is the key to the whole issue. They may also lock into a copper price for a set weight way before they actually order the wire.


Roger

Exactly. This is what Walmart does. You go to Best Buy which only sell electronics and they will still get under sold by Walmart. Walmart goes to Sony and Sony say that we sell tvs for $X, Walmart says we're only going to pay you $Y but we're going to buy all you have.

 

[petersonra]

You have to remember that the electrical supply house deals in fairly small quantities of this kind of commodity, and HD buys it by the truck or train car load.

Electrical supply houses seem to survive off the good old boy network and giving away free coffee and donuts as much as anything else.

The smart ECs long ago figured this out, and have gotten significant price concessions from them. I mean by a lot. Some of you would be shocked at how little some people pay for some products from a typical supply house, versus what others pay. I never cease to be amazed by the wide range in prices paid for the same exact part by different customers of supply houses.

 

[Tiger Electrical]

Yesterday 500' roll of #12 solid was $60 and HD my wholesale house quoted $89. Thats a big difference.

#12 is one of the low prices. Compare something like 6 ga. or 3/0 and HD isn't going to be less. Likewise the Steel City boxes and rings, if that's what HD carries, is considerably higher.

I usually get 1/2" EMT and QO breakers at HD, as well as one-trip shopping involving electrical and 2X4s or something else electrical suppliers don't carry. Other items in quantity are a lot less from suppliers...boxes, rings, connectors, large wire, GFCIs, etc.

The best thing about my favorite supplier is the delivery. Once you factor in your time having any value, a special trip to HD isn't worth it unless it's one of the few special items.

 

[laketime]

#12 is one of the low prices. Compare something like 6 ga. or 3/0 and HD isn't going to be less. Likewise the Steel City boxes and rings, if that's what HD carries, is considerably higher.

I usually get 1/2" EMT and QO breakers at HD, as well as one-trip shopping involving electrical and 2X4s or something else electrical suppliers don't carry. Other items in quantity are a lot less from suppliers...boxes, rings, connectors, large wire, GFCIs, etc.

The best thing about my favorite supplier is the delivery. Once you factor in your time having any value, a special trip to HD isn't worth it unless it's one of the few special items.

I agree with you 100%, just thinking of using HD for small wire and romex orders.

 

[goldstar]

The best thing about my favorite supplier is the delivery. Once you factor in your time having any value, a special trip to HD isn't worth it unless it's one of the few special items.

I agree, my time is valuable. However, almost every time I've placed an order for material and had it delivered there was a wrong item shipped or something missing. If you're dealing with someone you know at the counter and he's the one pulling your order you have a pretty good chance that your order will be shipped correctly. On the other hand, if it's a big supply house and he just takes your order and has someone else pick it for you you'll almost invariably get something wrong.