Organic Donna,

I was thinking the same thing when I found them online 2 weeks ago. They are quoting $280 for Jado Borma faucets I had previously been quoted $540 for. They are consistently hundreds of dollars less than their competitors.

After doing some research on their website my husband and I discovered they are based in San Diego, California and they are affiliated with a company called International Bath and Tile of San Diego. I have been speaking with a rep from plumbtile, 'Scott', who told me I was welcome to come down and view thier parent company's showroom.

I went to their showroom last week. I have been planning kitchen and bath remodels for the past 1 1/2 years, and this is hands down the most beautiful, and awe inspiring showroom I have been to to date. I spoke with a sales rep who informed me she would love to have my business, but there is no way she can compete with the internet quotes their plumbtile division quotes online. She informed me that plumbtile has no overhead, so they can quote me much leaner than she is allowed.

Scott from plumbtile has informed me that they can pretty much get anything I throw at them...so I gave him a list this morning. We'll see what he comes back with. I have yet to confirm whether or not the warranties will be honored from the manufacturers.

The savings is so HUGE, though, that I'm leaning toward ordering everything from them.

Plumbtile.com's cutomer service number is 866-758-6284. International Bath and Tile of San Diego is located at 7177 Convoy Ct # A, San Diego, CA (858) 268-3723. Their website is www.ibtsdiego.com if you want to check them out. Apparently plumbtile is just a block away, but is not open to the public as I was told it is just a call center for the internet orders. I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

stacysan,
Wow, you did your homework! Your info is very helpful.
I posted this on the kitchen forum so check it out. Only one person replied and with negative feedback. I was thinking of trying to get irawoodinc to price match. I know Clare had problems with them but they have a good rating with bizrate. I am ordering a Porcher Ardennes tub and it is being discontinued. If it comes damaged I'm in trouble.
I also spoke to Scott.
Donna

Organic Donna,

Did you place the order already?

This company is just a hour from my home. I'm justifying the HUGE savings I would get by reminding myself I can go there in person if there are any issues. We are embarking on a complete kitchen redesign/remodel as well as gutting and remodeling to bathrooms. The fixtures add up so quickly, as does everything else, so I'm trying to save where I can.

Scott has been very helpful so far, and prompt to return my calls when I post inquiries on their website.

Organic Donna,

I found some consumer reviews online. It sounds like plumbtile comes through in the end, but a couple of consumers have had issues with customer service. Still others have nothing but good things to say about plumbtile.

Here is a link that might be useful: plumbtile consumer reviews

I am probably the most frugal person on this forum. I always shop around for the best prices. I don't trust most online companies though and don't like to deal with shipping items back. I had a major problem once with absolutehome. I can't take the stress of plumbtile possibly screwing up my order.
I asked another online site if they would price match plumbtile's prices. They said that plumbtile does not have a list price above the discounted price. That means that they are not a authorized dealer. Maybe you can take a chance on faucets and small items but if it's a tub I wouldn't do it. I brought their price sheet to my local store and they didn't match the price but they dropped their price considerably. They will deliver all my items together for $60.00 and carry the cast iron tub inside. I probably will go with the local store.

Donna

"I am probably the most frugal person on this forum"

Donna, you do know them are fightin' words, yes? I know I (and maybe Johnmari) would love to have a go at the title before you claim it :)

Flyleft,
ROFLMAO! I thought I was the queen of cheap... er, I mean frugal, lol.
Donna,
I have had great luck with purchasing a lot of my remodel on the internet. I checked the plumbtile site and found cheaper with doing some google and mysimon research for some of their clearance items. I also often find great deals on ebay.
I have to say that I fell in love with the Jado hooded toilet paper holder, but had major sticker shock when I saw it was discounted to $75 or so. I looked and found the same one for $53 elsewhere, but luckily, while looking, found one with a magazine rack above for even less that would function better for us. I can't imagine even considering $53 for a toilet paper holder, but then again, many renovation costs amaze me. I am trying to tell myself that these items last a long time and it is something we will see and use every day.
Still, more than $50 for a toilet paper holder?!!!! Yikes.

flylert,
OK, when it comes to remodeling you can have the title of the cheapest person on this forum. I sometimes spend way too much on my fixtures. But...if we are talking everyday living I am the queen of frugal. I save 50% of my income and what is left to live on is a pittance. I've been that way for about 28 years.
Donna

All of a sudden when you give someone else the title it becomes "cheap" rather than "frugal"?! I think I resemble that remark! :) Then I notice it morphs back to "frugal" when referring to yourself again...

Saving 50% of your income is pretty darn cool, though. Good on ya. Actually, we are living on one income so we can homeschool our daughter, which really isn't easy in this society--so kind of similar, yes? Does that make us both cheap or both frugal? :)

flyleft, OT but I homeschooled our daughter too. It was socially "difficult" 20 years ago so I can imagine what it's like now. Oh well, it was WELL worth it. I only wish I could have done it longer. In the middle of 3 grade, I was hit with MS. My parents helped me finish the year but after that, I put her in public school :(( God bless you!
Monica

flyleft,
You made me laugh. Ok, let me correct myself. I am cheap and you are frugal.
When it comes to remodeling, I do give in and buy nice things. When it comes to friends and family, I am generous. When it comes to spending money on myself I am cheap, cheap, cheap.
Donna

I ended up purchasing at the local showroom. Yes I paid more, but I did get them to come down on the prices. The problem with the online stores comes when you need to return. The restocking fees kill you. Most customer service is pretty bad too. I've had to send items back and it's a pain. I had a good experience with faucet.com, but they have since changed their restocking fees.
Let me know how plumbtile goes, I hope it works out.
Donna

Hi Donna! I'm in Chicago too - what local store are you buying from? That's great that they'll bargain a bit. Any cheaper sources for bathroom vanities in Chicago too? It seems like custom isn't that much more expensive, at least according to my architect, but I want to shop around.

Thanks!

"flyleft,
You made me laugh"

Then my job here is finished :)

Seriously, though, I love your sense of priorities. I notice you left your cats out of the equation, though--or maybe they're implictly included in "friends and family"...As it should be, as it should be :)

hjschicago,
Where do you live? I am organizing a party for Chicago members of the kitchen and bath forums this weekend. Can you come? Go to the kitchen forum and do a search under organic_donna and the info will come up.
Advantage Kitchen and Bath in Niles is a great place for bathrooms. I purchased from it's new sister showroom called Hydrology on Lasalle and Kinzie. It is the same owner as Advantage. My contractor is a customer of theirs and they gave me his pricing. I did pay more than if I shopped online. It kind of bugs me to pay more but if I need to exchange it I won't have a problem. They will deliver everything for $60.00 up to my condo, that includes my cast iron tub. They don't carry Kohler so I'll buy the toilet online.

flyleft, my cats are in a category all their own. They come before everyone else in importance. I would spend my last dime on their care.
Donna

I can hear them purring from here :)

I bought a couple of Lacava sinks and Hasting showers. The prices were the lowest, around 30% lower than retail prices. Both of my orders were sent directly from the manufactures, not from Plumbtile.

Hey guys,
I just want to add a plug for ebay as well. I discovered Jado here and ended up buying my bathroom faucet, a Jado, from ebay for a grand total of $66 after shipping! It is the same model that retails for $636, which I would not dream of paying. It arrived quickly and has a great quality. Our GC did not believe us completely until I brought the box over and showed him. He got his kitchen Jado at cost for over $900, so he appreciated our bargain. There are no flaws or compromises in the one we received.
I would recommend always checking ebay when you know what you want and have searched elsewhere.
Of course, I also bid on a Dornbracht for our other bathroom from the same seller and it went much higher. It can't hurt to try, lol.
HTH

WOW, diana, what Jado did you get? I'm impressed! I bought a Jado Glance *knockoff* (two of them) from eBay for our master bath, only thing different is that it doesn't have that piece just inside the faucet to make the water come out completely flat, but it comes out pretty flat anyway...it's nice and heavy and definitely brass...but a *real* Glance would have been nicer.

Was it an auction? If so, what was your bidding strategy?

Plumbtile.com came through for us with flying colors!

I decided to be proactive and send Scott from plumbtile a link to this website. I expressed my concern over a couple of reviews for less than stellar customer service. I also reminded him we all share our experiences online, so give me reason to write great things about plumbtile and turn the negative vibe around. He assured me that he would give me an experience to RAVE about...and he came through!

Scott (customer service rep)e-mailed me a confirmation bill of sale within 5 minutes of me ordering over the phone. He was incredibly eager to anser my 20 minutes of questions before I pulled the trigger. We ordered 3 Jado faucets from plumbtile.com that were drop-shipped directly from the manufacturer and on our doorstep within one week. They are immaculate! Not a scratch, not a rust mark, and all in the manufacturers origional boxes. I was worried the prices were too good to be true, but this was a great experience for us. We saved $800+ off of retail just on three faucets. I plan on ordering Duravit sinks and all of our rainshower and shower massage fixtures from plumbtile as well.

Cool, stacy--the power of g'web...as with other times this has happened, though, I do wish that plumbtile would decide to give *all* customers an experience to rave about, not just us squeaky wheels...plumbtile folks, if you're reading this, please think about changing to do the Right Thing by *everyone*, so that you won't have to worry about what's being written about you on consumer websites...

(And monica--oh my gosh I just saw your post. WOW. MS hitting you while you were hsing. I understand that sometimes folks can recover from it (not one of my boyfriend's mothers, though, although that was back in the 70s) Hsing 20 yrs. ago -- you folks were the true pioneers. We're just part of a rapidly expanding trend :) Gosh, there's even a "homeschooling with chronic illness" list on yahoo -- I know about it because of fibro, which is nothing compared to MS or some of the things some of those folks are dealing with. I can't imagine how they persist. I feel pushed to about my maximum. It's an honor to "meet" one of the first generation hsers--and a supportive family even back then--that's even *more* impressive! :))

Stacy,
Thanks for the info. I called Scott and got about a tremendous discount from list on the ridiculously expensive Dornbracht Rainsky M.

Scott was helpful to talk to. But I'd be sure to mention gardenweb. He said the price was $500 less than they would have listed it for on the web -though, for this item, no one lists it on the web.

Frank

Flyleft, there are different degrees of MS. Mine has been more in remission than active but each time someone with MS has a exacerbation and recovers, the recovery isn't 100% I wasn't able to see for several weeks and of course aiding in education wasn't very doable. But I got my vision back and had no more problems for 13 years :o I could have continued her education but was really scared and frankly, altho I hate to admit it, had myself more or less dead and buried :( At the time, my dad was a Christian school principal so he was a BIG help in my homeschooling quest. I know all about the Fibro thing too. I had it years before my MS diagnosis. My chiropractor and I were just discussing Fibro today. He feels I really DO have it but says a lot of people are just given that diagnosis altho they don't have it. It's a hard and confusing illness to diagnose (and live with!) I'm sure you'll agree that hsing your children is one of the most passionate journeys you'll ever take. It takes dedication and tenacity beyond words but who is more concerned about your child's education and development than YOU? No one. So my hat is off to YOU for your vision and dedication. And count your blessings that you have the opportunity to do this for your children. Some don't have the option to make that sacrifice.
Monica
ps...Organic Donna, please don' be miffed at the OT on your thread..please :)

Hi flyleft,
I hadn't seen your question earlier, so forgive me if I am slow...
I make a ton of offers on ebay and just let them play out. If I get something at my price, it is wonderful. I "lose" way more than I win. It is like the old joke about the guy that propositions 100 girls and gets his face slapped 99 times.
I think the reason it did not go much higher was the seller had a 0 feedback rating. I ordered and took my chances that with Paypal protection and ebay involved, I could get my money back if the person was not on the level. I made the mistake of leaving exhuberant feedback and got outbid shortly after on the Dornbracht. I did not really "need" that as we are approx 2 years off from doing our family bath, but figured, what the heck?. It didn't go much higher than I bid. I knew I had been outbid, but hadn't wanted to know by how much. It just isn't the time for me to layout too much for an item that will sit in storage for over a year. Too much to spend on now with the big work about to start. I'll probably be really kicking myself before too long though, lol.
The Jado I got looks like the IKEA knockoff. I am sure the IKEA one is good, but at $60 plus tax, I think I did incredibly well getting the Jado for a few dollars more and did not waste gas getting it (so that puts me ahead, lol).
HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: ebay Jado

Frank,

Thanks for the feedback. I agree, everyone should use this forum to their advantage by mentioning it to online retailers. It is an invaluable tool to help ensure you recieve good service. If you don't receive great service, you have the ability to inform others. I have learned SO MUCH from people on this forum!

It is interesting that plumbtile can get you better pricing than what is posted on their website. I am about to give Scott the rest of my bathroom/kitchen order.

I am happy you had success from plumbtile. The only item I ordered online came damaged. It's the Kohler Escale toilet. The tank has tiny hairline scratches on it. needplunbingsupplies has been great and have already sent me 3 replacements. I haven't seen the 3rd one yet. If that one has scratches I am goint to ask that they refund my shipping charges and try buying the tank elsewhere. I have really bad luck with my fixtures. I had a nightmare with my Liebherr fridge and my Dacor range. All of my other bathroom items are being delivered Thursday.
Wish me luck.
Donna

Wow... I can't believe they have Jado faucets at so much below the list prices...

What A Deal! Thanks!

I just want to warn everyone to be SURE and check your merchandise upon arrival. My husband hates that I have to open everything as soon as I get it (lol) He's afraid I'm going to lose parts or something. Anyway, had I NOT opened the Jado faucet from plumbtile, I wouldn't have been able to return it due to rust on the threads. I can't remember exactly how many days (3 maybe?) you have to contact them about any problems...after that, it's your baby. That was back in April or May and we're STILL not ready for installation. My experience with plumbtile was "so-so". It all turned out ok in the end and Scott is as nice as he can be but I had to stay on top of them constantly to get things done. Maybe with the extra exposure thanks to GW (and some constructive criticism from me) they've improved in the customer service dept :)
Monica