Is this true??

[Dakota731]

Our contractor told us not to buy our appliances, faucets etc at big box stores because they are made differently than those sold at small retailers. He said they use plastic parts and are made cheaper. That sounds dishonest to me!

 

[yankebabie]

We did a full kitchen remodel right down to the studs about 8 yrs ago. Bought all our appliances and kitchen cabinets & hardwood floors at Lowes. Never had one problem with any of it

 

[afan]

Pretty sure that's just how some stuff is made now..redid a bathroom and wasn't told that.

 

[davper]

Buy your product by the model number. Manufacturers will make the same model for different retail outlets. They may look identical but the model number will be different.

Sometimes this is because they are made a little cheaper or because retailers like to guarantee they have the lowest price for that model. They can make that guarantee because they are the only retailer selling that model#.

Many times only the premium models are available at the specialty outlets.

 

[disneysteve]

Our contractor told us not to buy our appliances, faucets etc at big box stores because they are made differently than those sold at small retailers. He said they use plastic parts and are made cheaper. That sounds dishonest to me!

Manufacturers make various models, some are higher end, some are lower end. Nothing dishonest about that as long as it's all clear.

The last time we were looking for a dryer, we went to Lowe's and there were a couple that were absolutely identical on the outside. We asked why the price was different and the salesperson explained that some internal parts were of different quality (plastic vs. metal, for example).

You just need to understand what you're getting and if you are comparing different stores, make sure you are actually comparing equivalent items.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Our contractor told us not to buy our appliances, faucets etc at big box stores because they are made differently than those sold at small retailers. He said they use plastic parts and are made cheaper. That sounds dishonest to me!

As someone else mentioned- make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

Generally the case is that small retail stores don't sell the cheapest option because they may have a service agreement to service whatever they sell and/or they don't want to alienate their clients by selling something that they know won't last.

Big box is generally diy and they're selling not only the same stuff the retailer is, they're also selling cheaper components because there's a need for those components. Like say I get the retail store to do the kitchen. Then I go to the diy store to buy a faucet for the bathroom. I upgrade for the kitchen because I need a workhorse. I buy the cheapest faucet possible for the downstairs bathroom because only the inlaws use it annually. I don't need the contractor or the diy store to "educate" me on the fact that faucet is cheap. The price told me that.

 

[mistysue]

I think this is more true with a situation like buying large items at a walmart, Kmart type place. I know Walmart sells large items like lawnmowers and computers by getting deals with the manufacturers to create cheaper products. It wouldn't be all "big box" vs "small local" type places, but as others have said you have to look into exactly what you are getting because most people just compare price.

 

[Albort]

Its possible that that is true. Look at the TV sold on black fridays compared to regular TVs, they are a huge difference. (ie # or HDMI ports, the refresh rates, etc).

Another case you can look at is Walmart. U will find lot of things cheaper in Walmart but they come at a cost difference and sometimes are in smaller amount.

 

[lorac4disney]

It's not divided exclusively by where you buy your stuff at. Smaller retailers can rip you off just as equally as a larger retailer can. So by that premise, your contractor lied to you. What you do need to do is go to a reputable retailer to begin with. It doesn't matter if they are larger or small, just that they stand behind the products that they sell. Plus, each item varies on quality. Even if the outside looks the same, it doesn't mean that the inside parts are created equally. Research every item you buy, regardless of where you buy it from.

It sounds like your contractor has a preference for supporting smaller businesses. That's fine, but I find it quite shady that they present their personal preference as a "better for you" line of crap.

 

[tvguy]

I agree, check model numbers. It is not uncommon for large retailers to have appliances/faucets/computers/TV's built to their specs to hit their price point. That doesn't mean you can't buy good quality at a large retailer, it means you are going to have lower cost options that may have fewer features and lower quality.
I was amazed when we remodeled at the the price range for Delta faucets that LOOKED identical. Our designer showed us one made of brass, one made of die cast zinc and one made entirely of plastic. $250 for the brass model, $125 for the die cast zinc model, $30 for the plastic one.

 

[Westcoastwild]

It's not divided exclusively by where you buy your stuff at. Smaller retailers can rip you off just as equally as a larger retailer can. So by that premise, your contractor lied to you. What you do need to do is go to a reputable retailer to begin with. It doesn't matter if they are larger or small, just that they stand behind the products that they sell. Plus, each item varies on quality. Even if the outside looks the same, it doesn't mean that the inside parts are created equally. Research every item you buy, regardless of where you buy it from.

It sounds like your contractor has a preference for supporting smaller businesses. That's fine, but I find it quite shady that they present their personal preference as a "better for you" line of crap.

It isn't necessarily a lie. No contractor is going to direct you to a dishonest shop to begin with. And it probably isn't even about shopping local- contractors have to install those cheap components that can be either trickier to install or prone to breaking. It takes some experimenting to see what cheap stuff is functional and what isn't- they likely direct customers to the local appliance store because the appliance store won't steer the clients wrong. Less risk of customer coming back and asking them to install something really awful.

I've done enough diy to know what might work (or more like what definitely won't work) and if I do something for a friend or relative I don't turn them loose at Home Depot. I pick out the parts. They're most likely going to look at the price rather than ask for help or look up reviews. So I can see it from the contractors point of view.

 

[tinka-belle]

It is true that they are made differently. Plumber told me this years ago when installing my dishwasher. He said he can tell if we bought an item at a big box store or a small appliance retailer since the big box do skimp on some parts to get their production costs lower. For example my dishwasher had 4 leveling feet, he said the big box stores often have just 3 (2 in the back and 1 in mid front instead of one in each corner). Also had some different materials for certain parts, metal instead of plastic, longer hoses that allowed for an easier install, better grade hoses and fasteners that would typically last longer, that sort of thing.

A different plumber told me the same thing about faucets, said if I must buy at the big box stores go for the higher end more costly ones that have internal metal parts since the cheaper ones have mostly plastic pieces inside and wear out really fast.

I bought a folding wood TV tray for my den at Walmart to replace a really old one we had got a kitchen store. The Walmart one looked pretty much the same but had only one cross bar leg support whereas the older one had two, so obviously not as strong. About what I expected for less than $10 at Walmart.

 

[Dakota731]

Buy your product by the model number. Manufacturers will make the same model for different retail outlets. They may look identical but the model number will be different.

That's exactly what he said. Let's say Samsung makes a dishwasher for Lowes or Home Depot then they use cheaper parts for the same model that they sell to a appliance dealers. So it is true then! How do you know who sells the good models and what model number is the quality product?

 

[Westcoastwild]

It is true that they are made differently. Plumber told me this years ago when installing my dishwasher. He said he can tell if we bought an item at a big box store or a small appliance retailer since the big box do skimp on some parts to get their production costs lower. For example my dishwasher had 4 leveling feet, he said the big box stores often have just 3 (2 in the back and 1 in mid front instead of one in each corner). Also had some different materials for certain parts, metal instead of plastic, longer hoses that allowed for an easier install, better grade hoses and fasteners that would typically last longer, that sort of thing.

A different plumber told me the same thing about faucets, said if I must buy at the big box stores go for the higher end more costly ones that have internal metal parts since the cheaper ones have mostly plastic pieces inside and wear out really fast.

I bought a folding wood TV tray for my den at Walmart to replace a really old one we had got a kitchen store. The Walmart one looked pretty much the same but had only one cross bar leg support whereas the older one had two, so obviously not as strong. About what I expected for less than $10 at Walmart.

Right but at least in the case of the walmart table, you aren't comparing apples to apples. The kitchen store one was an entirely different brand. You can buy the exact same table- brand and model number- at two different stores. The price will be the only difference.

The appliances that I'm most familiar with are sewing machines. You can buy the exact same machine model at joanns and the dealer downtown. That model will be the "low end" at the shop downtown but it will be midrange- maybe even high end- at joann's. When people say "joann's sells lousy machines" 9 times out of 10 they aren't talking about the same model. They're talking about the same brand but the lower end model that company makes for just joann's. In other words, they bought a lower end machine than you'd even find at the dealer downtown. Joann's and other big box stores have a market for those machines because many of their customers are very price oriented. The dealer downtown isn't going to sell those machines because they are selling machines they use and expect to use for years.

So...let's say one model says the lemon 2000 and one model says lemon 2000X. If you know the brand, you'd know the X means that it's the cheap version. It might have cheaper innards or different functions or come with different accessories. Or all three. So the X might be cheaper but it likely isn't a better deal because it involves some serious trade off.

This is why I hate shopping for appliances. I was shopping for a sewing machine the other weekend and the models make it difficult enough but then you also have to deal with the salespeople, who either know less than I do or are just lying to upsell.

(Using sewing machines as an example only because plastic vs metal is coming up in this thread a lot and that's a huge issue with sewing machines. Plastic can be GOOD because some plastic is actually better than metal this days. But that plastic won't be in a low end appliance and it's not plastic that makes the machine cheap).

 

[supersnoop]

That sounds dishonest to me!

Often times, I find there's a difference between what someone says and what the listener hears. He could have been completely honest and truthful and may have phrased his statement in a way to be as unambiguous as possible and you simply misunderstood. Or he could have been blatantly lying. Nobody here could say for sure.

Regardless, if the appliance has the same model number, then it's built with the same parts. Big box stores tend to carry the less expensive models. Cheaper models are, well, cheaper. There's nothing inherently dishonest about that. Home Depot might sell the "MAV3200" which looks identical to the "MAV6200" but costs $300 less. The difference isn't just the features, but the entire build quality.

 

[crisi]

Often times, I find there's a difference between what someone says and what the listener hears. He could have been completely honest and truthful and may have phrased his statement in a way to be as unambiguous as possible and you simply misunderstood. Or he could have been blatantly lying. Nobody here could say for sure.

Regardless, if the appliance has the same model number, then it's built with the same parts. Big box stores tend to carry the less expensive models. Cheaper models are, well, cheaper. There's nothing inherently dishonest about that. Home Depot might sell the "MAV3200" which looks identical to the "MAV6200" but costs $300 less. The difference isn't just the features, but the entire build quality.

Big box stores will often also carry the more expensive models, but you have to be looking for them - since they put the low priced ones front and center. And they almost certainly carry them online.

 

[Dakota731]

It's really hard with faucets. They look identical, but he said the ones at Lowes have plastic parts inside, so how is a consumer to know which retailers carry the well made products?

 

[Tattylou]

Had a plumber tell me same as @tinka-belle

 

[CMNJ]

I had a plumber recently tell me that if you want a quality faucet you should go to a plumbing supply store to purchase one as they carry the higher quality ones. He said the big box store faucets aren't really made to last long and not to be surprised if those lasted 5-8 years

 

[Westcoastwild]

It's really hard with faucets. They look identical, but he said the ones at Lowes have plastic parts inside, so how is a consumer to know which retailers carry the well made products?

Read reviews? Look at specifications? Hunt down a faucet specialist or plumber and get them to educate you on the ways of faucets? That's pretty much what I do.

Plastic does not necessarily mean bad, btw. Bad design means bad. Faucets can be kind of tricky because often the money difference is aesthetic (chrome would be cheaper than bronze and you want whatever matches your fixtures).

But I've had less expensive stuff last for years and expensive stuff that is a pita to install and fix, so much of it is down to design and preference. It's just generally there's a price that translates into "will need replacing next year".