Supply house prices!?

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cwsolo

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Just wondering how your pricing compares from supply houses to Home Depot or Lowes...?
I mentioned in my last post that I am a new contractor in FL, I have set up accounts at CES and CED, the prices they are giving me are a few cents higher that home depot on almost everything. Is this the norm? Is it because I don't have the volume of purchasing of a big contractor? or Is it because they are taking advantage of me? I flat out asked them when opening the accounts if their prices would be better that the large retailers and they said, "oh yes they should be." I can't help but wonder because I see a lot of larger EC's getting materials at the large retailers.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I am under the impression that they are WHOLESALE supply houses and the others are RETAILERS I would think that all EC's would go to a wholesaler, and the implication given is that the prices should be considerably lower?
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

Around here Menards is usually less then HD or Lowes.

The problem is that none of these stores sell a complete line of anything. Also a lot of supply houses often free delivery. You have to figure that into the equation.

But you probably cannot consistently beat the big box store prices unless you are buying in large enough quantities.

<added>
I recently bought some ordinary BLine strut from my favorite supply house. Only a thousand feet or so. Had to pay over $2 a foot for it. Ouch! Stuff is getting pricey.

[ July 24, 2005, 03:43 PM: Message edited by: petersonra ]
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

I'm going to get slamed on this one. Home Depot sell more electrical supplies than most supply house chains, by doing a volume business they can by thier materials cheaper than the supply house and on many small items let you have a better deal. They still make a profit. But don't think that the local Home Depot is cheaper on every thing. They know what the suchers want and that is bait. They will nail you on some items. They did really get people on MC cable and service cable , straps , fittings. I try to buy what I know I'm going to need from the supply house and pick up the little things at Home Depot. Save time & gas.
 
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I deal with a local CED and they give me their STAR pricing however I pay cash for all my material they have different pricing levels the price they charge you for material because you are charging the material on your account it will be higher because they are carrying you through the billing cycle. however, even at a cash price they cannot beat big blue on wire due to the volume they buy in
 
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I don't regularly price check my supplier against anyone else. Even if they are a little higher the loyalty and service are well worth it. When I need it they get it. Real contractors use real suppliers! :p There have been times that I've gone to the Depot or Lowes with a list of ten items and guaranteed I will leave with no more than seven. Ask an employee why they don't have something or if they can get and then decide for yourself if you want to deal with this everyday. :mad: For the record I use CLS and have for ten+ years almost exclusively.
 
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Here in the Detroit area, Lowes and Home Depot beat any supply house, regardless of the volume you buy from them. I have a buddy that works at one, and he gets an employee discount that beats the best contractor price, and guess what, most items he cannot even get Lowes or Home Depots everyday price.

I went into the supply house last month and asked for a Square D QO 100amp Double pole breaker used for feeding a subpanel. They charged me $55 plus tax. I told the guy behind the counter he was way too high and that Lowes had it for $28. He told me I was wrong and to take it or leave it. Well he was right, I was wrong, Lowes had it for $25 plus tax. So I bought it at Lowes and took it along with the receipt back to the supply house. I showed the counter guy, who in turn got the manager out. The manager said that price was way below their cost. He also said that they are loosing business to Lowes and Home Depot since they cannot compete with their prices.

I spoke with another EC who told me that unless he needs a specific item, or doesn't have time to wait in line, he goes to Lowes and Home Depot as well.
 
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I've been noticing this lately, too. I prefer to buy at the supply houses because they usually have what I need, and the guys at the counter know what they are doing. But the price difference is not something I really want to ignore.

I just bought a 250' roll of 12-2 NM at Graybar for 42.05 + tax, while the local Menards had it for 33.90 + tax. I also bought a Carlon Romex spooler at Menards for $50 after Graybar said they didn't have them. I took the box into Graybar and showed it to the counter guys, and they couldn't even find the part number in their Carlon catalog. Kinda weird that the wholesale house is behind the curve on new products.

The retail places have better hours, better prices (usually), and the convenience of being able to look through the bins to find what you want. On the other hand, the wholesale houses have knowledgeable staff, much better selection (usually), and tools that the retail places don't stock since only pros usually buy them.

I wish I could shop only at the wholesale houses, but it's just not feasible to buy everything there.
 
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I usually stock up on romex at Menards when they have a sale. Hard to beat 14-2 romex at $19/250 ft. Home depot in my area does not even cary devices in light almond color. I usually get all devices, boxes, recessed cans, trims and bulbs from the supply house. A good working relationship and prompt payments yield me some pretty good prices. And when I do commercial work, the supply house is obviously the only way to go.
 
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Home Cheapo is usually cheaper on there romex,I only use them if I'm in a jam,they only have two rows of products the supply house has a warehouse of electrical products with a staff,to me its not worth driving across town to save a couple of bucks on basic resi material,if your buying bulk like 6,000 15 amp outlets or pallets of romex thats worth looking into.After home depot and lowes put every mom and pop out of buisiness it seems to me their prices went up,not enough cashiers,tougher return policy,hiring meatheads in the eletrical dept,selling zipcord to HO so they can install outlets.How would you like to buy that house?
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

...the supply house has a warehouse of electrical products with a staff...

...(Retailers are) selling zipcord to HO so they can install outlets.How would you like to buy that house?
Click to expand...
This kind of thinking has popped up a couple of times now.

A qualified electrician pops into a supply house to get some materials and advice. Now, I've done it--you encounter a unique problem, and wonder if there is some new widget behind the counter to cope with the situation. Often, there is, and a "knowledge supply house staff" can assist in that situation.

But to turn around and level that standard against the retailer and get ticked when the staff isn't up to that level is silly, IMO. And to expect them to police their sales to H/O's is equally silly. That's what the store is there for, is H/O's. I doubt that in a store with mountains of romex, an employee would recommend zip-cord over romex--the H/O came in for zip cord, who's to stop him?

If electricians can use the retailer and get a better deal on this or that, that's capitalism. It may bring up ethical questions that each EC will have to address according to their own values. If that causes someone to avoid purchasing a pallet of romex from a retailer to pay a higher price, then that difference paid is an EC's charitable donation to local business, which is both understandable and commendable. If someone can't afford that donation, I wouldn't look down on them. It's a different choice for everyone.

Walking in with your nose in the air and treating the staff at a retailer like 'meatheads' is your perogative. I call it rude. :)

And I've seen supply house guys shell out some pretty shady advice too, their feces smell as bad as anyone elses.
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

Originally posted by stud696981:
I went into the supply house last month and asked for a Square D QO 100amp Double pole breaker used for feeding a subpanel. They charged me $55 plus tax.
Click to expand...
I ordered some 2 pole Square breakers recently (QO215). Our supplier only charged us $17 for them. Maybe you need a new supplier.
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

Originally posted by petersonra:

I ordered some 2 pole Square breakers recently (QO215). Our supplier only charged us $17 for them. Maybe you need a new supplier.
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There is a big price jump at 60 amp. I believe I saw QO215 breakers at HD and Lowes for about $15-$16.

It is hard for me to buy at a higher price than my customer can at the big boxes, then mark up the material for a profit, and charge my customer.
 
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There is another consideration when pricing breakers and that is ( AIC ) rating. Supply houses will often give you the better quality with the higher (AIC) rating if the are out of El-Cheap-O. If the price seems high and you are doing residential, check the rating and make sure you are comparing apples to apples. If you are doing commercial, Pay the price and give them the quality product ( and charge for it ).
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

Originally posted by hardworkingstiff:
Originally posted by petersonra:

It is hard for me to buy at a higher price than my customer can at the big boxes, then mark up the material for a profit, and charge my customer.
Click to expand...
Most customers are not going to care how much you mark up your material. They look at the overall cost. As far as I am concerned, you can charge $50 for an outlet, if the labor is "free".
Click to expand...
 
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Petersonra, I work it like this on mark up. If I charge $25 for a $10 dollar breaker I have sold it to the customer. If it goes bad anytime in the first year, the replacement cost is free ( parts & labor ). If you purchase you own breaker and it goes bad I am only responsible for my work, the breaker warranty is up to ever who sold it to you, there will be a replacement charge unless there is a fault with the way it was installed ( loose connection or something and I've never had one yet). I do everything the same way, I take a lot of care on the installation so if anyone wants to buy a $19 ceiling fan, that's all-right with me.
 
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In ref. to cwsolo post as to where to buy material.
In my area I mostly buy from CED or Rexel but I have found, believe it or not that the price difference of 12/2 romex 250 feet is $28.00 less at ACE than the suppliers.
I live in a small town so it is worth a trip to ACE for some things,but not all.
I do buy 90% of my supplies from suppliers.
"shop wisley".
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

I agree with Scott.
Stick with one supplier for the most part.
There are times you will need another, such as if your main supplier doesn't carry a particular brand or item.

There are perks when dealing with one supplier, and especially one salesman.
I can call or fax in an order to my salesman and know it will be pulled promptly and correctly.
My salesman knows most of the materials that I use. I can order weatherproof duplex covers, and he knows which style and color. I can order a case of single pole 15's and he knows what I want.

How much do you pay yourself or someone else to stand in line at the homecenter?
How many times is an item on your list going to be in the overhead. Spend time looking for someone, show them what you want, they go look for a ladder, 15 minutes later they come back.
And then if you have to return something there, that could be an hour of time.

As much as homecenters are all about customer service, I don't feel that you will get the 'same' customer service as dealing with a supply house.
 
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We stick with the supplier. We have a good relationship with them. Supplier salemen will help you more so they can sell volume which means more commission for them.

As far as a HO asking for advise on how to install. The Orange Box employee sells a customer an outlet. Customer ask how to put it in. Customer takes Joe retailers advice and attempts to make repairs himself. Now the wife is with him at the purchase. Customer gets electricuted at home during attempted repairs from advice of Joe retailer (who was flipping hamburgers the month before). Wife sues. Just as a liscensed electrician can be charged with a crime resulting in death from repairs, so can the big box for giving advise/instruction on how to repair.

It is my firm believe that if the big box is located in a area that requires electrical liscense's, electical items should be off limits to be purchased by the general public. And before yall Bark at this, try going to purchase an A/C condenser, coil or freon without a liscense. Why should electrical equipment be treated any different?
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

As far as I know you only need a license to purchase freon because spilling it into the atmosphere causes damage to the ozone layer. I could be wrong on this, but I think everything else you can buy.

As far as DIYs go, there are some competent ones out there that know what they are doing and know their limits. I have actually seen some nice electrical work from DIYs who read books on it, watched videos, etc. I have also seen a lot of very poor and unsafe installs as well.

Now to say that someone should have a license to purchase electrical parts can be a little bit of a stretch. Think about the things you have done around your house or on your car. If you would have called in a professional, it would have required a license. However to save some money you did it yourself. If everyone had to hire a licensed person to do every job out there, there would be a lot of people in the poor house. For example in my area to be an auto mechanic you need to be licensed for that type of work. If you knew how to change a set of spark plugs, battery, belt, etc........would you really want to have to call a licensed mechanic because you couldn't buy the parts? If one of your faucets starts dripping and needs new seals, would you really want to pay a plumber to come in and change them for $200? Just some food for thought.
 
Re: Supply house prices!?

Here is my answer about supply houses. Keep em solvent. They sure are handy when 3 phase equiptment is what you are after. Try finding a 3 pole bolt on circuit breaker in Home Depot or Lowes. Or a replacement heater for a contactor. I try to support my favorite supply house first, and then if they are closed I will head to the big orange.
 
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