I'm sure you can, but those prices don't sound unreasonable.

Yes, you can buy a free-standing tub online. I'm buying one from Qualitybath.com. Another website I looked at is Build.com. Heck, even Amazon has a huge selection. For tub fillers, I found Pelham & White on Amazon has very reasonable prices and good reviews, but I ended up going with a more expensive Rohl filler. Good luck!

I bought mine on Amazon for $700.00 it's a beautiful freestanding bathtub.

I bought mine at Build.com. It was a name brand (American Standard) and it was half the price the local plumbing store was asking for the identical model. In addition, it was shipped to me for free and arrived in 3 days, rather than waiting the 6 weeks that the local folks told me it would take if I bought from them.

The only caution I would give you is that you should not accept delivery of an item like this without: 1) unboxing and inspecting it first, or 2) signing for it with the written disclaimer that you are accepting it subject to your inspection for hidden damage. My tub's cardboard shipping box had a penetration in it, probably from some forklift hotrodder, but there was no damage to the tub itself.

I also avoided the ridiculous cost of a floor-mounted tub filler by positioning one end of the tub close to a wall where I had a wall mounted filler installed:

Whatever type of tub filler you go with, make sure to check the gallons per minute specs. There is a wide range, and the lower end flow rates (say 2 gpm) could mean that it will take 20 minutes or more to fill the tub.

You can buy anything online. Whether one should or should not is a separate topic.

Nothing beats sitting your hiney in a tub, in a showroom. And paying for that privilege to be certain that you have the opportunity to do in person tub sitting again in the future. A tub isn’t a pair of too narrow shoes that Zappos will let you send back until you find the magically right fit.

The internet is a Casablanca bazaar, full of things that are too good to be true, and often even dangerous. Yes, there are some genuine quality and good deals found there too. Buy you have to know enough to sift the nuggets out of the muck.

Sure you can. There is one available like Kudzu showed above for $944 right now and FREE shipping on Amazon. Just be there when the freight truck delivers to check that it is fine.

A dozen others show up immediately upon searching, some as low as $600 or so.

I have purchased some amazing stuff on Amazon.

If you plan on really taking baths, I would stop into a showroom and try out the tubs first. We did, and some of the most beautiful bathtubs were extremely uncomfortable. Find what you like, then order it online.

I recently bought a tub online. I was surprised at how plastic it is. It's shiny white plastic. Had I seen it in person I wouldn't have picked it. It is very pretty and came with the tub filler. It's pretty comfy too.

Sophie, I bought an alcove tub online and it arrived in 4 days but had a scratch on the side. We refused it and it went back to the company, no charge to us. In five days, they had a replacement tub that we inspected and was perfect. It cost about 60-70% of what one would have cost locally.

Yeah, and if you just didn’t like how you fit into the tub? Who is paying to send that back? Tubs that are used, are about comfort. Tubs as art objects that never get used is probably the cheepchinesecrapola. And it just sits there. Yellowing and becoming brittle.

Showrooming is unethical. You use someone’s brick and mortar paid for resources to try out products and then not buy from them. There won’t be any showrooms for people to touch and see products if you keep up that practice.

Sophie, as for my household, we take showers. As for a free-standing tub, well I guess that fad will eventually play itself out, just like the garden tub. I saw a study that said garden tubs were actually use on average about 7 times in the life of the tub.

The free-standing tub is beautiful and a good design point to add to a bathroom. Are they practical? I don't think so, but it's not my bathroom, not my money.

I shopped for the style I wanted online, looked at the dimensions and the technical drawings, bought a name brand at half the showroom price, and ordered. It arrived, it got installed, and I'm happy with it. I didn't go to a single showroom, or feel I had to.

You're going to find a whole lot more choices online than you'll find by visiting all of your local showrooms. And if you order from someone reliable, like build.com, you're not going to have quality problems or issues with returns, if needed.

It's a bathtub, not a hand-tailored suit from Saville Row. I figured that if I went with a namebrand, a style that wasn't extreme, and dimensions that showed it fit in the space and was wider than my butt, it would be fine. And I was right. But if you're the type of person who perseverates and agonizes over every decision, and second guesses yourself afterwards, buying a bathtub online might not be the way to go. I had no regrets.

Ethics? Oh!! I remember those! I had a client recently who "visited" her selections weekly for months during a reno. It got to be a joke! I said "why don't we just build YOUR bath in THEIR showroom?!"

I was getting texts from them... " Your client is here again, she's on the toilet with her skirt yanked up....."

We should have paid that place DOUBLE the price. But yes we at least bought it all from them and their patience with my client???? Yeah, amazing

"perseverates" What a cool word! Thanks, kudzu9!

Carolina, freestanding tubs have been around forever, hardly a fad. When I was a renter in the 1990's, it was one of my requirements for my apartments, and I never had a hard time finding one. There are lots of us bathers out there who like the depth, charm and simplicity of a freestanding tub. I'm starting to feel like showerers:bathers::dog people:cat people.

K. Holiday-

I agree. Freestanding tubs have been around since people started looking for alternatives to using the local river. I doubt they're going away soon.

Thank you for all of the comments. I was not looking to find the tub the woman showed me cheaper online (I think that issue is generating quite a few responses here). I was asking if people buy tubs and faucets online without seeing them so I could find a cheaper one. She told me they carry the best brands in her store and $3200 was beyond what I had budgeted. I may have to change my budget around if I can't find a good one elsewhere but I want to try online first. I called build.com thanks to one of the comments. Someone told me Jacuzzi or Maribelle were reliable brands. They said Delta, Moen or Kohler for a tub filler. I will see what I find there. Thank you for all of the tips.

Depending where you live, there may be some discount tub places. I bought at this place: https://www.modernbathroom.com/ which happens to have its physical location in LA where I live. its bathtubs were comparable to online places and it was worth it to see it. To somewhat contrast what was said above -- while I had no problem at all with them, others have had some bad customer service experiences, including some friends of mine. So I think that can happen anywhere, not just online

yes, you can certainly purchase online. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few options. Build.com, wayfair.com, efaucets.com just to mention a few. Of course there are many other options, including amazon.com. But to answer your question, yes it can certainly be done.

Kudzu9 Did you get a free standing tub filler? If yes, can you share the name? Maybe I can cut spending a bit there? I guess this is what tubs go for. Thank you.

Stacey-

No...as I mentioned in my first post, I got a wall-mounted one for about $400. You can see it in the picture I posted. I like a simple and clean look and the floor mounted ones look like fancy, exposed plumbing to me. If you can run your supply pipes up into the wall, all you need is the valve that's hidden in the wall, like a shower valve, and the spout and and handles that are surface mounted. l also like it because it doesn't take up space, and you don't have to worry about the structural issues that a floor mount sometimes requires,especially if you have to go through tile. My wall mount does go through wall tile, but I prefer that as it seemed easier than plumbing that has to go through and be secured to floor tile. Just my preference, but it made tub filling a whole lot cheaper.

P.S.: I could have gotten a cheaper tub, but I preferred getting a name brand I had had good experiences with before. I'm sure that there are good quality tubs out there that sell for less than what I spent, but I'm not an expert on tub brands. I was simply happy spending $1620, as opposed to $3000-6000 locally.

kudzu9, I didn't realize that was your bathroom up above. You did a fabulous job!! That is the exact tub that I love. i have a contractor coming on Thursday and will confirm with him what dimensions I need. I am angling the tub in the corner so not sure I could put the faucets on the wall. I actually prefer that so I'll ask him. Thank you for you input.

Stacey-

Good luck. I'll be interested to hear what you decide to do.

When you buy a faucet, buy a Delta, Kohler or Grohe. Moen is a cheaper faucet and changing it out isn't like changing a vanity faucet, there's more involved. I understand budget is a factor, but don't let it be the only factor.

Just a side note, but I LOVE my Krauss Faucets and sinks. Very high quality and heavy weight. My plumber was impressed.

I looked at Costco. That one is nice but has a depth of 12 inches water and I wanted a bit deeper. I saw this one on Houzz. it's exactly the size and shape I am looking for and it got great reviews but wondering if you can trust Houzz. Build.com doesn't sell it. Wayfair does. https://www.houzz.com/products/tropicana-oval-soaking-bathtub-white-60x30-prvw-vr~37468664

Does anyone know if you need insulation on these tubs or does this look okay? I liked the one the woman in the store showed me (that turns out to be american standard which I know is good) but that was 68 inches. The contractor said I should get closer to 60 inches and the AS one that size is not the look I want.

You don't need insulation since there is typically an air space between the inner and outer walls so it sort of works on the same principle as a thermopane window. A tub with a solid wall wouldn't be as thermally efficient because the tub material would pull heat out of the water more quickly and transfer it to the rest of the room.

Since you seen to be interested in a greater water depth, just remember that you better have a water heater big enough to give you the volume of hot water needed to fill it to the depth you want.