Everyday I look forward to the day I used to be in a contractor.
Today I called around my vendors for some video cable for a job. Pretty sure its going to be my very last one. They all seemed high to me, and most didn't have exactly what I wanted. For the heck of it I tried Amazon and found exactly what I wanted listed under Amazon prime (free 2 day shipping) for a $39/1000 less than the CHEAPEST distributor, and more than a $100 cheaper than the first one I called. None of the distributors offered me free shipping on the order.
Its going to get tougher and tougher for even the big distributors to compete with Amazon. Its even tougher for dealers when their customers can buy nearly everything they sell for less than the dealers distributors.
Thank goodness I atleast still get a decent labor rate. (Actually I bid jobs with a flat total and don't worry about if I don't get them anymore.)