26 inch T8 fluorescent bulb pricing

[speedog]

So we had the fluorescent bulb on the top of our stove go out on the weekend. Home Depot and Rona were a no go, don't stock them but will bring them in at a hefty price. Did some searching and they're $39.59 at AMRE Supply, thought that was a crazy price so did more snooping. Same exact bulb, same manufacturer/model, at Home Hardware in Airdrie for $10.99 and at Canadian Tire for $13.99..

So what exactly is making AMRE Supply's extra $25.60 or $28.60 worth it?

[revelations]

Probably because CT and HH order large quantities and get discounts plus smaller stores can have larger markup due to low sales.

[speedog]

Originally posted by revelations
Probably because CT and HH order large quantities and get discounts plus smaller stores can have larger markup due to low sales.

Nope, that doesn't seem right. When we were in the pet food/supply industry as a small independent, sure the big chains got bigger discounts but not disproportionately so that we were priced 2-3 times more than the big box places. Often we were lower priced or competitively priced because our overhead was much lower.

Is it just a case that AMRE is vastly overpriced and banking that people go to Home Depot or Rona and then give up and call them? I also do not know what Coast Wholesale or places like that would charge but I suspect CT and HH would have them beat.

[Thaco]

i had a similar experience with windsor plywood, got a couple sheets of melamine, they were minimum 30% more than HD, but i went to them to avoid getting panels that people had abused.

I figured being specialized they'd be cheaper, i was wrong.


but with regards to your light, you should probably just get an led replacement bulb, much lower power consumption, probably twice the price but it'll last more than twice as long.