supplier refusing to match other suppliers

[huggytree]

i am bidding on the plumbing for a large new house..$40K in plumbing (typical house is $12-15k)

they selected fixtures at a plumbing supply house and sent me the fancy printed picture book. I had a hard time getting the supply house to even release the itemized price list....so i took their price list and sent it to my 2 supply houses i normally use.

the price was $577 less.....$577 is alot of $ on a plumbing bid...ive lost houses over $100....all bids should be within $500 of each other..

I asked them to match the other bids so that i can be competitive. They refused stating 'this customer has visited 4x'...

I told them that if i use their $ and lose the bid to someone who was $577 less how does that help either of us...they would rather have 0 than $577 less....

I dont use this supply house often, but occasionally i have a customer who demands them...so i dont want to burn a bridge...also they spec'd faucets that are only sold by them...so id have to still get those faucets and they told me they would not sell them to me by themselves...

So i bid with the extra $ on my fixture allowance, but made a note next to the allowance 'by reselecting fixtures at X supply house you can save $577 off this bid'

any thoughts of my idea?

[Steve B]

I like the way you handled it.

[Spider]

As this is clearly a custom-built house, I imagine the client is not going to be worried by an additional $577 for the plumbing fixtures they have selected after 4 visits to the supply house personally selecting the items they want. $577 is really not a huge amount for this client.

As protection, though, handling it as you did will cover you in case another plumber bids for cheaper fixtures and doesn't say so in his bid.

A minor point - I would have been inclined to actually make the deduction---

Plumbing as specified ...... $39, 975.00

Less suggested saving
using alternative but
equal quality fixtures .............$577.00

....................................$ 39,398.00

--- so the client can see the effect of the saving and you get to present a lower price.

I'm thinking, though, that the client will stick with his personally selected fixtures.

[The Entrepreneurs Network]

$577 on $40,000 job amounts to less than 1.5%. I don't know how tight margins are on plumbing jobs, but I would think that there is some room to make it up elsewhere. For less than 1.5% on the total job I would include the fixtures the customer asked for. They have probably done their homework and know what they want. Use the lower price in your bid. When you get the job, you have some leverage with suppliers and you can try to squeeze them on the fixtures or other materials.

[Harold Mansfield]

I say go with the supply house that the customer has chosen. It's great that you showed them the difference in price and options, but if I were the client, $577 when I'm spending $40k, is not enough to make me go with a different supplier, especially if I have a good relationship with the original supply house.

Looking at it from the perspective of the supply house...if the client has already visited them multiple times and priced everything out...they would lose respect if they lowered the price for you and possibly lose repeat business from that client.

If someone called me and got one bid and had their friend call and got an entirely different bid...I would look less than credible and would probably lose both jobs and any referral business.

I'd stick with what the client wants...you may be able to get this new supply house to work with you on future bids as long as you don't beat him out of this one. You also run the risk that if something goes wrong with any of the fixtures or supplies, you will be on the hook for not going with the supplier they(the client) recommended in the first place....you could burn 2 bridges at once.

[huggytree]

ive had pricing issues with this supply house before. i stopped using them long ago because they refuse to give me better prices...they call me a couple of times a year asking 'why dont you use us'...i always say they need to match the 4 other suppliers in the area..they say they will , but dont...recently a new manager took over and he said he would match my .58 multiplier on Kohler...well im still at .62....some of the fixtures they have me at a .75 which is horrible and not acceptable

from my experience there is a 100% chance they will go elsewhere to save $577..yes its a small % compared to the whole picture, but houses are soooo expensive they will take anything off they can get. every sub. will have a way to lower the bid..they can save $5k just from minor changes to every sub....

i wont burn any bridges...a good business makes no enemies.
this will be my largest project ever and i dont want to lose the job over $577

[Spider]

People can be funny over bathrooms - quite unpredictable, even. I had a friend who had bought a large, older house and was doing some fairly extensive remodelling, starting with the master bathrom. It was going to be huge, with a bank of three washbasins, separate cubicle WC and bidet, bathtub and separate shower, top of whatever line he had chosen. The bathroom was going to be bigger than his dining room. Why? Because, he said, the only time he gets to see his kids and his wife together for any length of time is in the morning when everyone is getting ready to leave the house. And the bathroom was where they all spent most of that time!

I built my house with the most expensive black Kohler fixtures with gold-plated fittings, and a black marble, fabricated shower tub. The bathroom looked fabulous. Would have changed anything else on the house except that.

As for saving $5,000 on the price of the house by scrimping with every subcontractor, they will save precisely $25 per month on a 30-year mortgage. That's assuming they are not able to pay an additional $5,000 in downpayment.

But, maybe they will, and you have prepared your bid to allow for that eventuality - which is perfect.

[greenoak]

i would probably just ignore it and not draw attention to yourself over it....thinking it might look petty or confusing to the homeowner....and irritating to the supplier you might need later....
wouldnt that 577 have to be in everybodys bid if they put in what the home owner specified?
sounds like a great job...
ann

[cocoy]

It can go either way.

I've had clients approve certain fixtures and that's what they want installed.

And I've seen some that will go with something cheaper after approving something else because they realize they can save $ and live with the cheaper alternative.

[huggytree]

there may be 15 plumbers bidding on this job with various builders...i know of 4 builders bidding, but there could be more..some builders get 5 bids from each sub group.

some will be honorable like me and have that $577 in their bid, but some will definately price shop/cherry pick to lower their price by $577 to get the job...id say 80% will cherry pick.....so by being honorable i may lose the job...thats why i decided to go in the middle....it makes me competitive and also keeps me honorable to the supplier..

the builder also agrees that the homeowner will repick fixtures to save $577

i also posted this on a plumbing blog i write on...sounds like this particular supplier is closing outlets all over the country...no one said anything positive about them...the faucet line they spec'd is their own brand...how will you get parts when they are out of business.......i will get the homeowner to switch very easily....i dont like using off brand faucets anyways...i have to warranty them for a year, so i like to use Kohler.