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Contractor’s Discount Offered: Ever walk into a hardware or paint store and wonder how much of a discount the contractor behind you was getting? For $20, Rancho Santa Margarita-based America Wholesale will help you to find out.

So far, America Wholesale has contracted with about 20 building-supply companies in Orange County. In return for the $20 annual fee, members get “the same price or better” that contractors pay, said America Wholesale founder and President Thomas Baribeau.

Baribeau, a contractor, created America Wholesale because friends were always asking to borrow his contractor’s card to get discounts at building supply stores. Baribeau believes America Wholesale can give independent building-supply stores the marketing clout needed to compete with Home Depot and other discount chains.

“It could be a win/win situation for us and consumers,” said Don Dickenson, president of Saddleback Lumber & Hardware in Lake Forest, which honors the America Wholesale discount card. “The consumer . . . (is) getting some additional discounts and we’re getting more consumers.”