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Hello HD supply goodbye ccdickson!

6K views 40 replies 18 participants last post by  user12345 
#1 ·
Just went into CC dickson to buy a new 35 -5 -440 capacitor, guy at the coutner says they can't do business with me any more becuase I dont' have hvac license, new manager rule. They couldn't recommend anyone to help me either, which is what pissed me off. They know their competition, they must assume I have no google skillS!

CAlled up their competitor East Coast Metals and they didn't have the cap I needed either. ECMetals recommeneded HD supply which was not only cheaper, but closer to my home! And they have a catalog so I can just call and order ahead of time.

Some companies just shoot themselves in the foot. I wont' be shopping at CC dickson again.
 
#6 · (Edited)
It may have not yet happened but it is possible. DIY Bob blows up a capacitor in is face or his furnace and says yeah the guy at the parts counter told me how to install it. Now he may be lying or true.

Ambulance chasing lawyer gets involved and Voila you got a suit. If they sue McDonalds for hot coffee burns when they spill it on themselves anything is possible. Who needs the hassle of going to court and paying lawyers.

It also is about tradesmen hating to see DIYers buying parts and taking work away their work too. Lots of Wholesalers don't have cash registers either and using accounts with contractors may be easier/more economical for accounting purposes rather than dealing cash. If I had to guess the average profit from selling parts to a DIYer in a day is less than 5% of their daily take so they are not suffering w/o that business.
 
#7 ·
It has a little to do with liability, michaels got sued some years ago from some DIYer who blew up his own boiler.
It also has to do with returns and restocking. A lot of the managers around here were done with homeowners who would buy parts, then immediately return them after it didn't repair the unit.
Plus the people were coming in seeking technical advice and taking away from time they could have spent helping those in the trade.
 
#12 ·
I can go into an autoparts store and buy brake shoes, get advice from the counter help and even buy a book on how to fix my brakes. then run home and do the job. If the brakes fail or the jack falls, who gets sued??? Its not about liability, my opinion is that its protectionism. My opinion also is that its misplaced. Lots of people fix their own cars, and low and behold, auto repair shops are still around!!!

as a final thought, I would love to have a "haynes" manual for my AC unit, just like I have for my cars.
 
#15 ·
guy at the coutner says they can't do business with me any more becuase I dont' have hvac license,
The company you mentioned clearly states that their a wholesale supplier. I'm not sure why you think that you should be able to buy from them.

I admit that I have no experience with HVAC supply houses but I have plenty with other wholesale building material suppliers.

The supply houses never used to sell retail until the economy tanked. After that then everyplace I dealt with started to sell to anyone that walked through the door. I can only assume this was no different in the HVAC industry.

Today all of my suppliers are back to wholesale only which tells me that business is good again and they’ve been able to return back to their business models.

While you're going off on your rant about how that place will no longer sell you parts, I see it as a very good sign that economy is recovering nicely. Something even you should be happy about.
 
#30 ·
I don't buy the liability thing.
HD and Lowes sells gas lines, electrical wiring/panels, nail guns, acetone, knives, axes, and a bunch of other potentially lethal/dangerous items or parts that could be involved in death.
Auto stores sell brakes and gas lines (as have been mentioned) with no consideration to danger.
Right or wrong, I think it is about protecting their relationship with their key customer base: the pro repairman. Also, a PITA having to deal with returns and free advice. I'd probably do the same if I were them...
 
#33 ·
I don't buy the liability thing.
HD and Lowes sells gas lines, electrical wiring/panels, nail guns, acetone, knives, axes, and a bunch of other potentially lethal/dangerous items or parts that could be involved in death.
I don't either.
I don't think liability plays a role at all.... except for maybe things like gas valves and such. But not selling something like a capacitor to the general public is nothing more than protecting the HVAC business base. If Lowes can sell an electrical panel to a consumer and not worry about liability then certainly an HVAC shop can sell a capacitor. The liability thing just doesn't make sense.

This is nothing more than protecting the HVAC business base and ensuring they don't piss off that preferred base.
 
#2 ·
Cya. Protecting themselves against liability lawsuits. Some will only deal with certified hvac techs. That is too bad, can't say that i blame them though. Just try another store as you mentioned.

Do you have a local grainger supply store? Try grainger.com. luckily i have one local, order online and pick up at the counter. If not, they will ship. If you order more than 50 dollars i believe shipping is free. Just a suggestion.
 
#4 ·
I is about liability. The HVAC/R sandbox is quite large and IF an homeowner has the skills to do the work good, but if the THINK they have the skills and don't there lies the liability pit. Homeowner gets hurt trying to repair their unit and BAM here come the LAWYERS! Who they going to sew, yep that's right the one that sold the parts to said homeowner! NUFF SAID!
 
#9 · (Edited)
In a court of law you are guilty until proven innocent it seems. Lawyers can twist and turn words and if the counter guy did say something to the effect of how to do it or what part to use and got it wrong then he has to defend himself and who needs that.

How the heck are they supposed to know the difference between a regular or slow open or step open gas valve and how it works or affects the burner. All they know is parts numbers. DIYer gets the wrong one and there is delayed ignition and a fire and guess where it ends up. In a lawsuit. Now if the Pro puts the wrong one on he is liable as he is supposed to know the difference.
 
#13 ·
It is true you can buy car parts but you never know if the Wholesalers think the liability issue could occur. They may want to stay on the safe side and not have the possibility.

History comes into play. We have always fixed our own cars as it is a cultural fact. People could not always afford garages and when you lived on a farm you fixed everything including your Model A car and tractor so parts were always available.

Once you start working with explosive gases and the potential for CO poisioning and fires etc the picture changes a bit.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Comparing cars to hvac isn't really a fair comparison. All the big time auto parts stores are positioned to supply the general public. Hvac suppliers are not, they are more positioned like a car dealer would be and sell a certain brand(s) of part or equipment.
There also isn't really any detailed manual like you can get with a car. There's thousands if not millions of cars identical to yours on the road. Each hvac installation is custom and comes with it's own set of challenges and issues. Basic theory is used for troubleshooting instead.
As far as contractors getting upset, that's very much far from the truth. Many of the residential guys I know love DIYers because of all the money they've made from them fixing failed repair attempts.
 
#16 ·
I suspect if liability was an issue, home depot/lowes wouldn't sell gas water heaters anymore :).

Of course you can sue anyone for anything the question is will you win.

No way it is about liability... it is either what one poster said about people buying parts and returning them if that didn't fix the problem or trade protection (don't piss off your techs that buy stuff from you buy hurting their business).
 
#18 ·
HVAC supply houses don't carrying nearly as much liability insurance as HD or Lowes does. So don't bet it has nothing to do with not selling to non tradesmen.
 
#17 ·
Could be a combination of parts returning , fear of liability and as mentioned earlier it is a "Business Model". We are free countries and nobody has to do anything they don't want. If people feel not selling parts to DIYers should not be allowed they can lobby their gov't and claim descrimination and get laws passed to force the Wholesalers to sell to the public. Not likely that is going to happen.:no:
 
#19 ·
When you go into Lowes or the Depot you buy the hw tank and leave w/o asking for advice on how to install it or codes. If you go to the HVAC co and ask the parts guy and he tells you anything people will LIE LIE LIE and could hire a ambulance chasing lawyer and say " He told me to do it this way ". There is a difference between cash and carry and getting advice and then blaming the nice guy who tried to help you.
 
#20 ·
One of my pet peeves-- I'm in a hurry to get my "phoned in parts" at the supplier but I have to wait in line while a non-contractor places an order (after the counter help gives him his list of options) and gets change for his twenty. Then the counter help runs off to pull the parts. Yet, above the door it says Contractor supply- not Home Depot.....

Liability may play a part, but I suspect the OP's supplier may fit this scenario and has received enough backlash from guys like me :jester:
 
#21 ·
Yeah, parts sales is a very competitive biz. Must be lucrative too. We have 650,000 people in Winnipeg and used to have 4 HVAC suppliers. Now we got 6 and Lennox sells fittings and other non Lennox stuff. Everybody is getting a smaller piece of the pie and they DON"T want to hassle the contractors who bring in most of their $$.
 
#22 ·
Ah geeze... It seems that this topic continuously pops up here at least once a year. The special snowflakes whine that it isn't fair (life isn't fair, btw), and the pros try to explain why this is. I'd like to see these posts treated the same way as the how-much-should-this-cost posts as they go nowhere and accomplish nothing.
 
#26 ·
The argument that there isn't any truth to lawsuits is easily proven wrong with a simple google search. Try searching LaTimes, Sears, State water heaters. Found that one in less than a minute.
$25 million dollar settlement paid out over time for a child hurt by a water heater that was incorrectly installed by a homeowner.
Because of this very same reason all gas water heaters increased in price years ago by almost 50% because of a requirement to make them unable to ignite gasoline vapors.
And incase the DIY community feels singled out, a lot of HVAC wholesale places will not sell to an hvac business either unless they prove they are licensed and insured.
 
#28 ·
Yes.
I saw that article and it was dated 1985 (accident occurred in 1981).... almost 35 years ago, and clearly the court felt that there were deeper problems with the design of the tank other than improper install. I'm not sure your point is well proved with your example.

At any rate.... not sure what the issue is here. Who cares what your local hvac parts depot says. They want to lose out on the action, then it's their own loss. TONS of on-line shops. Need a heat pump.... gas valve.... whole furnace... etc, then go on-line. They'll deliver it right to your door. I don't even bother with my local shops anymore. You can get it faster... and most times cheaper, on-line with no questions asked
 
#27 ·
Here we have to show our ozone depletion cards each and every time we buy refrigerant, even if the counter staff knows you.

And every year the company has to verify licenses, and insurance to the suppliers. The company won't let us work the day any license on file expires, until we show them the new one and they photocopy it. It truly is a bureaucratic headache. The worst part of it all? The hacks still find ways to hack, the idiots still find ways to hurt themselves or others on idiot proof devices and rules.

Cheers!
 
#32 ·
You can get a drivers license still be a rolling wreck.
Same applies for trade work, a license doesn't buy you knowledge.
As said before, Home Depot and lowes cater to a different market. Same a car dealers and auto parts stores. They carry a ton more insurance, don't offer basic DIY instruction, and don't market themselves to the general public.
Something also to think about is pricing. Some of the suppliers that sold to the public around here would double the prices for homeowners. So many parts could actually be bought cheaper though a service company.
 
#35 ·
Also I would note that Lowe's et al gives free DIY advice that can kill you all the time. e.g. they will tell you how to install a circuit breaker etc...

In the end, those parts places have the right to sell to whomever they want so that is fine with me. I just don't want to perpetuate the myth that it is a "liability issue"... just tell me the truth - you don't want to piss off your bread and butter contractors by taking potential business from them by selling parts to DIY'ers.... cool got it. I'll buy from the internet somewhere.


(I'll also note that if giving advice presents a real liability problem, a lot of people on this board would be getting sued :) ).
 
#37 ·
The bean counters at Lowes, Home Depot and others decide how big the risk is. So they have decided that until they are sue and lose a large pay out.They'll take the income.

HVAC supply houses don't have the multitude of lawyers the box stores have to draw the suit out for 15 years.
 
#41 ·
C.C. Dickson and HD Supply

Hello, I have a quick question ...I am a student doing some investment research on the industry. I'm hoping to get an opinion on how C.C. Dickson compares relative to the other players/competitors. Reading through their website and publications they claim to be the largest HVAC/R wholesale distributor in the southeast with competitive prices, convenient access and differentiated service that sets them apart. Is there any credibility to this? Would you say they are better than the competition? are they the go-to supplier for professional HVAC/R contractors in the S.east or are they just one among the many and have limited differentiation? Obviously a broad question and understand if this isn't the right forum but any insight would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
 
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