Pressure canners are hard to find in stores, unless you have a big kitchen supply store near you who can order one (they will want a bigger profit on the sale?). I beleive the All American pressure canners sometimes will offer a factory second, (cosmetic blemishes) for a better price direct from their factory. The ViIlaware food strainer isn't something sold by many stores either. I have provided several links for these in other posts, and one on line place (Sausage Maker) in NY has the VIllaware as well is its assortment of strainers and even the grape spiral for a decent price. For me, its gigantic stainless steel bowls, and I do have a couple here that can handle a couple of gallons of something at a time. My biggest pot will hold a little over 5 gallons. The lid caddy is a neat device too. Its slotted, so a dozen lids sit vertically while in a simmering pot of water. It has a handle that you lift out of the hot water and can easily get a lid. I also have the magnetic type I use for just a couple of lids in a small batch of canning.

I am in middle of an entire house down to the studs reno. I spent a lot of time on http://www.google.com/prdhp?hl=en&tab=wf doing research on prices. I went with the best prices, sometimes could not find any feedback and sat anxious until things arrived. In the end, I furnished a 2.5 bath, 2 sink kitchen for less than half of the local plumbing supply 'discounted' prices and ended up with higher end items. Here are the best places I've found: dealyard.com - if you can find what you want, the prices are just plain unbelievable on high end products, in a few cases, I paid 10% of list for discontinued styles of high end European items. we ordered seven faucets, one shower set, one shower/bath set, one roman bath set from here all arrived in perfect condition. was in three separate boxes, fed ex, the company only had signature required on one of the three boxes, so two boxes were left outside our home one day, and the third box needed signature - all three should have needed signature - weird glitch. Would suggest calling the company after placing order to make sure they require signature - I didn't do this. faucetdirect.com - ordered jacuzzi air tub and kohler cast iron bath tub. prices were the best for these items. they were shipped separately. it was snowing the day the kohler arrived and the ups driver said that dropping the tub to the curb was not included in the delivery, so the contractor plus plumber actually lifted it themselves. customer service said it was not their fault, UPS said it was not their fault, either way, I did pay for curbside delivery and did not get it, I would suggest when ordering large items like this to talk to the company ahead of time, which I did not do. homeproductstogo.com - ordered three toto toilets. no problems. really nice local delivery company was used who insisted on helping us take the items into our home - I did not pay for white glove service, and got it anyway overstock.com - kitchen sinks. no problems. Hope this helps.

Direct Buy definitely isn't for everybody. If you're shopping only for cheapest price & aren't concerned about brands or quality, it's not for you. If you only buy a few very specific brandnames and DB doesn't carry them, it's not for you. I read a lot of the negative comments about it online & most of them just confirmed that it would be a good deal for us. Since we're owner/builders and have to source a lot of things ourselves the membership fee wasn't a big deal - we made it back in the savings on our windows alone. (bought very high-end windows that wouldn't have been able to afford to look at otherwise). We have a very tight budget but expensive tastes so I don't know if we've saved tons of money with DB but we have been able to get much better quality than we could afford elsewhere. Keep in mind that they are franchises so the customer service & sales tactics can vary a lot between locations depending on the owner. Another thing that varies is the local merchants who are associated with DB. We're lucky enough to have lots of good ones at our location so have been able to take advantage of the design services at big lighting, plumbing & tile stores & a high-end local cabinet manufacturer while getting great discounts. We haven't bought everything through DB, it's just one more resource for us. I'm always on the look-out & have found some great deals at store close-out & moving sales. Another thing to consider is that if they carry manufacturers you like, you have each company's entire line to pick from, not just the best-selling items that the stores carry. That's important for us because our tastes don't always coincide with what's most popular in our local stores. It doesn't make sense for everyone, and it depends on what your local showroom is like, but I have no regrets about joining. After reading some of the responses, I don't know why people get so worked up about a company they have chosen not to deal with. If it makes sense for you to join, that's great; if not, don't join but why get so incensed about those who do?

Another vote here for build.com. I've probably put in 20 orders with them in the last two years. I particularly like their sales reps because they actually seem to know the stuff and can compare and contrast, as well as make suggestions. Once I was looking to match some 15 year old unbranded faucets, and the build.com rep found the match and called me back in an hour...after I had spent a fruitless week trying to get help from other sources. Prices are generally quite good, they will usually be able to match a price if you find an item cheaper elsewhere, and there is fast, free shipping. Last year I ordered a bathtub from them on a Monday and it was delivered from another state on Wednesday. I've also never gotten an item that needed to be sent back.