ᐅ Strategy for Buying a Kitchen / How to Negotiate Effectively?
Created on: 6 Aug 2020 16:47
S
Shiny86
I’ve started planning my kitchen and feel completely overwhelmed. It feels like being at a bazaar. Exactly what you see on TV shows happened to me. So far, I’ve visited 4 kitchen showrooms. I’m still waiting on the design and price from 2 of them. These are smaller studios, so I’m curious to see what they come up with.
But with the other two, it went exactly as expected. Twice I asked the manager for a discount, and it turned into a kind of show. The comments were laughable: “We can do it for price X, but then we won’t make any profit on you. The manager will probably want to talk to me about this.” Even after the second discount, I still felt like I was paying too much. Both salespeople set deadlines for me. One even said I had to sign the contract that same day.
I also don’t know how to negotiate smartly or what the right tactics are. I don’t really know the actual value of my kitchen. When does negotiating become unreasonable? How do you know for sure when there’s no more room to negotiate? Are there actually people who don’t negotiate at all and just accept the first offered discount? I’ve wondered about that too. It’s a shame I don’t know any kitchen salesperson personally to get insider tips.
Since I have a lot of expensive requests, I feel almost ridiculous setting my budget too low. The problem is that I can’t compare apples to apples because my kitchen concept has changed with every planning appointment. In my small town, I’ve now visited all the studios except for Roller. There are still studios in neighboring towns, but I already feel like I won’t have a kitchen even after visiting 5 more showrooms.
Nearly all plans are for a Nobilia kitchen, coming to around 20,000 euros (about $22,000), or even more if I include my latest wishes. I’ve asked if I should buy the appliances myself to save money, but I was advised against it. They said they wouldn’t install them due to warranty reasons.
What price would you set if you were in my position? And please share how you got your kitchen and how you negotiated.
My requirements are:
- A tall cabinet row with 6 cabinets, each 60cm (24 inches) wide, boxed in drywall. Two of these should be pantry cabinets with pull-out shelves, and the other 4 will house appliances.
- A kitchen peninsula about 1.2m (4 feet) wide and approximately 3.10m (10 feet) long, with drawers on both sides only.
- I want quite high-end appliances, probably Bosch Series 8 black Carbon Accent line, likely including an oven with microwave, a combi-steam oven, and a built-in coffee machine.
- Cooktop with an integrated downdraft vent, recirculating air, flush-mounted (Bosch Series 8 has been planned so far, but I don’t know how good the cooktop is).
- Very quiet dishwasher, brand doesn’t matter (Bosch and Neff have been suggested so far).
- Refrigerator inside a tall cabinet with 2 bio-fresh drawers, brand doesn’t matter (Liebherr and Bosch have been suggested).
- Ceramic countertop
- Undermount ceramic sink
I don’t want to spend more than necessary. But I realize I probably won’t get everything for 15,000 euros (about $16,500).
How should I proceed?
But with the other two, it went exactly as expected. Twice I asked the manager for a discount, and it turned into a kind of show. The comments were laughable: “We can do it for price X, but then we won’t make any profit on you. The manager will probably want to talk to me about this.” Even after the second discount, I still felt like I was paying too much. Both salespeople set deadlines for me. One even said I had to sign the contract that same day.
I also don’t know how to negotiate smartly or what the right tactics are. I don’t really know the actual value of my kitchen. When does negotiating become unreasonable? How do you know for sure when there’s no more room to negotiate? Are there actually people who don’t negotiate at all and just accept the first offered discount? I’ve wondered about that too. It’s a shame I don’t know any kitchen salesperson personally to get insider tips.
Since I have a lot of expensive requests, I feel almost ridiculous setting my budget too low. The problem is that I can’t compare apples to apples because my kitchen concept has changed with every planning appointment. In my small town, I’ve now visited all the studios except for Roller. There are still studios in neighboring towns, but I already feel like I won’t have a kitchen even after visiting 5 more showrooms.
Nearly all plans are for a Nobilia kitchen, coming to around 20,000 euros (about $22,000), or even more if I include my latest wishes. I’ve asked if I should buy the appliances myself to save money, but I was advised against it. They said they wouldn’t install them due to warranty reasons.
What price would you set if you were in my position? And please share how you got your kitchen and how you negotiated.
My requirements are:
- A tall cabinet row with 6 cabinets, each 60cm (24 inches) wide, boxed in drywall. Two of these should be pantry cabinets with pull-out shelves, and the other 4 will house appliances.
- A kitchen peninsula about 1.2m (4 feet) wide and approximately 3.10m (10 feet) long, with drawers on both sides only.
- I want quite high-end appliances, probably Bosch Series 8 black Carbon Accent line, likely including an oven with microwave, a combi-steam oven, and a built-in coffee machine.
- Cooktop with an integrated downdraft vent, recirculating air, flush-mounted (Bosch Series 8 has been planned so far, but I don’t know how good the cooktop is).
- Very quiet dishwasher, brand doesn’t matter (Bosch and Neff have been suggested so far).
- Refrigerator inside a tall cabinet with 2 bio-fresh drawers, brand doesn’t matter (Liebherr and Bosch have been suggested).
- Ceramic countertop
- Undermount ceramic sink
I don’t want to spend more than necessary. But I realize I probably won’t get everything for 15,000 euros (about $16,500).
How should I proceed?
pagoni2020 schrieb:
Well then, go aheadI would do it if it’s worth it. But I have no idea if the price of wood is good right now.
I need to look it up. Are there perhaps former kitchen salespeople who have started their own business and can assist during price negotiations? I would like to hire a service like that.
In your initial post, you write I want, and later you say that the choice of refrigerator doesn’t matter, you don’t know if a Bosch downdraft extractor is good, and you mention a ceramic undermount sink. The latter isn’t even available, as it’s technically not feasible.
Your list shows that you haven’t really engaged with the topic of kitchens, or you’re looking for someone to make the decisions for you within a given budget, hoping to pay a fair price.
To avoid these strange kitchen buying methods, you need to be well informed. Matte and others have planned their kitchens for months. They research in advance as much as possible what is available, what they need, what they don’t need, what is practical, and what is just a trend.
Your list sounds like it was copied from a friend or colleague. Approaching it so thoughtlessly means anyone can take advantage of you because you don’t really know what the best kitchen for you is within the set budget. For €15,000 (about $16,200), you won’t get what you’ve listed. It’s no surprise that everyone is offering you Nobilia, as it is one of the most affordable options.
Your list shows that you haven’t really engaged with the topic of kitchens, or you’re looking for someone to make the decisions for you within a given budget, hoping to pay a fair price.
To avoid these strange kitchen buying methods, you need to be well informed. Matte and others have planned their kitchens for months. They research in advance as much as possible what is available, what they need, what they don’t need, what is practical, and what is just a trend.
Your list sounds like it was copied from a friend or colleague. Approaching it so thoughtlessly means anyone can take advantage of you because you don’t really know what the best kitchen for you is within the set budget. For €15,000 (about $16,200), you won’t get what you’ve listed. It’s no surprise that everyone is offering you Nobilia, as it is one of the most affordable options.
P
pagoni202024 Aug 2020 15:05Shiny86 schrieb:
I would do it if it’s worth it I think your process is going to take even longer.
There are many ways it could be "worth it": You don’t want to buy appliances individually anymore because it annoys you, so for you, it’s worth not doing that.
You want a professional advisor, preferably a former kitchen salesperson who is now self-employed and interested in this kind of thing… so that’s also “worth it” for you (good luck finding someone…).
If you mean the price that should also be “worth it,” then you’ll have to accept other inconveniences, which will annoy you again.
Hmm… I don’t think it will be “worth it” alone.
Try to find a qualified professional here or in another forum who can handle this for you, and pay them fairly for their service; I imagine you’ll find someone with sufficient expertise.
Or visit two kitchen showrooms that sell high-quality kitchens and then choose one of the two offers. Since you budgeted 4.5m (15 feet) just for the countertop, the kitchen should not be of basic quality either.
By the way, it can also be worth buying a genuinely stylish, high-end kitchen without spending a long time running around, and then feel really comfortable with it afterward.
You’ll probably have to decide on one type of “worth it.”
No, I don’t actually want to hire anyone seriously. I wrote that with a smile because I noticed a “gap in the market.” I’m not looking for anyone right now. But if something like that existed nearby, I would have considered the offer.
I have definitely spent a lot of time researching the kitchen topic. That’s actually how I ended up making this list. My friends, family, etc., don’t know the trends. I didn’t know either before, and I got a bit carried away.
Of course, there are ceramic sinks for under-mounting. Why wouldn’t there be? For example, systemceram offers them. Otherwise, correct me if I misunderstood something. I have planned a few kitchens using that.
Regarding downdraft extractors, I’m just confused because it seems like there is no ONE perfect downdraft extractor. Bora, for example, is very expensive, and many people are dissatisfied with it.
I’m not picky when it comes to appliances. I’d prefer all visible appliances from Bosch, especially the Carbon Black line. I like the controls and the look of Bosch. And I can get those pretty cheaply online. The fridge and dishwasher can be other brands. For the fridge, I want two BioFresh compartments and a fridge/freezer combo. For the dishwasher, it must have a cutlery drawer and be very quiet. Whether Liebherr, Bosch, or Siemens, it doesn’t matter. They’re all probably good and aren’t visible from the outside anyway. They are part of the same group, including Bosch, Siemens, and Neff.
I think there’s nothing to criticize about me. The only thing that apparently matters to me is to completely plan the kitchen and then really compare everything 1:1. I already have a list of appliance types. It’s not like that. I just think there is no single perfect fridge or dishwasher for me. And it’s unfortunate that I can’t get certain appliances.
I also find it a bit cheeky that I’m being accused of not having dealt with the kitchen topic simply because of my list. You can already see from my list what the kitchen should look like. It’s a coherent picture and nothing exotic. I know that a ceramic countertop is not ideal for an undermount sink. If someone had told me that my taste is average or just following trends, that would be okay! But the list of what I want took me hours to work on and I also went to kitchen studios for that.
I can always learn more about kitchens. But I want to say that I’ve already invested a lot of time. I’ve also read a lot about it in another forum.
I have definitely spent a lot of time researching the kitchen topic. That’s actually how I ended up making this list. My friends, family, etc., don’t know the trends. I didn’t know either before, and I got a bit carried away.
Of course, there are ceramic sinks for under-mounting. Why wouldn’t there be? For example, systemceram offers them. Otherwise, correct me if I misunderstood something. I have planned a few kitchens using that.
Regarding downdraft extractors, I’m just confused because it seems like there is no ONE perfect downdraft extractor. Bora, for example, is very expensive, and many people are dissatisfied with it.
I’m not picky when it comes to appliances. I’d prefer all visible appliances from Bosch, especially the Carbon Black line. I like the controls and the look of Bosch. And I can get those pretty cheaply online. The fridge and dishwasher can be other brands. For the fridge, I want two BioFresh compartments and a fridge/freezer combo. For the dishwasher, it must have a cutlery drawer and be very quiet. Whether Liebherr, Bosch, or Siemens, it doesn’t matter. They’re all probably good and aren’t visible from the outside anyway. They are part of the same group, including Bosch, Siemens, and Neff.
I think there’s nothing to criticize about me. The only thing that apparently matters to me is to completely plan the kitchen and then really compare everything 1:1. I already have a list of appliance types. It’s not like that. I just think there is no single perfect fridge or dishwasher for me. And it’s unfortunate that I can’t get certain appliances.
I also find it a bit cheeky that I’m being accused of not having dealt with the kitchen topic simply because of my list. You can already see from my list what the kitchen should look like. It’s a coherent picture and nothing exotic. I know that a ceramic countertop is not ideal for an undermount sink. If someone had told me that my taste is average or just following trends, that would be okay! But the list of what I want took me hours to work on and I also went to kitchen studios for that.
I can always learn more about kitchens. But I want to say that I’ve already invested a lot of time. I’ve also read a lot about it in another forum.
evelinoz schrieb:
Ceramic undermount sink. [/B]The latter is not even available, for example, because it is technically not feasible.I would also be interested to know why that is not possible...
Which other materials does it not work with?
Regarding kitchen planners, try googling "independent kitchen planners important or useless" … someone is currently researching the market.
What would such a service be worth to you?
Also, it is definitely possible to design beautiful kitchens without downdraft ventilation systems, and choose cooktops and range hoods completely independently.
Bosch Blackline is simply the product line distributed through kitchen studios, similar to Siemens Studioline. It is an attempt by the BSH Group to avoid having their appliances discounted in online shops.
What would such a service be worth to you?
Also, it is definitely possible to design beautiful kitchens without downdraft ventilation systems, and choose cooktops and range hoods completely independently.
Bosch Blackline is simply the product line distributed through kitchen studios, similar to Siemens Studioline. It is an attempt by the BSH Group to avoid having their appliances discounted in online shops.
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