How to Get Contractor Pricing

Different hardware stores present different opportunities for contractors. Some tool stores focus on just the tools to do the job while others put an emphasis on the materials they have available instead. Most try to offer a complete selection of products and services for a diverse range of builders and customers, including DIYers and professional contractors.

What Are Professional Contractors?

The second group, professional contractors, typically have a deeper relationship with their hardware store of choice. They often rely on the store in order to conduct their own business, facilitating many interactions between the two entities. This is because contractors represent a diverse set of businesses, from handy people looking for a bit of extra cash to full-sized businesses with multiple work crews and multiple projects.

What Do Professional Contractors Do?

Although the huge variety of contractor duties makes defining them a difficult task, many of them attend to the same general pool of activities. This includes the main construction activities, like electrical, plumbing, carpentry, demolition, finishing, landscaping and so on. Often these are in relation to a home renovation project, but many contractors are responsible for building homes, commercial buildings and other objects as well. In fact, it may be easiest to consider the products available in hardware stores, and the various purposes for which they exist, as a means of understanding all the various roles a contractor may fulfill.

Therefore, it is easy to see why contractors and hardware stores have such a close relationship. It also shows why most of these stores are willing to provide further incentives for their contractor patrons to get a larger portion of their business. Many stores have tried a number of programs to provide a better experience for their commercial customers.

How Do Hardware Stores Help Contractors?

An example of this is contractor checkout lanes. These lanes are usually faster and built with a wider construction so as to facilitate a faster transaction of a bulk purchase. They are typically staffed by experienced team members who are comfortable with a brisk pace. Another example would be how some stores make loading equipment available, so that large material purchases can be loaded into a vehicle or trailer without much physical exertion or time wasted.

Of course, as the title of this article suggests, many hardware stores will also provide contractor pricing as an incentive for their commercial contractor customers. When it comes to bulk purchases, many businesses across a diverse range of industries will offer lower pricing due to the overall price of the sale. While they lose money on individual unit prices, they make a larger overall amount of profit, making the transaction mutually beneficial.

The discount that contractors receive rests somewhere in between the amount the store paid to procure the item and the amount they have it listed for within their store. In some cases, the product will be reduced to the company’s purchase price, which is referred to as purchasing at cost, but this is not always the case.

How to Get Contractor Pricing

To receive contractor pricing, the process will typically begin with contacting the store you wish to receive the discount from. Unfortunately, every store will have different rules and policies surrounding their contractor agreements, meaning a general process is hard to offer. Still, it will likely involve providing proof of a commercial license, identifying information about the company and employees, and whatever other information is pertinent to the agreement.

Still, stores like Cosmaroma can provide a great benefit to general and specialized contractors alike, making the time investment absolutely worthwhile. Their staff can often also provide advice and support, further increasing the value of their goods and services.