At Home Depot, if you spend a minimum of $5000 (though they'll do smaller amounts if they know you), you can go to the contractor desk, submit your order to them, they'll submit the order to corporate for a price quote, and a few hours later you'll be offered a price somewhere around 8-12% below retail for that particular order.
From there, you can negotiate further (I never accept less than 12% and have gotten it down to 17% off). Generally, the discount will be dependent on the actual stuff you purchase -- higher margin items will get better discounts than lower margin items.
Using the market always works especially with Lowes and Home Depot....they hate losing customers to each other. So if you are not getting the discount you think you should (within reason of course), let them know about it. Also, developing relationships is important (as always) and can lead to better prices.
As with many other aspects of RE investing, "building relationships" is key in this context as well. I haqve made purchases for as little as $100 and without a coupon, have gotten 10% off simply because the manager at the bid desk wants ALL my business and does anything she can for me.
Yep, for my last flip, the Home Depot bid room came in under 10% off for the whole order. I said I should go to Lowe's to get the discount, and they (Home Depot) ended up giving me an additional 15% off the whole order. I've also had 10% discounts applied on "small" purchases, too, because they know me.
I seem to average around 14% discount at Lowes. I usually do not buy any drywall or lumber as I leave that up to the contractor. If I need more supplies for the job a few days later I just show them the bid and they honor the bottom line discount on any extra supplies.
As a side note, I have been having issues with receiving items that were previously returned by someone else. Sometimes with duct tape all over the box. Last time it was wood flooring boxes dropped off at a jobsite that were filled with missed cuts and ugly wood. 4 out of 15 boxes. You would think the guys at the return desk would catch this stuff let alone they not pull and deliver it to me.
Just wanted to thank the poster who mentioned buying gift cards under face value.
I put an ad up on Craigslist offering to buy cards at 75% of face value and scored around $1500 (retail) in cards in just a couple of days...
Then I had a "big fish" call who had $3k in cards @ 80% of face value.
I combined those deals with the 10% lowe's coupons, or sale prices (currently 20% off cabinets)... (i wasn't able to "stack" discounts though...)
Looks like I ended up with most everything for a "gut-style" rehab for around $4k out-of pocket. Best of all, I've now got phone numbers for several people who get these cards frequently.
The thing to watch for with these is that there is a difference between "store credit" and a "gift card" - you can combine multiple gift cards, swap them out for new ones right in front of the seller, etc. Store credits should really be spent ASAP.
If the seller has the "pin" and the card number, they can empty the card anytime by ordering stuff online. If you buy gift cards and swap them, the seller doesn't have the card # or the pin. But store credits can't be used for gift cards...
I always go to the Post Office and get a handful of change of address cards. I didn't know about the 10% military discount Thanks Luis A. That will save me a trip to the post office... Unless I can use the coupon and the military discount together....
I have a "Pro Rewards" account at HD and get 4% off of anything then pay for it with the HD Visa card and get 5% more off, we pay the card back down to 20 dollars when the bill is due. If I'm buying paint I go to the contractors desk and ask for my "Pro Paint" discount that can be anywhere from 10 to 20% off depending on how much I buy.
@Ryan B. I used a service to "trade" my gift cards, for which this service was paid a modest fee.
I had about $400 in Best Buy gift cards and traded them for about 92 cents on the dollar in Amazon electronic cards. If I wanted other cards, the rate was about 88 cents on the dollar.
If I go to these sites to buy cards, you're usually at a 5% discount or so. Their spread is where they make their money.
I have another suggestion for investors who also want to help out in their local communities. You won't make money on this deal, but it does help out a local charity. There are a lot of small private schools and organizations that sell "scrip". These organizations buy at a discount (5-15% usually) and sell at face value. It can really help them with their mission, gets you the same product, and provides you with yet another form of marketing. If you are a big buyer of scrip, your name will get out there.
I personally have not done this, but I have a buddy of mine who put laminate floors down on the cheap by pulling this doosey.
He went to lowes, and managed to talk them down on the cost of flooring and installation. Took that offer and went to the Depot and and they gave him similar flooring for 10% less than the lowes folks. I personally haven't tried this, but they do beat their competitors pricing by 10%...
Whats the latest on the pro desk discount at Home Depot - on my latest project I have my GC buying a majority of the material as I don't have time to run around and source it but I still have to buy exterior doors, toilets, tub, faucets, lighting. Is the threshold for the discount at th pro desk still $2500?
you should have started a new thread since the info in this one is super obsolete.
last i know, they do not give the 5% discount and they dont accept lowes coupons. so now i just pay retail at HD, where i shop exclusively.
i think they still have the bid room, but i never used it since the few times i tried to use it would have "saved me" pennies, so i said "forget it, never again will i bother with this crap".
i knew a contractor that he gets special discount for spending 150k+ at HD each year, but i have no idea how that works..
you should have started a new thread since the info in this one is super obsolete.
last i know, they do not give the 5% discount and they dont accept lowes coupons. so now i just pay retail at HD, where i shop exclusively.
i think they still have the bid room, but i never used it since the few times i tried to use it would have "saved me" pennies, so i said "forget it, never again will i bother with this crap".
i knew a contractor that he gets special discount for spending 150k+ at HD each year, but i have no idea how that works..
George,
If you have a Home Depot / Lowes business credit card, you will get a 5% discount on all purchases. The discount at Lowes will occur automatically, and it must be requested with each purchase at Home Depot.
John Weidner Go to bid room if you're buying 2500+. Ask for "bid room" price at contractors desk. I got 26% discount on my milgard windows, but my other supplier offered me 35%, so good bye home depot.