I purchased every last one of my fixtures online. You'd be surprised at how much the difference was, probably a couple thousand when all is said and done. I believe faucet depot gets good reviews too.

I ordered our shower faucets from them and saved significant $$. They retailed for about $500 and I only paid $300 at Faucet Depot. Timely shipping too.

IMO, you have to save money wherever you are able, because on some components you can't.

Thanks lots for the info. I really love the info (and support!) I get from this website.

Seeing all the fixtures at my local tile and plumbing stores and all the big box stores, I resigned myself to never having the wonderful ORB that I had been wanting for the last 7 years (saw them first 7 years ago at the OC home and remodeling show).

Then I started reading/lurking on this bathroom forum and people kept talking about their savings buying via the nice web site stores.

I started doing research.
If I found a name/brand/style of faucet I liked I would research it, look for pros and cons, ask on sites like Epinions and then read the reviews about different brands here on this Bathroom site.

Not once have I been disappointed with any faucet or kitchen accessory purchase online.

Yes, I've used Faucet Depot twice, both times no problems whatsoever.

Factor in the savings, the tax you probably won't pay (if you are not in the state of the web site you are purchasing from) the gasoline for your car running from store to store, the parking, the lines, the....
well, you get the idea.
It was worth waiting a week or two for what I loved to come to me via UPS, not having to deal with all the above.

And yes, because of web sites like Faucet Depot I do have my beautiful ORB vanity and matching shower faucets.

Nevermind that they are STILL in their boxes. *giggle*

Don't forget to look for "Free Shipping" coupons at many of the coupon sites.

Lots of the bathroom/kitchen faucet & accessory stores online will offer free ship if you buy xxx amount from them.

With the exception of my sink drain/ strainer, garbage disposal drain cover and folding dish strainer, everything for my kitchen came with no shipping charges.

Two places where I've gotten free ship coupon codes:

http://www.couponcabin.com/

http://www.flamingoworld.com/

Also, sign up at Faucet Depot or several of the other bathroom/kitchen faucets/accessory web sites for their email newsletter.
They will usually let you know in advance when they are having a sale or a free ship promotion on their products.

Shopped EVERY site on web and best deal i came up with was Homecenter.com...Faucetdirect.com had better everyday low prices, but Homecenter.com runs a 10% off all purchases every so often on a weekend..Delivery is today, so it'll be interesting to see how the topilet/tub/sinks arrive..I purchased Grohe and Kohler fixtures and figure i shaved of 3k from local retailer costs

I bought every item so far online except my SunTouch floor kit came from HD store. I even bought my cast iron bath tub online! I have used homedecorators.com and also vintagetubs.com and so far, so good. The bid to buy the same items from Ferguson's (a plumbing supply showroom in my town) was over $9000 for items I have paid $3900 for so far.

I was thinking of this also because the (plumbing supply house that my plumber uses)...actually the only one available here in the boonies...seems high compared to online. When I asked the plumber about ordering online, he said it is usually a "knock off" and if I looked closely, the #'s don't match up. Same as the big box places. Any truth to this?

While there may be some truth to this, in reality the reason online retailers have lower prices than brick and mortar stores is that they have lower overhead. Most of these places do not have much (if any) warehouse space... when you want an item, they direct order it from the manufacturer. This means that chances are good that what you want won't be "in stock" and you might experience long lead times depending on the manufacturer. They don't employ many people either so customer service may be spotty and when you call them you might experience long hold times. It's the tradeoff for lower prices. In general most reputable online retailers sell the real thing.

If it comes with a manufacturer's warranty, it isn't a knockoff..that is a line of BS from your contractor to protect his cut from the plumbing supply house..You pay retail, he gets a discount, and passes some or none back to you...
I also shpped at Ferguson's, and cut 3k off the retail price, though i did find out they discount to plumbers, so if you have a friendly plumber, maybe they'll pass the savings on

When we did our Masterbath I ordered just about everything online. From Toto toilet to Aquatics Infinity tub (which I laid in out in the garage for a month just to "dream" while we were waiting for the contractor)Contractor couldn't believe that it was possible. Also got some of the smaller items - specialty cabinet handles on ebay-saved a bundle on them!
I don't buy anything without pricing it out online FIRST!!!

I really liked needplumbingsupplies.
Donna

I used faucetdirect.com and needplumbingsupplies.com. They were both very good but faucetdirect does not have restocking fees.

received my delivery today from homecenter.com, and all is well..WHEW... I had 2 pallets delivered by Yellow freight trucking, 2 sinks, tub,toilet and a pallet of of faucets/shower fixtures/tub fillers/diverters,etc..still think faucet direct has better everyday prices and lower shipping costs, but the frequent 10% off, plus price guarantee of Homecenter.com made it a better choice at the time for me...

ladycfp...I don't think there is anyone more expensive than Ferguson's. They are insanely HIGH....scared me!