Making a profit as a building contractor has plenty of challenges, not the least of which is making a profit. Profit is the result of having lower costs than income and that means wherever a contractor can save money on supplies, it's going to help with the bottom line. Vendors that offer discounts on building materials and supplies can save a lot of money. The larger the job, the greater the potential savings from discounts. That's why two of the biggest names in building materials and supplies in North America offer contractors savings programs to help them stay profitable. Both Lowe'sTM and Home DepotTM offer contractor discounts in different ways and for differing products and services.
Each of the discounting opportunities at Lowe's and Home Depot is a conglomeration of different ways to get discounts on purchases. Lowe's offers a contractor card and Home Depot does not. There are other ways to get good deals on building supplies and each retailer has its own way of providing lower prices. One thing each vendor has in common is a Contractor's Desk for professional builders. Homeowners and DIY folks can also receive some of the discounts if they follow the procedures, but most homeowners want to pick up their materials a get back to the job. For contractors to receive the best discounts on products, they have to submit a shopping list to the Contractor's Desk at each retailer. Combining the discounts received from orders submitted through the Contractor's Desk with other offerings can end up saving a lot of money on a project.
The folks at Home Depot have a different approach to offering discounts to contractors. While they do not have a discount card specifically for contractors, they do have some different ways for large-quantity buyers to save money on building materials and equipment. Let's take a look at how to get the best deals:
Bulk Prices - Like many other retailers, Home Depot discounts products for large orders. There are minimum quantities for each item offered through the bulk pricing program but the discounts are pretty substantial. There are discounts of up to 25% on many products, materials, and equipment contractors use to do all kinds of work. Home Depot even has a notification app that sends out text messages and emails announcing special pricing discounts on selected items. When a contractor has a big job ahead of them, this can amount to a lot of savings.
Contractor Quote Desk - Each Home Depot has a Contractor Desk to help professionals find what they need as well as to submit large orders for quotes from Home Depot's commercial quote desk. By submitting the shopping list ahead of time, contractors can get the best prices for each item based on the quantities required. Once again, it doesn't hurt to have a competitive quote (or two) to get that last little bit of discount and save even more.
Equipment Rental Discounts - One of the great things about Home Depot is their tool and equipment rental department. Contractors don't need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars buying equipment they only use occasionally. Renting tools saves time and money with even greater savings when contractors rent tools regularly. The more rentals, the greater the discounts. It's like a double-savings whammy!!
Free Shipping Program - This is a nice addition to the other ways Home Depot can save contractors money. When an order is over $45, it qualifies for free shipping to the job site. Time, money, labor, and frustration are all saved making this an excellent way to keep the profit margin alive. Home Depot will load, deliver, and unload the order at the location specified which means contractors can focus on more important items on their to-do lists. For contractors ordering household appliances, Home Depot provides Free Shipping on equipment over $396 which can save a lot of costs when items have to come from far away.
Discount Gift Cards - Don't forget, those online gift card websites offer Home Depot gift cards with some pretty good discounts from time to time. It's worth looking over a few websites to see if you can get a little more bang for your bucks.
There are a few different ways to take advantage of discounts offered by Lowe's for contractors. For the best pricing and discounts, it is possible to use one or all of the different discounting programs, depending upon what is being purchased and in what quantity. Lowe's offers a few different savings programs and discounts that contractors can take advantage of every day. The following programs are some of the ways contractors can save when shopping for building materials or supplies at Lowe's:
Contractor's Discount Card - One thing Lowe's offers and Home Depot doesn't is a Contractor's Discount Card. Lowe's special Lowe's for Pros program provides a 5% discount for cardholders, but there's a hitch. You've got to qualify for the card like it is a regular credit card. The good news is once a contractor is qualified and receives the discount card, they are also provided with discounts on shipping as well as other special discounting programs not available to regular, retail customers. The 5% discount is available on every purchase when the card is used.
Contractor Packs - Every contractor uses lots of nails, screws, caulk, and hundreds of other items. Purchasing these items in large quantities can save a lot of money, especially when some of the items on the shopping list have been highlighted by Lowe's for additional discounts for a quick sale. Smart contractors know replenishing the stocks and stores of regularly-used equipment and materials saves time as well as money. Less time spent traveling to the supply store and the opportunity to save additional cost make ordering products through the Contractor Pack program a good move.
Volume Discount Pricing - For contractors spending $1,500 or more on products or materials for a project, Lowe's offers their Volume Discount Program. This program helps contractors by reducing prices for items purchased in large quantities on bigger jobs or projects. Contractors can combine orders from various projects or from other contractors to receive the discount. By submitting the materials list to the ProServices desk at the Lowe's warehouse in advance, a contractor can get each item quoted with discounts for the quantities indicated.
Free Shipping Program - In addition to the above discounting offers, Lowe's also has a Free Shipping program for all orders over $45. Think about how much time, money and frustration is saved by having the folks at Lowe's drop off the order rather than having to send someone (or two) to go pick it up and bring it all back to the job site. More than just the cost savings is the convenience and peace of mind letting Lowe's take charge of getting what you need where you need it.
Other Savings Programs - Creative contractors know that they can find discounts to reduce their costs even further if they don't mind negotiating. Many times, the discounts offered by the Lowe's discount programs can be increased by just asking for additional savings. While many contractors understand the larger the order is, the greater the opportunity for discounts can be, few contractors realize that the larger orders can be discounted even further simply by asking for more discounts. Each Contractor's Desk at Lowe's has the authority to further reduce prices if they think they may not get the order and lose the business. Don't be afraid to ask for more. What does it hurt to ask?
Discount Gift Cards - Don't forget that many online gift card sellers offer Lowe's pre-paid gift cards at discounts. Sometimes, those discounts can go as high as 10% or more. And don't worry if you have a Home Depot gift card but you want to go to Lowe's. Lowe's will accept the Home Depot card just like it was their own card, no questions asked.
Today's smart contractor knows there's more than one way to skin a cat. Getting discounts for purchases isn't new, but it does require a little more creativity than it used to. Combining special offers, quote discounts, discounted gift cards, and other bulk buying tricks, a good contractor can save a lot of time and money obtaining what's needed to get a job finished. Both Lowe's and Home Depot offer notifications for savings on pre-selected items a contractor is looking for providing another way to get the most competitive prices on needed products and equipment. One thing is for sure and that is prices aren't going down any time soon. You can get discounts on all types of products and services like window replacement, bathroom remodeling and door installation. With the building boom that has been happening all over America, there are going to be plenty of opportunities to do construction contracting in the future. The question is - are you saving as much as possible when buying from Lowe's or Home Depot?
All Rights Reserved | LANDSCAPE MARKETING BOSS