Does pricing of pool plumbing parts go up with time?

[plnewb]

Typically manufacturing gets cheaper as better, more efficient processes are discovered and technology improves.

1. Does that hold true for pricing of pool plumbing parts?
2. Has your plumbing parts become cheaper over time or is that part now way more expensive than what it was even if adjusted for inflation?

 

[Bperry]

Typically manufacturing gets cheaper as better, more efficient processes are discovered and technology improves.

1. Does that hold true for pricing of pool plumbing parts?
2. Has your plumbing parts become cheaper over time or is that part now way more expensive than what it was even if adjusted for inflation?

Stuff like that has been getting more expensive as raw materials get more expensive. Plumbing “technology” hasn’t changed all that much, unless you consider PEX but that’s not pool related.

 

[plnewb]

What I have noticed is that the number of aftermarket parts have increased over time and have become extremely competitive to brand names.

Brand names OTOH have cheapened in quality but their prices have gone up.

That said, in general, the tolerance and quality of brand names seem to be higher than aftermarket parts, but sometimes a looser tolerance works, depending on the application

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Improvements and efficiencies in manufacturing always accrue to the manufacturer's profit margins, not the consumers retail price. If some parts that a manufacturer uses get cheaper year over year, the price of the product doesn’t change and the manufacturer gets more profit. Unless you are buying in bulk quantities directly from a manufacturer, you will rarely see price reductions. There are too many middle-men in the supply chain for production improvements to make it to the consumer.

 

[plnewb]

There are too many middle-men in the supply chain for production improvements to make it to the consumer.

Has your experience and does your intuition suggest that one of these middle-men in the supply chain use one of the popular online retailer sites (Amazon, eBay) to sell directly to the customer and cut off all the downstream middle-men in the supply chain?

For example: If you and I started a partnership to purchase bulk quantities of pool parts from Pentair or Jandy and sold them on the popular online retailer sites (Amazon, eBay), so the customer no longer has to go to a pool store, wouldn't it allow us to enjoy the margins these middle-men in the supply chain currently enjoy?

 

[ajw22]

For example: If you and I started a partnership to purchase bulk quantities of pool parts from Pentair or Jandy and sold them on the popular online retailer sites (Amazon, eBay), so the customer no longer has to go to a pool store, wouldn't it allow us to enjoy the margins these middle-men in the supply chain currently enjoy?

Jandy, Hayward and Pentair has restricted most of their parts and equipment from being sold on the Internet by unauthorized dealers.

You would be cutoff from your supply chain .

 

[ajw22]

Jandy takes stand on internet sales

I received a notice the other day that Jandy will no longer tolerate any internet sales of their pro series line of equipment. "Today we make the major announcement that effective January 1, 2019, we will prohibit the sale of ALL Jandy Pro Series equipment online." "We will NOT provide a...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ajw22]

https://www.poolspanews.com/companies/zodiac-takes-jandy-off-the-internet_o

Why a Jandy Pro | Jandy

Important reasons why you should work only with a qualified pool professional with regards to your Jandy pool equipment needs.

www.jandy.com

Jandy's Limited Warranty will not cover Jandy equipment that is NOT purchased from and installed and/or serviced by a professional.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Exactly as Allen (@ajw22) said. Any major parts manufacturer only wants to deal with other large manufacturers. Selling retail is a losing proposition because you can’t exist selling parts in quantities of one or two. Mass manufacturers need large operations as customers buying in quantities of thousands or more. And, if you did happen to make something that a large manufacturer needed, your sales agreements would likely restrict your ability to sell in the retail space.

 

[ajw22]

Retail consumers are not viewed as the customers for Jandy, Hayward, or Pentair. Their customers are the Pool Builders and Pool Stores. That is who they look to get their recurring revenue from and expect the sales channel to support the retail consumer.

 

[sktn77a]

But this falls under the heading of "Restriction of Trade" and "Right to Repair". Time for the Lawyers to get involved with Class Action lawsuits!

 

[plnewb]

I understand why Jandy, Hayward, or Pentair might not want to deal with one or two units, so I started to do research and then I found all Jandy, Hayward, and Pentair having storefronts on Amazon.

So a retail customer can indeed buy directly from Jandy, Hayward, and Pentair on Amazon - I won't be surprised if Amazon is an authorized retailer for their parts.

Now whether the pricing of the parts are low on Amazon - I don't know - if I cared enough to pay up for OEM parts, I would also hire a pool repair person to set the system up and one thing I know about pool repair people - they don't use parts provided by their customers.

 

[gkw4815]

Hayward/Pentair and especially Jandy's non-consumer-friendly policies are the big reason that my pool has such a mix of non-Jandy equipment (I did buy a new Jandy heater and filter shortly after we bought our house, before I bothered to do in-depth research into pool companies and equipment). As inflation continues to bite and the prices and availability of skilled labor continue to be a challenge, more and more of us technically-minded homeowners will take our chances with off-brand equipment that costs 1/3 of the name brand prices and, at least in my limited experience, gives up nothing in quality when properly installed.

 

[plnewb]

will take our chances with off-brand equipment that costs 1/3 of the name brand prices and, at least in my limited experience, gives up nothing in quality

Where do you source your parts from, what parts are they and what are some of the off-brand brands?

My experience with 3 way diverter valves have been underwhelming - the brandnames have tight fittings that don't leak water around closed ports while off-brand diverter valves do leak water into closed ports because their tolerance is poor - depending on the application this might not be a problem though

 

[gkw4815]

Sorry for the delayed reply. My off-brand equipment is listed in my signature (Calimar pool pump, Pureline SWG). I may have spoken too soon on the pump quality, as I've recently started experiencing some intermittent errors with it (but Calimar is providing a replacement under warranty).

I did go with an OEM Jandy diverter valve when I had to replace one that was leaking (likely damaged in the 2021 freeze, which occurred before we bought our house). No complaints with it. I've used a mix of OEM and non-OEM parts to fix up my Polaris cleaner over the past couple of years, and I haven't had any major complaints about either (except that the off-brand tail sponges I bought only seem to last about a month each).

 

[plnewb]

Calimar is providing a replacement under warranty)

Great - keep us posted how this goes!