Plumbing Supply Store vs. Home Centers vs. Online

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Matt Forman

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Hi,

As I continue my search, I'm trying to focus more on pricing and quality. I'm sure I'm looking at the Toto EcoDrake (CST743 or CST744).

What I've noticed is the pricing from Supply Stores/Official Toto retailers (based on the "find a showroom" option on their website) seems to be a moderate amount higher than similar models from either online retailers or Home Centers (such as Home Depot or Lowes).

So my question is - is there a quality difference between the unit a Plumbing Supply Store would have, and the unit Home Depot or an Online Retailer might sell?
As an example, for Toto CST744E#01 (Tank, Bowl, and Toto Soft Close Seat):
Home Depot runs about $250 plus materials
The only plumbing supply store I could get a quote from is offering the same model for $363.00 plus materials

Looking at other models, I've seen similar $75 to $100 differences between online/home center pricing and supplier pricing.

Thanks in advance for any input!
 

Jadnashua

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Some brands offer home centers a special price because they are allowed to cut corners. FOr example, say the production line has 2:1000 rejection rate. That's still too high for a professional plumber, but a home center may accept that, saving the company the time to inspect every one letting the customer complain. Since often, they may not recognize a minor defect that a plumber would, they get to use that part and sell it rather than having to trash it or fix it before it going out the door. As far as I can tell, Toto does not do that. Buying the same thing at various places often will have very different prices, even for exactly the same thing. On major brands, those packaged for big box home centers, often have a unique part number - often with an extra letter or slightly different number, but it's called the same thing. When the part numbers are exactly the same, the parts generally are identical, but can have slight differences when the part numbers differ. That also lets the big box stores avoid having to price match because the part numbers don't match, even if it is essentially identical. Even after getting a price, sometimes, you can negotiate. The 'suggested' list price rarely is paid, and that leaves things to market conditions.
 

Flapper

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I've heard about faucets from big box stores being lower quality than ones at plumbing supply stores, even though the model is the same. This was with faucets/ fixtures; didn't hear any mention of toilets.
 
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