The Benefits of Homeowners And Painters Buying Paint
There is nothing wrong with buying house paint yourself if you want control over material purchases or want to get a corporate or employee discount. On the other hand, there are tremendous benefits and value in hiring a professional painter, including cost savings, expertise, experience, product knowledge, and convenience.
Are you considering buying paint because you lack trust in your painter or their process? If so, materials are the least of your worries, and you should hire a painter you can trust throughout every aspect of the project.
Do Painters Markup Paint Materials?
A service provider’s ability to offer professional recommendations is critical in hiring painters or any home service. While the overall experience of not having to purchase paint has monetary value, most painters choose to pass along any potential savings to their customers. Painters who markup the paint price make less than 8% on each gallon, and the increase is from a discounted price.
Most painters make little to no money on paint materials and know we risk losing your business when paint is marked up. Labor is how we make money, and substantial paint discounts for homeowners or contractors are all but nonexistent if you are not an employee—despite the elusive seasonal discounts from artificially inflated retail prices that paint suppliers promote to increase their annual sales.
Reasons Homeowners Want to Purchase Paint Materials
Whether it’s the homeowner or contractor, as painters, we understand that the pride of purchasing materials used to paint a space is a rewarding part of the process for those passionate about the transformation.
While some reasons for purchasing paint may be less justifiable than others and may seem misguided, a contractor should be flexible enough to respect the recommendation. If a homeowner mentions purchasing their paint, we immediately say, “Okay,” all defenses are down, and they typically retract and ask us to buy it instead.
The takeaway for contractors reading this article is to remain flexible, stay open to educating homeowners, and be patient throughout the process. Anticipating and understanding client questions and their reasoning equips you to help them and will differentiate you from other companies.
Here are the top reasons some clients are entertaining the idea of buying materials themselves.
When materials are omitted from the contract, the cost seems less, allowing you to see and understand labor costs more clearly. However, quotes from professional vendors should be clear and itemized already.
Do Big Contractor Discounts Still Exist?
There was a time when painters who purchased large quantities of paint received substantial discounts on particular paint brands and types. With rising paint prices, huge deductions are significantly less standardized for professional residential painters.
Massive paint price cuts are no longer as abundantly offered to contractors overall. Costs considered significant contractor price cuts are often only 6-10% less than seasonal and promotional homeowner sales prices. Since margins are thin, there is really no incentive or room to raise the price, we are just thankful we are not overcharged.
Control of Materials Enable a Smooth & Quicker Process
Our professional full-service painting includes ordering, purchasing, and delivering freshly mixed paint just before the job starts. Our ability to control paint orders lets us immediately get what we need at the most critical times, often as we are finishing or at a crucial step of the process. Contacting homeowners and waiting when we need more paint would be inconvenient for everyone.
It is always more straightforward for whoever is applying the paint to purchase it. Knowing exactly where the paint was bought and being able to call in orders saves time and makes it easier to purchase more paint.
Having complete control of the buying process also mitigates issues, expedites paint mixing, and protects our customers from color inaccuracies and insufficient paint mixing mistakes. We also have an opportunity to provide recommendations explaining the specifics and benefits of each product type and paint finish.
When Buying Your Own Paint is Most Common
When painting a room yourself, you are responsible for purchasing all materials. It is perfectly understandable to buy paint when hiring a handyperson, seasonal worker, or someone unfamiliar with a paint type or who has not established an account with a specific paint supplier.
Painters who work on the side often do not have accounts with suppliers or may ask you to purchase materials so they can manage their expenses.
Additionally, if you know a lot about paint, prefer to buy it yourself, and are willing to do the legwork, make sure you buy enough, have access to more if needed, and don’t buy it too far in advance. Otherwise, the paint will need to be reshaken, which adds unnecessary trips to the paint store.
Advantageous of Painters Buying the Paint
While professional services may cost more, one of the main reasons to hire an expert is to remove the responsibility, liability, guesswork, and hassle. Professional service allows you to focus on the inspirational portions, like finding the perfect paint color, instead of the technical nuances of product type, prices, and finishes.
Buying a few gallons of paint for smaller projects has little to no logistical challenges. However, purchasing large quantities of paint requires a larger vehicle and arm strength, as a 5-gallon paint bucket weighs 30-80 lbs.
Here is a list of the top advantages of letting your painter purchase the paint.
Verifying Paint Mixing Labels & Batch Numbers
If you think your painter is dishonest, again, you should hire someone else. However, if you are stuck, there are ways to ensure you get what you paid for.
Paint companies, like Sherwin-Williams, have batch numbers on each can. A batch number is an identification number specific to each batch of paint mixed at the manufacturing plant. It enables pinpointing when and where the paint was made. You can call your local paint store if you feel compelled to verify. However, being overly leery adds unnecessary steps to an otherwise straightforward process.
Trust the integrity of the contractor you ultimately hired, but if you are determined, there are enough product reviews and resources to cross-reference paint materials and a painter’s recommendations.
Considerations More Important Than Who Buys the Paint
Here is a list of more considerable things than who buys the paint.
Paint Purchasing
The overarching message is that you will benefit from a transparent, full-service painter in all aspects. The problem is that most painters give a total price without breaking down the costs. Hire a painter who itemizes the bill or contract to understand the specifics of the total cost.
If you know what you are looking for and how much paint is needed, the painter won’t object, but they would likely prefer to handle getting the paint themselves for specific reasons that have nothing to do with marking the paint up.
We are a full-service commercial and residential painting company! Contact us for quality and full service!
