F.W. Webb Company - Salem

F.W. Webb's Salem branch, at 295 Bridge St, is a parts counter, not a job crew. It's a wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating, and HVAC/R equipment, and by its own account has supplied the trade and nearby homeowners since 1866 — the store stocks plumbing, heating, and industrial gear across departments rather than sending anyone out to a house. The two most recent Google reviews, both from May 2026, are five stars: one names an employee, Peter, for helping narrow down a hard-to-find part, the other compares the selection favorably to a big-box hardware store and calls out the staff's product knowledge. That tracks with the longer pattern behind its 4.2-star average across 46 Google ratings — years of reviews keep circling back to the same thing: someone behind the counter who knows the inventory and takes time with people who don't. Its Better Business Bureau file tells a rougher story. The grade is A-, it isn't BBB accredited, and two complaints are sitting unresolved — one over a per-cabinet restocking fee that wasn't explained up front, another about a shower seat sold as fitting that turned out too small. This is the place to go for a part, a fixture, or advice on a plumbing or heating fix — not a business to hire for the installation itself. Worth confirming return and restocking terms before buying anything you might need to send back, and lining up a separate licensed installer for the actual work.