I agree with you, however it is not Home Depot's policy. It is the policy of the vendor that supplies the merchandise. If an item sells, the vendor gets money. If the item does not sell, then the vendor does not get any money. That is why if something does not sell, the employees can't even buy the item for a penny. It is considered loss, and the vendor is out.

I know that HD is not the only store that has this vendor agreement.

When Rose Rosette got into the potted roses at a local big box store, I talked to the manager and he had about thirty sick roses taken to the dumpster immediately.
I hope no one 'saved' them.

Many big box stores pay only for items that go through the register. I found this out when I worked part time at a Wal*Mart garden center. I had said something about the big loss with shop lifted sun glasses. I was told not to worry as they only pay for what goes through the registers.
Same goes for CDs, DVDs, most plants, garden seeds, greeting cards, fresh flowers, jewelery, watches, and many other items. That's one reason they've been able to cut back on security, and why they make so much money. They have such big buying power that many vendors have to agree to these terms in order to sell their merchandise at these stores. On top of that the vendors often provide people to set up and stock displays. I believe it was Ortho who supplied the people to set up the lawn and garden chemicals each spring. They also pay big money to get the best shelf space, end displays, and free standing aisle displayes.
While at Lowes in late May I noticed tags on various potted plants showed they were sent to a local place who then delivered them to the store, made sure the displays were stocked and the plants were in good shape. They had a person working full time but not on Lowe's payroll. When asked to assist someone, she repied she did not work for Lowes. The lady had a tag on her top that stated she was a Vendor. Another reason customer assistance is so bad at many stores.

MacKenzie seeds is another vendor who sets up their own display at WalMart.

Very interesting information! Thank you.

Thanks for the education.
Now let's not all rush out to become box store vendors. /snark

Lisa,
There was a thread on this several years ago. I believe it is HOME DEPOT'S VENDOR POLICY. The vendor may agree to it in order to get the contract but believe me, no rational vendor would want such a policy. In the same thread it was mentioned that my vendors thinking they had a good deal with HD, ended up losing their shirts because so many of the plants died at HD (where there is little inducement to care for the plants since HD loses nothing) and the vendor received 0 for the plants delivered.
Frankly, I never shop at HD after reading that; shameful.

Well, we DO shop at HD -- but we shop for things like Stackable blocks, mulch, potting soil,
building materials, and the like.
Sometimes pots for plants.

But HD's not a good source for healthy plants.
(For that matter, neither is Wally World.)
Moreover, buying plants from them supports them in the business of driving good nurseries
into the ground.
In that, shopping there for plants is self-defeating.

When the good nurseries are gone, you'll have lost
your local source for GOOD plants.

For our own sakes, we need to support good nurseries, both brick-&-morter, and on-line.

Jeri