NKBase

What I have found to be the main difference between builders here and in the US is that there builders can obtain Contractors price for materials and there does not appear to be such a system here in Thailand

When I was arranging for a credit account with one of the large US Home Improvement chains and also a small independent one, the first question asked was: What percentage do you want added to the invoice ? I subsequently found out that this amount can be up to 20% or more than the actual price paid by the contractor and is a very common practice in the US

In talking to several builder here in Thailand I have been told that other than an occasional promotion or maybe reward points builders in Thailand don't appear to be able to get any better deals than do consumers on materials

This may not be true for extremely large builders but for the small ones they don't appear to have this extra revenue stream

We went to Global House and were able to get a discount if we could present them a list of materials (BOQ) we wanted to buy there. They also stated that building companies/contractors can have a discount. Home Pro seems to do the same, although we didn't ask there yet. A builder who gets a discount from the supplier is not going to tell you that. This is Thailand, and Thai would immediately ask to have that discount given to them as a client of the builder.

Allright, Crossy. That's a shame. Better to be more descriptive than, I guess?

I would like to warn particulary for a company in Nong Khai, called XXXX XXXX XXXXXX. It's run by an Englishman and his Thai wife who have absolutely no clue about running a company, let alone a construction/building company. We got screwed by them for 50K Bath just to find ourselves 3 months later with nothing more than a half baked 3D model, full of mistakes and useless for a next architect/builder. Our project is now postponed to after the rain season because of this useless idiot. We are now dealing directly with Thai people, which is a huge improvement. Watch out for "falang" with building companies that want to make a quick buck on their fellow falang's. It pay's to look for Thai builders and designers with experience and proven track records.

We put a lawyer on the guy to have our money back and teach him a lesson.