A Kid in a Candy Store

This week, my contractor, John Harris, came to LA to check out windows, security systems and electronics for his new house and others he is building. He spent a good part of last week in Mexico, searching for a quality vinyl window manufacturer. What he found was that most of them have them manufactured in the US and then shipped to Mexico. So not only are you going to pay for shipping and duties in Belize, but you will have paid for the shipping and duties, plus a middleman markup, to get the windows into Mexico. And the windows that were made in Mexico were not the quality the John was looking for.




So, while John was here, we went to a couple of window manufacturers, a couple of window distributors and a home improvement store.





At the home improvement store, John was blown away at the prices of the windows and granite counters. The windows were one third the cost of Belize, with US standards. Same with the glass sliding doors. Two by ten foot granite counters, with bull nosed edging, for between $150-$250 each. John estimates that same granite counter would be a thousand dollars or more, in Belize. Same with the bathroom counters. John has estimated that with shipping and duties, he can still bring the windows and granite into Belize cheaper than he can buy it there, with much better quality.





Next, we went to a electronics wholesaler, where John was able to pick up all his security equipment in one stop, also at a huge discount. Unlike Belize, you can do one stop shopping here in the States. John figured that the money he has saved, on just the items he needed to buy, has paid for his whole trip.





The next stop was the window manufacturing plant. WinDor (www.windor.com) custom makes every window, so there are no extra charges for odd sizes. The quality was far superior to anything we have seen so far and the prices were the same as the windows he was getting from Spanish Lookout. And, they can make the 8 ft French doors that I am looking to install in the living room. I was very impressed with their displays and they even gave us a tour of the manufacturing facilities behind the showroom. A very clean, modern, well run manufacturing plant. John is planning to order all the windows for his house to see how much the shipping and duties will add to the final price of the windows, and if it is a reasonable alternative to offer his clients. He seems to think that with the quality and price, even with the duties, it would be worth it to purchase them here, in LA.





From there it was off for a liquid lunch at a local sports bar. John got to enjoy a cold Guinness, on tap. I enjoyed a real nice lager from the tap. Something you can't get in Belize. We discussed what we had seen and where we going to go next. This is where a kid in a candy store begins.





Our next stop was Pacific Sales, a wholesale seller of kitchen, bath, TV's and appliances.

John and Mischelle at Pacific Sales

John was drooling soon after entering the store. Of course, the first things you see as you enter the store is the TV's. Plasma's, LCD's, large and small. Prices were also pretty unbelieveable. The prices for TV's has dropped so much, it's almost worth it to pick up a spare TV. After prying John out of the TV area, we entered the kitchen appliance area. Again, so much to choose from. Stovetops were the main items we looked at, with over 50 different types on the showroom floor. The prices varied widely but there were some excellent bargains, especially with the holiday so close. Some of the items were up to 70% off. Mischelle and I are thinking of going back this weekend to purchase some things for our home, even if we do end up paying shipping and duties, because the prices are so good.

After spending an hour at Pacific Sales, it was back to seal the deal on John's electronic equipment, then off to dinner. We went to a nice steak place, figuring John doesn't get to have a good steak very often. We had a wonderful dinner, then dropped John off at the Bicycle Club casino so he and his friend could play cards.


It had been a long day, but we got a lot accomplished. We found a window and door supplier, picked out our kitchen appliances and had a good conversation with our contractor about the status of our home.