Have you ever looked at a product in person but before buying it looked online to see if you could get the exact same product at a lower price?

Sometimes comparing prices on products online can save you a lot of money, but when it comes to the construction industry, it might be better just to buy your products from a brick and mortar store.

In this story, one employee at a store that sells high end door hardware shares what happened when a customer thought it was a good idea to buy door hardware online to save money.

Keep reading to see how the story plays out.

Oh I’m sorry, you bought everything online. It’s not our issue

I sell and install high end door hardware at a small, family business.

The hardware I sell starts at $100 per door and goes up to $1000 per door, and being so, we mostly work with high end builders.

Basically, most customers aren’t too price sensitive. We also tell them we can’t compete with online prices before we even start looking at hardware.

My job is to help the customer find hardware that matches their home, and then do a walk-through of their home to get door handings, thicknesses, back sets, and trim size.

(It’s actually really fun walking through expensive homes as they’re finishing being built.)

It seemed like this couple was happy with their decisions.

I had a husband and wife come in a few months ago and I took them through the showroom, showing which options would go well with their new home.

It took a little over an hour and we chose all the interior hardware, but different/special hardware for the master bedroom, lower level, and set them up with special plates for their exterior doors.

I gave them a quote while they were there, showing which rooms/doors get what hardware, and they seemed happy with it.

Great! Another happy customer.

They have me email them a copy of the quote and they say they’ll be in touch for me to do the walk-through.

The customer wanted a cheaper option.

A few days go by and I get an email from them saying they found everything much cheaper online (with free shipping of course!) and asking if I can price match.

Me: Sorry, as I said when we first started I can’t price match as I have a large showroom and offer design and technical help.

Customer: I can get everything for almost $20 cheaper though (per hardware set)

Me: Sorry, but there’s not much I can do. I did help you choose your selections for over an hour though and with the hardware you picked out, you’ll need to get all the specs right when ordering.

Customer: Well everything is much cheaper online so that’s what I’m going to have to go with.

The builder was not happy!

So a few weeks go by and I get a call from the customer’s builder. He’s complaining that most of the door hardware was delivered wrong, and telling me someone needed to come to the job site and sort it out.

I told the builder his customer didn’t buy from me but had mentioned ordering online.

The builder sighed, said ok, and hung up.

Today I heard the rest of the story.

It was not good for the customer!

Apparently the customer took my quote and ordered online directly off of that. My quote didn’t have any technical specs for the hardware so they guessed their way through the whole thing.

When the carpenters tried to install it nothing fit!

The builder told the customer to send everything back and order from my company, but the customer was too embarrassed so they ordered from a competitor much further away.

I bet with the restock fee on their online order and the additional travel expenses for the other hardware company, the customer probably spent twice as much as would have if they just went with me.

Wow! That customer learned a hard lesson. It’s too bad they didn’t just go with the original hardware.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

It can be a good idea to listen to your contractor.

Customer service is worth paying for.

An electrician weighs in.

Apparently, people try to buy wedding flowers online too.

Customers don’t seem to understand that they are paying for labor.

You don’t always save money by shopping online.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.