apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This is not a source...instead it is a tip. If you plan on purchasing large amounts of paint, your local paint store may allow you to open an account (not a credit card account or the like...just a store account for their records) as a "contractor" which will give you a discount on every purchase you make. Mine did. They even suggested it when they noticed I was buying a lot of paint. It is at least worth inquiring about.

Totally not what you are asking, but Dunn Edwards paints are terrific and easy to find in CA. If you have a AAA card, you get 25% off all paint purchases.

Not sure if you've tried yet, but Benjamin Moore has a retailer locator on their site: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=fh_footer_hiddenPage&currentNodeUUID=%2FBEA Repository%2F56047&NodeUUID=%2FBEA Repository%2F28013

I would comparison shop, as always. Benjamin Moore has a nice website that lists retailers who sell their products. (examples for my area were Ganahl Lumber & Ace Hardware) It's probably also better to buy more than you think you need in case of needing touch ups (or Murphy's law)- bulk is usually cheaper.

I did find though, that online there was a $200 price difference between online retailers for a 5 gallon of Eggshell.

I don't know if they are the cheapest, but I bought my Benjamin Moore at Supreme Paint in Manhattan Beach... they have great service and even helped me custom mix shades.

If it is just the color and not the quality of paint you are after, I found out that Home Depot can mix BM colors.
Just by accident I had my BM color book with me and was trying to find the closest thing in one of the Home Depot paints, and the sales person told me they could actually mix the color I needed from my BM swatch book.
That said, BM paints do cover better and the new Zero VOC paints have no odor.

I was going to say exactly what Wister5 did: ask to open a contractor account with a local paint store. I did this and saved a significant amount of money - I think about $8 per gallon. I didn't need to actually BE a contractor, it was open to anyone frequently buying paint.

For mixing other brands to match BM colors, this is just my opinion, but it's not worth the savings. They don't have the same coverage, aren't as easy to work with, etc. BM is just better quality.

not sure about actual retailers but I agree with fellow comments. open a contractor account and buy 5 gallon buckets. i did this with my local BM retailer and it saved me over $300.

And save the BM paint for the interior. Paint the exterior w/Dunn Edwards like LilyC recommended. Excellent quality and with the 25% off AAA savings, the price can't be beat.

Contractor account is the way to go. Also, local or regional brands like Dunn Edwards (California) or Miller Paint (here in Portland) are usually BM quality but much cheaper. And yes, they will match BM colors no problem.

Although I have to say, indoor paint is the one thing I've learned over the years not to cut corners on. Sure ceiling and trim paint in off whites, but for wall colors there is a reason brands like BM cost more - the quality, depth of pigment and overall effect is worth the extra money to me.