[M_Six]

My nephew once told me that things like plumbing fixtures and such that are sold in big box stores like Home Depot are inferior to those a home builder can source through their suppliers, even though the two items may appear to be identical. He pointed me to several sites where you could source commercial grade stuff, albeit at a higher price.

Fast forward to today. I had a hot water circulating pump installed and had the plumber supply the pump, which they got through their wholesaler. The pump seems to be top quality. I have no beefs with that. But the cost was roughly double what a seemingly identical pump would cost from Amazon or Home Depot. When I mentioned that to the plumber, he gave me the exact same spiel about commercial grade supplies vs big box store grade.

Is this really a thing? Do the big box places sell inferior stuff from the same manufacturer just so they can keep the prices low?