He owes you $50 for the labor, but you'll probably never collect. And he was totally BSing you about the products being different quality. If they have the same exact model #, then they are the same exact parts. What was in writing that you both signed? If you got nothing in writing, including theparts cost, then you learned a hard lesson. All you can do at this point is to ask for a refund, and tell him you will negatively review him on as many consumer revew sites as you possibly can. I would also complain to his boss if he's not a sole proprietor.

And your reluctance to having asked here, or other "free advice" sites, before, was...........?

And the lack of reluctance to complaining, after the fact?

Welcome to the world of contractors...200% profit expected.

There are some products that the big box stores don't carry in stock (many can still be special ordered) and these parts are more likely to be stock at his plumbing parts place....BUT the same model number is the same product everywhere. I am not clear on what was agreed for the price of the gd from your description, but if he told you he could do better than $260 (new at big box), then he should have. I would check the model number actually installed and see what he actually did.
My issue with the parts from the plumbing contractor is they usually throw away all of the paperwork, including the warranty and you can't provide proof of purchase...and now that you know his real rates you probably don't want to call him.

You could have bought the disposal of your choice online, including the so-called Insinkerator "commercial model", and gotten a very good price, with free shipping and no tax.

The Insinkerators and the Waste Kings are both very good, as long as you get at least 3/4 hp size. The Waste King disposers have 10-year in-home warranties on both their 3/4 hp and 1 hp batch feed disposals (though the 1 hp Waste King is so large, that some have difficulty fitting the 1 hp size with their plumbing). The Insinkerator's 3/4 hp batch feed has a 7-year in-home warranty. I also prefer that the Waste Kings offer a 3-bolt mount, while the Insinkerator is a "QuickLock" which I do not prefer, but it's not a bad thing.

I myself have the 3/4 hp Waste King batch feed 3-bolt mount, #9900TC, for 9 years, and not one problem, and it grinds everything. I understand that the Waste Kings may be louder than the Insinkerators, but the Insinkerator batch feed's chamber is smaller, so it depends what you would prefer.

Regarding your comment that he should have judged better the time it took to do the work: he was probably including in his time estimate the possibility of needing to move the plumbing outlet to accommodate a larger disposal than your 19-year-old one. That happens pretty frequently. If he had to do move the plumbing outlet, his time estimate is accurate. It sounds like the new disposal fit fine with your plumbing, so it took much less time. If he had told you upfront that it would take 30 minutes, but then he had to move the plumbing outlet which took an hour and a half, you would be on here posting about how he didn't inform you how long it would take.

I think since the work has been done, and you did not settle clearly the dollar amount of the disposal upfront with the contractor, nor seek to buy it yourself online and have him just do the installation, you have to chalk this one up as a lesson learned. You said "he should have told me the price". You should have asked him. You didn't ask him his hourly rate either.

The contractor is entitled to his mark-up for the time and money he has taken to purchase the disposal, keep it in his inventory, and install it for you.

Waste King 9900TC 3/4 hp 3-bolt mount batch feed at Walmart - with power cord

Insinkerator Evolution Cover Control 3/4 hp batch feed - no power cord

Insinkerator Evolution "Pro" Cover Control 3/4 hp batch feed - no power cord

This post was edited by akchicago on Sat, Nov 1, 14 at 11:27

Plumbers usually charge you full retail, not the price you can get it for on Amazon. some plumbers won't install things you buy yourself. Also, if they purchase it, they will guarantee the work. If there's a warranty problem, they will handle it - if you purchased it yourself, you'd have to pay labor for any warranty work, even if the part is under warranty. Yes, you should have gotten his price upfront and then decided how to proceed.

Your plumber is also correct that there are commercial/professional models from Insinkerator with different part numbers and they do cost more than the standard models.

This post was edited by weissman on Sat, Nov 1, 14 at 11:39

Weissman, I usually agree with you, but this is one time I do not. I bought my Waste King disposal myself, and my plumber was fine with installing it. The plumber should guaranty his work regardless of whether the he bought the disposal or not. Regarding guarantying the disposal itself, the manufacturers provide in-home warranties that cover parts and labor- Waste King has a 10-year in-home warranty, and Insinkerator has a 7-year in-home warranty. A friend of mine needed a Waste King disposal repair after about 8 years. Of course he did not have the receipt. Waste King asked him for the serial number, which provided them the age of the disposal, and they sent over an authorized repair person.

As to the professional models, I linked above the Insinkerator "pro" model available for consumers. The true "commercial model" disposals are not recommended for home use as they do not have sound insulation and they are very large. The smallest Waste King commercial disposal which is 1 hp, is the 1000-3, which costs $1285. Insinkerator has a 3/4 hp commercial disposal, the SS-75, which costs about $1100. I am pretty certain the OP's plumber was not talking about a true commercial disposal, but talking about the Insinkerator "Pro" that I linked above.

This post was edited by akchicago on Sat, Nov 1, 14 at 12:07

Thanks Holly, I thought he would owe me the $50. too, since I specifically asked and he quoted me $100 an hr over the phone before I agreed to hire him.

I never thought of it Snoonyb.

Practigal, I will check the model # of what I have against those sold at other locations, and ask for the warranty info on the disposal, thanks. I wonder if the price I saw didn’t include wiring that had to be bought separately?

akchicago, good point about the estimate of time and not wanting to estimate less time and it ends up more. I did ask him directly what his hourly rate was and he told me $100. an hr. I also indicated I was going to go with a Waste King and buy it online and he actually talked me out of it. ‘Based on his experience, he recommended the InSinkerator’. Thanks for the links.

Weissman, I specifically asked for an estimate which he said he couldn’t give, I asked for his hourly rate, he said $100. an hr. I asked for an estimate of time to do it, he said 1.5 to 2hrs. I said I was leaning toward a Waste King and buying it online and he talked me into an InSinkerator and when I told him I found it online and at Home Depot and what their prices were, as I said, he talked me into getting it through him, without explaining that it was going to cost more than the prices I just quoted to him. Good to know how plumbers operate with the warranty etc. More questions to ask him. I will have to get the model # and compare. Thanks.

Thanks akchicago for that clarification. I did see that ‘Commerical’ disposal online for that price.

"So, would love some opinions on what you think of our experience with this plumber. Would you call and complain, and would you post your experience to Angie's List?"

I would call and complain and I would post my experience on Angie's list. I raised hell with some plumbers once and got a $2,500.00 job reduced to $1,500.00. Over the phone.