When buying tile/granite/slate, are there different types of contractor discounts?

Yes and that's business, there is competition. Surely the price for a Contractor will be lower, because this is a fix client, while you only a seasonal client. Even Consultants will have a lower cost, because they are the one specifying such materials.

Contractor Discount

Discount Slate Tile

Not too long ago, I hired a contractor(on L.I.,N.Y.) to install large tiles in my foyer and baths. I selected the tile, called the contractor and he picked the tile up, told me he got a 25% discount on the tile, and gave me 1/2 off (12.5%) on the tiles, plus I had to pay for the labor, which I got a senior discount of 10%. The tile store would have given me a 5% discount on the tile, so altogether, I wound up getting a 22.5% discount. Not bad, I'd say.To answer your question about the type of license determining how much discount a contractor would get. Not so. The larger the quantity of tile orders a contractor will give to a tile establishment will afford a higher discount, I'm told.

SOME contractors get discounts. It depends on the relationships they have with the different suppliers. Most contractors will not pass this discount onto you though. I reccommend that you go directly to the supplier yourself. They are the ones that import the stone from Italy/Mexico/Brazil etc. You will get a better price from them than a distributor. The good thing about the distributor is that they have relationships with all of the suppliers and are able to get a variety of stone whereas the suppliers only have a limited amount of stock on hand.

Go to a different place, this lady is trying to complicate things for you, it always has to do whether or not you have a seller's permit, if you had a business, you'd have it, but that's only so you don't pay the sales tax, sure, many times you get better pricing, but not always, it all depends on what they are offering at the time you happen to be in, I think it's ridiculous she said that, usually and generally you would purchase the tile or whatever material you are buying and bring it to the person that's doing the job, in order to save money, don't listen to her, if I was in your shoes I would've given her a small piece of my mind, simply go else where. What she is saying is not true and other people have told you that as well, or ask to speak to the owner, or manager in charge, I would.

The real discount is that a contractor won't pay the sales tax.

Also stores give regular customers like contractors discounts.

In my area(NY), customers buy the tile themselves and the contractors intall it.

Since I am a regular customer at the tile store(3 tiled rooms so far), I get about a 10% discount.

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The only way a contractor can get it any cheaper than you can has nothing to do with their license, believe me, I am a roofing contractor. It's the same rule as let's say Sam's Club/ Gay-Mart - the more you buy, the better the price. That's with anything.

My dad is a contractor, it does not depend on the license. If he buys it from the store he works for they will sell it to him cheaper and he will pass on that savings to the customer.

General Contractor verse licensed Handy man, yes , Retail price, wholesale price, actual cost buyer of the business gets it cheaper than anyone, and a contractor pays no retail tax you do after he marks it up,, list price