Hi,
There has been at least one thread about this not too long ago. If you search this forum for "bargains" you will see it.

For myself, I would have to say ebay. We aren't that far along yet in our build, but ebay is where I mainly shop all the time for smaller items that I know I'm going to want.
I bought an antique clawfoot bathtub for $85. I had to drive about four hours away to get it, and I will have to do a little work on the outside, but I definitely consider it a bargain.
I have also bought a bunch of vintage light fixtures and two Hunter fans that I think I got a good deal on.
I also bought a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer (cobalt blue) for about $120.
I plan to buy many of our smaller fixtures like sinks, faucets, etc., on ebay, but I also shop for furniture, appliances, and even some building materials. You can arrange your search results by "distance first" to see only the things that are within driving distance.

Definitely Ebay and some hardware sites like Hardware Hut for cabinet hardware.

This isn't really for the building stage but just thought I'd give anyone a heads up if you're searching for bar stools. JcPenney is having a huge sale with free shipping through Monday and they have quite a selection of nice looking bar stools.

Penney's Barstools

Definitely ebay. I also had great experiences with Improvement Direct and its affiliated websites. They alsways had low prices, reasonable shipping times and were always pleasant when I called on the phone.

My second favorite thing about them(after their prices) was the quality fo their filtering when searching and the fact you you could see every faucet(as an example) they had on one webpage and not have to flip through them 25 at a time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Improvement Direct

I love efaucets.com. My faucets were $100 less there than at ferguson's, which my builder was pushing for. I had to convince him it was legit.

We are buying our appliances from Bray and Scarff scratch and dent warehouse. My good friend's dad runs the place, and he has been extraordinarily wonderful to us, and if there is an item he doesn't get at the warehouse, like possibly my wolf double ovens (keeping fingers crossed) he will give us a good deal on them new.

Amy

We use to have scratch and dent warehouses/stores here, but not anymore. I remember years ago I acquired a brand new room A/C, normally $200 for $35 because it had a scratch on it. That's my kind of bargain.

We got our range and also our microwave at Lowe's on closeout, bought the demo for a good deal. H. H. Gregg as well.... they have a demo or closeout tent sale every so often.

My favorite place for deals was Louisville Architectural Salvage. We also found good deals at The Wooden Nickel in Cincinati. We got our columns, fireplace mantel, some tile, garden features, and a few other unique touches this way. Saw many more deals that just did not work for us. They do come in an "as is" condition and it takes some work to get them ready for use.

Good Luck.

Brian

Lowe's close-out isle (refrigerator with dented side, which is against our wall anyway - marked down $500; last of last years model gas range - marked down $900). Found several light fixtures and various stores close-out's as well. Got 48 canned ligts for $5 each at the local Habitat for Humaniy restore. That saved about $500. Found a price at ifloors.com that a local store matched. That saved about $2,000.

Another vote for the local Habitat for Humanity store!! In our area it's called Builder's Bargains. We scored nine (yes, nine!) older solid wood, clear fir interior doors, complete with hinges and doorknobs for $50 each! We couldn't touch these at our local lumber yard for under $300, and then we would still need to purchase the hardware. We have also gotten our shower fixtures there and some great tile. Our store constantly has contractors swinging by to drop off their excess supplies. I have seen brand new windows, sinks, some beautiful lighting fixtures, paint...you name it and they will eventually have it! Our particular store has a wish list that you can put your name on and if that particular item comes in they will give you a call and give you first "dibs" on it. That's how we landed the doors.

We have also lucked into some great stuff through our local Freecycle group.....all free! A couple of the best things that we have found here were four full light, fir framed doors (new, never installed!) and a huge old oak fireplace surround (needs elbow grease, but beautiful!). I think that if you stay flexible and open-minded that you can find all sorts of great things for your build! You also need to love to shop.....alot! hee hee! Shopping like this has allowed us to flex our budget on others things, which has been great. Good luck to you!

lightinguniverse.com
danzefaucetwarehouse.com
stonelocator.com
coolknobsandpulls.com
ABTappliances.com

We haven't really started buying stuff for the new house since we haven't started building yet, but I did pick up all of the nickel hooks for our mud room area in the new house on clearance at our local Meijer store.

Now, in our current home, which we are in the process of getting ready to sell we scored a great deal. We just had prefinished oak floors put in. We were just going to use pine for the trim but when I went to this local hole in the wall place they had unfinished oak trim for .70 cents LF! They also had solid oak 6 panel interior doors for $50 a piece! I will go back to them when we're starting to build for the doors. They are basically a trim and door place with some other random stuff thrown in. If any of you are in the Lansing, MI area this is their phone number The Bargain Hut 517-543-5222.