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american olean subway tile at lowe's seconds?

15 years ago

i went tile shopping this week and the store i went to had american olean 3x6 subway tile for 2.75 per square. when i noted it was less at lowe's an installer that was in mentioned that they sell seconds.

i've never heard/read this anywhere; not here and lowe's certainly doesn't say their tile is not first quality.

so, does anyone know? are they selling seconds?

it seems lots of people from here have used them without a problem and i would love to save as much $ as possible (of course!). TIA.

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Comments (3)

bill_vincent
15 years ago
It's very rare anymore that you can find seconds ANYWHERE, and if you do, they'll be very clearly labeled as such to cut off any chance of warranty claim afterward. The tile Lowes and HD is every bit as good as what you'll get from a showroom. However, I've found many times (and advise my customers based on this) that they'll have tile for cheaper than I can get it at contractor's pricing from the warehouse, only because they buy in greater bulk, and therefore get better pricing directly from the factory, and in so doing, can afford to sell it at a much lower price, and still make money on it.

Now, this is not ALWAYS. But on some lines, such as the subway tiles that are extremely popular for both bathrooms and kitchen backsplashes right now, where big quanitities of tile are moving, iit's not surprising.
kateskouros
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks bill!
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hylandhousegirl
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Hey Bill!

Thanks also for the info. We just purchased the Daltile Octagon & Dot from HD - at over $1/square foot cheaper than our tile supplier. I second-guessed ourselves (once my husband lugged over 30 cases home!) and wondered if HD had tile specifically packaged for them that was maybe poorer quality than from the tile warehouse. Thanks for the reassurance!

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