A: You are dealing with a couple different issues.

First, most major manufacturers of all types (including clothing, housewares, as well as the tools and home improvement products) offer several different grades of products, and often manufacture special economy grades to sell in discount outlets.

"You get what you pay for" is as true as ever so when comparing products, it is important for consumers to check model numbers, grades, length of warranties, and prices to be sure you are comparing apples to apples.

Another issue is that professionals of all types, including plumbers, painters, electricians, carpenters, will not warranty products that they do not provide. Thus, if you purchased a faucet and paid a plumber to install it but it didn't work, even if the store gave you a new one, you would have to pay the plumber for his time to come back and replace it. However, if the plumber provided the faucet, and it quit working, he'd be responsible for replacing it at no additional charge. Most professionals are only willing to deal with products they know work well because they would lose money messing with inferior products. Thus, paying a small mark-up that a professional might charge to provide a product is usually worthwhile, because you are paying for his experience with the product as well as his time.

However, large major retailers can also buy in volume and pass savings along to consumers, so there may be times you can save money shopping at such places. Just do your homework and think of value instead of price.

If you need any other assistance, visit Home Advisor, become a member (it's free!) and be matched with the service professional in your area.

by Kathy Maynard, reprinted courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com