Flushing Money Down the Drain

Post date: 2021-06-19 05:15:43

Is there actually a difference in quality if you buy, say, a plumbing fixture (faucet, showerhead, etc.) through a specialty showroom instead of a Home Depot or Lowe's? Even if it's supposedly the same, i.e. "Kohler "Venice" kitchen faucet in brushed nickel" at both?

So I strongly suspect the answer is "there's no appreciable difference and the people involved are just protecting their sales commissions/kickbacks" but wanted to ask anyways.

We are building a house. When it came time to pick plumbing fixtures, there was a kerfuffle between the builder and his plumber. Previously the builder had just sent his clients to Home Depot or Lowe's or wherever to pick out what they wanted and the plumber would install it. Now the plumber says he will only install fixtures if they come from a particular plumbing Fancy Showroom. I know he's almost certainly getting some kind of referral kickback from the showroom, BUT - he claims "the stuff from Home Depot or Lowe's might look the same but the model numbers are different and it's all cheap plastic on the inside and it won't last nearly as long, that's why now I'll only install stuff from Fancy Showroom company]."

Then we tried to select fixtures through Fancy Showroom's e-commerce website but the salesperson flipped out and said those were "consumer grade" and not the same quality at all as what could be had through the showroom directly, and she and the plumber both said we couldn't pick stuff from the e-commerce site unless the showroom also carried it.

So is this...an actual thing? Has anyone done comparisons between Home Depot's "Delta brand faucet A" and Fancy Showroom "Delta brand faucet A" and found the Home Depot line is actually poorer quality? I can kind of understand if it's a warranty thing, but both the plumber and the salesperson mentioned quality/durability instead of a warranty. Also I don't mean Amazon, I know sometimes Amazon sells cheap imposters for legit brands.

Just to head it off: I am not looking for advice on whether or not we should purchase from the showroom/where to get better cheaper stuff, that ship has sailed - this is just idle curiosity!

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