I find it hard to believe that faucet manufacturers are making the exact same faucet on the outside but constructing them differently on the inside for the general public. Yes, I do believe that moen, delta etc make a "big box" grade of faucet, but I believe they are also different styles than their non-big box line. People also pay a premium for style in addition to quality. If you have found the exact same faucet online then chances are good it's the same exact faucet. I've found that most contractors tend to pad the bill wherever they can (ie wherever they figure the customer won't figure it out). Not all of course - we are working with some fabulous contractors who are fairly priced and not looking to rip us off - but that was after finding a lot who were. That said, our local plumbing supply warehouse does not really discount to trade. It's customary and reasonable for contractors to mark up anything they purchase for you, usually around 20% (for the effort of going to buy it and it's also a profit area for them). On top of that our local plumbing warehouse is WAY more expensive than buying faucets online - but the upside is that they stock stuff and you can get what you want the same day in many cases (not all though), so you're paying a premium for that convenience. So for all of that, your plumber may not be ripping you off and may have actually charged you the difference in price plus about 20%. You're absolutely right that you can save money by buying fixtures yourself and having the plumber install them because this way you're not paying local prices + his markup. If you buy from a reputable dealer you're not getting a lower quality of product than what the plumbing warehouses are getting. The downside is you might have to wait a few weeks but if you plan ahead that's not an issue - most online retailers do not keep stock on hand but direct order from the manufacturer. If you buy a $20 faucet from HD you'll probably get what you pay for but if you buy a kohler from the plumbing warehouse at $400 and you can find it for $300 online it's the same thing.

I feel your pain with the cost of lighting and I hope this may help a bit. I just ordered from lightingdirect.com but in the past used Bellacor for our exterior lights. I switched to Lighting Direct because they offer coupon matching as well as price matching. I shopped around for the bathroom light I wanted - wound up to be $318 everywhere. I found a 10% off coupon from a competitor, asked LD if they would match and they sent me this link: http://www.lightingdirect.com/index.cfm/page/browse:category/categoryID/8283?intcmp=smlsplshcompcoupq109#homepage_ad Instead of the 10% I wanted, they had a 16% coupon listed that I used. 16 is a goofy number but it saved me $50. They also had free shipping and (from what I could see) no restocking fee. Now, I just ordered so I'm not sure about their shipping times or communication about back orders. Katrine822

Well duh ...is be like dis....was the wool carded or comed? Is it merino wool, or lower grades like the crap off of the belly, natural dies or synthetics, and are they water proof and fade proof, what type of knot is used, is the design traditional, or a limited edition original, or a one only, is it real silk or that viscous crap, are the carpets soft , supple, light in weight or fold like thick cardboard...which is more common in Nepali and Indian rugs...but not always. The hand made rug industry is a very old and honoured tradition of protocols and rituals... one in which the buyer and seller often enter into a lifetime relationship....which only the rug itself will survive much longer after both you and the rug merchant be long gone and both your grand children are left to deal with the value of the antique rug. Now if your not in to doing the complete research into the art of hand woven rugs ( stay away from hooked rugs by the way) and aren't into establishing a relationship with the dealer and haggling over while hearing the stories of the weaver and his family who made your carpet or the message woven into the design...me most humbly suggest you log on to ebay and buy whatever turns your crank.

I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more often. I have only been burnt one time ordering anything, and it was before the inet stores were mainstream and it was a mail order made through advertising in legitimate gardening mags. I paid up front, and it was to a legitimate "name" I knew professionally and the check was cashed immediately. And the business number was always on an answering machine and the calls never returned, the merchandise never came, and the money never returned. I pursued it through some government agencies I knew that particular business to be governed by. Yep, the business had new owners, they had quality problems and were inexperienced, and they just got in way over their heads. They had no business cashing checks for new orders, however when they knew darned good and well they would not be filling them. It was through the mail, across state lines, and if I had pursued it any further, would have been nasty for them, I'm sure. The funny thing is, one of the fairly prominent gardening mags several years later actually listed them as a source for certain kinds of material. LOL. So, I no longer bought that magazine, because those articles could not have been written by anyone current in that industry. I have ordered material of all sorts from many places in the world over the inet. It's a wonderful alternative to being locked into the few box stores I won't shop at who are dominating many rural areas. Yes, I am careful from whom I order, and often make sure they've had references from friends first or are companies I already know and trust. It's also a great equalizer for home based businesses, in that they can compete against the 'giants' on equal footing since they don't have to maintain a billion dollars worth of store fronts and overhead. One of these days, down the line, I think they'll be more highly regulated, and until that time, one just has to be careful.