ᐅ New Bathrooms: Bathroom Studios, Intermediaries, and Inflated Prices

The suppliers all have price lists that include discounts depending on the order volume. A large plumbing wholesaler who buys 500 heat pumps per year from Bumke/Cordes/... obviously gets a very different price than a local plumber who might only buy about 20. This is completely normal because a craft business cannot survive without a margin on materials, unless they charge 100% more for the labor (which no one wants to pay, leading to complaints again).

The reason wholesalers sell only to professionals is obvious: wholesalers don’t offer advice, showrooms, or large display areas, which allows for better prices. The rate of complaints is very low because professionals know which product is right and order accordingly. In sectors like plumbing, heating, and electrical, there are simply many products that a layperson should not install. How long would the “warning labels” have to be, and how much legal protection would a wholesaler need to avoid problems if you don’t install the equipment properly? The structures are quite different...

Go ahead and order your stuff from Reuter or Amazon — but don’t be surprised if your plumber refuses to install it, because they also take on the warranty responsibility for low-quality products they didn’t supply, earn no profit from, and that might not fit exactly. That will then also incur an extra charge.

If you buy cheap products from China and the toilet seal becomes brittle after a year and everything leaks, even though the plumber installed it correctly – who pays for the damage then?

You are partly right. I think most private individuals tend to be picky, complain about every little thing, and sometimes make life difficult for companies. Companies, in turn, protect themselves with such structures. However, these structures are very rigid and costly. This is also one of the reasons why building has become expensive in Germany.

Most of the time, I believe a smarter procurement strategy would pay off for most tradespeople, regardless of order size. My building services technician sells me the heat pump for €10,300 (about $11,300). I only have to enter the heat pump’s name into Google and can buy it for €7,500 (about $8,200) including shipping. Almost €3,000 (around $3,300) cheaper. A full-time buyer earning €4,500 (around $4,900) gross per month would quickly pay for themselves with savings like that.

Haus Luni schrieb:

My building services engineer is selling me the heat pump for 10,300€.

and bought it for about 5,800€; so what now?

The flower and fish vendor also sources their products from the wholesale market and has a margin

During our bathroom renovation, the prices were about 20% higher than those from common online stores. I was fine with that because I didn’t have to worry about which additional accessories were needed for installation or handle anything else.

For small parts like electrical outlets, the markup has to be higher because if the item only costs a few euros, purchasing it separately wouldn’t make sense.

The warranty argument is often used to unsettle customers and to protect the plumbing company from complaints that later turn out to be caused by the customer.

If in your case the prices are completely outrageous, I would either address it with them or simply look for another company. But please check first whether the prices are truly comparable and whether the necessary accessories are included in the plumber’s total price, which you might otherwise have to buy separately.

-LotteS- schrieb:

Just order your stuff from Reuter or Amazon – but don’t be surprised if your plumber refuses to install it, because then they also have to take responsibility for any defects in low-quality products they didn’t supply, don’t make any profit from, and that might not fit perfectly. That will cost extra.

That’s missing the point. At Reuter and similar suppliers, I can get exactly the same models that were offered at the showroom, from reputable manufacturers. If I order like that right now, it comes to about 11,000 euros, and the retailers also make their margin. That’s quite a bit less than the roughly 20,000 euro price quoted by the showroom through an intermediary company, which only includes ceramics, fittings, and furniture, without additional services.

What bothers me far more than the margins, by the way, is the lack of transparency. The showroom offered to send me a detailed price breakdown so I could compare it with the plumber’s quote—after the plumber had sent me their offer. Tell me one reason why they wouldn’t send me a quote before it passes through three different resellers.

-LotteS- schrieb:

If you buy cheap Chinese products and the toilet seal turns brittle after a year and everything leaks, the plumber installed it correctly – who pays for the damage then?

Can you share from practical experience who covers major damage if everything comes from a single source? Let’s say there’s damage caused by a faulty cistern, resulting in water leaking over a long period into the bathroom and the building structure. What should I expect — is it the cistern manufacturer, the plumber, do I have to go to court? Or does the tradesperson come to us and say, “Sorry, Jürgen, that’s unfortunate, but of course we’ll cover everything since we’re insured!”?

Fear and doubt are great drivers of price increases.

ypg schrieb:

The florist and fishmonger also get their goods from the wholesale market and add a margin.

Sure. But we’re not talking about a €25 bouquet here. We’re talking about high-value products where you can easily compare final prices today. If you see a TV for $1,000 at a retailer like MediaMarkt and can get it for $800 online, you’d buy it from the cheaper source. If MediaMarkt said, “Sorry, Ute, I can’t tell you the TV price right now; TV-Tobi will send you a quote next week, and he also gets great prices from us,” you’d probably think that’s ridiculous. But apparently, the construction industry still works differently.

FloHB123 schrieb:

During our bathroom renovation, prices were roughly 20% higher than the common online shops. That was fine with me. I also didn’t have to worry about which additional accessories were needed for installation or handle anything else.

I would fully agree with that and also acknowledge that the showroom consultation deserves to be paid for. I’m not after the cheapest price or cheapest products (buy cheap, buy twice).

ypg schrieb:

So he would install them then? It’s basically a mixed calculation since he installs them and provides a warranty. And of course, the price includes the warranty. Or did I misunderstand you?

No, he probably wouldn’t. That leaves the end customer stuck because the professional installer holds all the cards. The warranty argument is nonsense. If the valve is defective, warranty comes from the seller. As with sockets and switches, that’s usually straightforward. If the parts are installed incorrectly, you should be able to demand corrections from the electrician—even if the parts weren’t supplied by them. In plumbing and electrical work, there’s a fairly clear interface between component and connection. A socket typically has three screws. A mixer tap has three holes—two for water inlets—and it should be watertight.

Imagine how you’d react if your car workshop refused to mount your winter tires because “Herbert, you didn’t buy these tires from us.”

So yes, it might seem normal to those working in trades or experienced in construction. But if you look at it from the outside for the first time, the whole business model seems strange.