Faucets at plumbing store vs. big box
home4all6
11 years ago
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annettacm
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Buying from big box vs. appliance store
Comments (18)I think some of the people commenting are missing your question. Manufacturers of plumbing fixtures and lawn mowers for example make "less expensive" lines which they pour into the big box stores. Then, at show rooms or manufacturer stores, they fill will higher end products. For example a John Deere mower will cost you more at the dealer, not because they jacked up the price, but because it's a higher end model that at the Home Depot. Most people don't wanna spend $6,000 on a mower so John Deere makes less expensive mowers. Ditto for plumbing fixtures. Your plumbing show room and Lowe's may indeed carry Moen, Delta etc. but those companies make less expensive faucets for the big box stores. There are more plastic pieces for example. That faucet may last you 5 years, but if you spend just a little more at the plumbing show room, your facet will have more metal pieces and last much longer. All a manufacturer's products will be decent, but the low end stuff ends up at the big box stores for consumers who wanna make a change but are on a budget. I see no reason why appliance manufacturers don't do the same. If you compare model number to model number exactly, then you will get the same product. However, I'm sure the big box stores and Best Buy don't even carry the high end stuff. So if appliances are anything like mowers or plumbing fixtures, you get what you pay for and YES, it's better to buy appliances at an appliance center instead of the big box stores but only because they'll have available units that the big box stores don't even get which would include more "meant to last" products....See MoreBig Box Stores vs. Local Dealers
Comments (9)I've looked but have never purchased furniture from these stores. My taste tends to me a bit more traditional than what they offer and I love mahogany. However, I do understand the attraction to their whole "lifestyle" marketing plan. Shopping is convenient, the style is clean and contemporary (without being extreme), and putting pieces together is easy because it all kind of looks the same. A furniture version of Garanimals, if you will. And I'm not knocking it. If I happen to be near one of these stores I'll often go in thinking I might find something great. But I'm alway disappointed in comparison to furniture I've purchased locally. I don't just mean the higher-end pieces we own, but some low-end furniture that's basically no different in quality than Pottery Barn but a lot less expensive. Overall, I think their furniture is terribly overpriced for what it is. I will say that functionality of many of their designs is very good. For example, Pottery Barn has a secretary that I've admired for months. It's a great size and is an interesting mix of a traditional secretary and storage aimed at more modern, home office use. But by the time you add it all up, it's pushing 2k and I can't even see it in a store (it's catalog only) to know what I'm getting, which according to the description is kiln-dried poplar wood and moldings, panels and shelves made of birch-wood veneer over MDF. In the end, I much prefer having a relationship with a local furniture store that represents a large number of manufacturere and will pay a little more for that service....See MoreMaxim Lighting v.s. Big Box Store Brands
Comments (1)Thanks for the heads up on Maxim Lighting. Were they considerably less expensive than Lowes/HD? I am curious to know of other makers out there with less brand recognition but still offering high quality LED products for less money. I am specifically looking for under cabinet lighting....See MoreDifference in broken stone mosaic tile from big box vs. tile store?
Comments (3)Home center stores often carry brand names - usually a limited choice, but still great if you can find what you want. The one thing I will not buy at a home center store is a kitchen or bath faucet that will get a lot of use. The faucets even of the name brands like Delta are more plastic and often have a faux finish - looks like chrome or bronze but is just a plastic look alike. I have used home center tile and my tile installer, when I am not doing it myself, said he has no problem with home center tile. In general, he is very picky. I would watch out for the spacing of small tiles on mesh. I have not had any problems, but I have seen people, just today, have problems with penny tile and small hex tiles unevenly placed on a mesh and the tile setter did not bother to cut the mesh apart and make sure the tiles were evenly spaced. Those may have even been expensive tiles. The OP didn't say, but that is something to watch for no matter where you get your tile if using a mosaic or small tile....See Morerealism
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