Planto, Let me start over, your a wise Woman (typoðÂÂÂ) Ok, so now I have to ask, what is your first name, that would solve all this Man stuff lol.. ( 1st name is optional.) You know I actually went to H/D this morning just to check out the size of these containers and now I'm positive, they are 15 US GALS. the prices have gone up considerably. ð² Nametaken, Yup! That's exactly what I remember too and that seemed like a lot, the only place I see them that high is at the beach or at ROGERS GARDENS, maybe they dropped them off at the wrong place ð 0r something ð¯ Well guy's and GIRLS... ð have a wonderful day, Greg

I don't know about Canada, but in our neck of the woods, this is not the case. I suppose a lot depends on the local competition. When comparing apples to apples, most of what we purchased at HD or Lowes has been lower in price. For instance, cabinets, Schuler/Medallion, Lowes was significantly less the local cabinet shop. Major appliances of the same brand and models were equal to, or less than, other local stores. As far as the faucets and similar items are concerned, they are absolutely identical when you get the same model and brand name. It is true that major retailers often carry stuff with exclusive brand names, and some things are made to their specs, but you can usually discern this because it has a different model number than the national brand. Some plumbing supply stores and traditional yards do not carry these items, but many have started to because they have to compete. Yes, you can save on many things buying on the internet. We did, but do the research and know from whom you are buying. There really is no magic formula. Costs to suppliers for identical items are often based on quanity purchases, so usually it is the seller that buys the most, has the lowest overhead, and smallest markup that will give you the best price. In the early morning I see a lot of plumbers, as well as other trades at HD and Lowes picking up supplies on the way to the job.

To further clarify antss example, think about the following. You want to compare a 24" base cabinet and 24" upper between cabinet lines. First of all, taking the cabinet out of context of the design doesn't really lead to an accurate comparison. One 24" cabinet on an end of a cabinet run will be treated entirely differently than one in the middle or against the wall and each and every single option will have an upcharge. Then, each cabinet line has "list" price. No one pays list price. The typical % off of list price that a consumer pays has to do with the cabinet line itself, distance from the manufacturer, the volume of the dealer, the showroom location and amount of space of the dealer, the services provided by the dealer, the past year's sales record for the dealer, and a host of other variables. "Typical" discounts from list price range from 30-60%, depending on the countless variables. To say that a consumer "should" only pay 40% of list price is as misguided as to say that a consumer should pay full list price. There are too many variables in the equation for the showroom/KD to even tell you why they charge XX% of list price. Just accept that that's the price, and you may can wiggle 2-3% more if you are providing the design, or other variable that the dealer already has factored in. Contractors who repeatedly spend several hundred thousand dollars with a showroom can typcially get between 3-7% off of the quoted price as long as they don't need more than the simple design services of the staff. So, let's say that Brand X has a list price of $1000 for the 24" base cabinet, and $600 for the 24" wall cabinet. They typially discount 50% off of list price, and since you're not a repeat customer and you're price shopping rather than really wanting to do business with them, that's as much discount as they're going to quote you. 24" base cabinet $500 24" upper (30") $300 OK, take that "estimate" and run with it all around town and compare prices among cabinet lines that you can't really and truly say are exact equals. Find the cheapest and go with them. Then find out that you forgot to price out: Plywood box upcharge 20% $160 Glazed finish 20% $160 finished end panels $450 3" filler for clearance $ 60 % of 8' toe kick molding $ 25 % of 8' crown molding $100 % of 8' light rail $ 60 % of 8' scribe molding $ 20 % of 8' 1/4 round molding $ 40 % of touch up kit $ 2 So, by the time you get through even adding on very minimal finishing touches that don't even qualify as "bells and whistles", that $800 "simple" run of 24" cabinetry costs $1877 in Brand X. We haven't even covered the more complex cabinet modifications and inserts and decorative add ons or even different sized cabinetry or what doing the kitchen A design way versus B design way would impact on price. My cabinet orders for a "typical" medium sized kitchen with nothing fancy for the cabinets can run 12-15 pages long. The manpower hours that such a "detailed quote" takes is nothing short of 100% of actually designing the final kitchen design. Say it's a simple design and it only takes 8 hours of design and going over ever spec and measurement and detail. What I'm producing isn't a "price quote", as such a thing is virtually meaningless without an actual design. This is why I and many other designers require a deposit before design work can begin. If you want a "price estimate", I'll give you a guesstimate based on my experience and the basic number of linear feet of cabinets that you have and your verbal description of what you want in a kitchen and your selection of cabinet line and door. That's really and truly as much as anyone can do without working up a design. I know that can lead to sticker shock for clients, but that's why I try to be totally honest about my guestimates, and that's why mine include those above listed items that most designers won't put in so they can low ball you. And, then you end up adding them anyway, and are shocked and offended when the price more than doubles for your "simple" kitchen. If all anyone is looking for is the lowest price then that's what they are going to get, regardless of any other type of service or competency. If someone is looking for a good value and not necessarily the lowest price, then that's a better outlook and much easier to provide.

This post and responses certainly takes me down memory lane. I've done most of what was mentioned, running the gamut from buying the "cheap" seeds to special ordering online for special items, paying ridiculous prices and S&H. After almost 60 years of gardening, I now go to local places that have bulk seeds and buy what I want. Less selection, but there are only two of us now and we don't do as much canning, etc. as we once did. The most amusing thing I ever saw was a display of "Martha Stewart" seeds at KMart. I was amazed, and took one packet of peas out of the display to look at and almost tossed it to the ceiling, it was that light. The price was $3.49 and that was about 15 years ago. :-)