Price comparison on Garden products - Buyer Beware! (San Antonio, Center: how much, house)

[LastStraw]

Purchased a can of Ortho Spary for Insect & Desease Control for my Roses at a Nursery in San Antonio area (not sure if I'm allowed to say the name) Paid $13.95 plus tax.
A couple of weeks later, found the same thing at Home Depot for $6.47. Same brand - same size.

I can understand a little difference in prices at a Nursery or Garden Center vs Home Depot but my goodness that is a big difference to pay.
Needless to say, I will not be shopping there anymore.

[perticusrex]

I rarely buy anything other than plants/flowers from a nursery -Ive always found their prices to be much higher though nearly double is pretty crazy.

[sapphire]

Well, on the other hand, if we don't support our local nurseries, Home Depot and Lowe's are likely to become our only choices. It's hard to have it both ways. I use a balance-sourcing technique--some from here, some from there. Not that I buy enough to make it matter, though.

[ged_782]

The nursery where you saw the item priced much higher was probably an independent business or perhaps a small chain that buys the product in very small quantities. They are going to pay a much higher price per can to the supplier for the same product than a major national chain that probably buys the product by the 18-wheeler load. Still, the price differential seems pretty extreme.

It reminds me of the time I was going down the general merchandise isle of a local grocery store that was part of a large chain. I remembered I had a broken light switch in my house that needed to be replaced. They sold the switch I needed at the store (in small quantities), but the price was $2.98. I was almost certain they could be had for considerably less than that. I found the exact same switch a few days later at a major national home center for less than a dollar - 49 cents if I remember right. The only difference was the packaging. The one in the grocery store was shrink-wrapped and hanging on a shelf hook. The one in the home center had no individual packaging, and was one of many in a huge carton sitting on a wooden pallet. The manufacturer and specifications were the same as the one in the grocery store.

Even though the grocery store was part of a chain, it was an item that the home center obviously purchased in much larger quantities with cheaper packaging.

[catriona]

I support the local nurseries, but I've also got to worry about the ol' pocketbook. If the price seems too high, I don't buy. I do purchase ladybugs, etc, hard to find items and plants at the local nurseries. I peruse the garden centers on a regular basis, so I know what's at the Big Box stores, how much it costs, and if the plants look good. I make a trip to the local nurseries as well, and if I like what I see, I'll get it.

[Chaka]

I buy all my plants at local nurseries. Other stuff, depends on what it is. A lot of what I use is organic and not available at the box stores anyway, so I go to my local nursery. In general, the plants are usually much better at the local nurseries and they know their stuff. If I needed a hose or something, I'd go to a box store (partly because they're more conveniently located for me).

[dmmjsm]

yikes! That's a crazy price mark up! I have bought a few plants at local nurseries, but only ones I could not find elsewhere, and the smallest sized plant they had. I have found most of the nurseries to be pretty expensive.