Do you really want to install equipment bought by a home or business owner?

By now, nearly every contractor has received a phone call from someone asking if they can give a price to install a piece of equipment that has been bought elsewhere, namely online.

Every legitimate equipment manufacturer states in the warranty section that they will not honor the warranty of equipment purchased via internet. There are some other reasons to run away from this type of installation and here they are. Your comments are welcome and requested. See under this article to post your comments to this article.

1. Customers are not trained to properly size equipment for their needs.
2. Are we to code, permits pulled, Title 24, etc.
3. No warranty by manufacturer, but homeowner still wants you to repair for free. Contractors have trouble collecting.
4. If you don't supply equipment, you have lost a lot of revenue and profit.
5. The provided system might be stolen or otherwise obtained illegally.
6. You may be cleaning up someone else's mess if they attempt unsuccessfully to install it themselves. You have no idea how contaminated the system is.

Most contractors will simply not work with equipment that they do not supply. Others may, under certain circumstances. A few stated they may, but they charge the customer the same price as they would otherwise, deducting only their actual costs for the equipment, leaving all labor and incidental material cost and all of the profit in the job! Why sacrifice your profitability on the job? And they never offer labor warranties because this type of equipment experiences much higher failure rates.

Are there any good reasons to install this equipment? For some, yes. If you are careful in your "signed" contract with the owner to exclude any warranty and you keep all the profit you would have made if you supplied the equipment, then yes, it would be worth it for you. Obviously the owner loses here because they have paid the same amount anyway and they have no warranty! If you decide to take on an install like this, please protect yourself and always pull permits, etc.

Internet purchasing will likely be more common. As legitimate contractors trying to cover the overhead cost that are required to keep the doors open, we must be vigilant and careful not to give away the farm and to keep our businesses profitable, and not allow "do-it-yourselfers" to impact our trade. Remember-these are unlicensed individuals that have no business taking away yours! Be vigilant and complain if you find out where they obtained the equipment. Call their suppliers and have that necessary discussion.