In our experience, all of the big U.S. solar module manufactures have one approach: they sell their modules to only a few big distributors, and the more you buy, the bigger the discount.
But today there is an interesting twist coming from global competitors around the world. China will sell directly to just about any consumer or business, and, boy, do they know how to give you the best customer service — not to mention how easy they make it to find them.
So, China may be lowballing on price and even dumping but they also clearly get it about service and appear to actually want your business too.