ᐅ Experiences with Online Kitchen Showrooms

DaSch17 schrieb:

@Tarnari Thanks for the pictures. Definitely a very nice kitchen 🙂

After doing some online research, the appliances and installation in our offer seem a bit expensive. On top of that, there’s a fairly costly waste bin system for 250 €.
I think it’s realistic to expect around 20,000 euros with a natural stone countertop, or 17,500 euros with a laminated countertop.

I think so too, the price is by no means bad. But it’s probably worth looking around a bit. Have you checked with local suppliers?
We compared with major chains and stores here in our area. Prices were similar or higher, but the level of advice was a world apart.
As I said, 12 hours of planning without knowing if we’d actually spend a single cent. At the supposedly largest furniture store in NRW (or even Germany?), where practically everyone buys, everything was put together in about an hour and a half. They pointed out the special advantages of leftover stock and in the end wanted almost the same price for lower specs, with the suggestion they could give us a 1,500 € discount if we committed “now,” and a call to the manager might even bring it down to 25,000 €.
That felt like a rip-off.
The good manager at the local studio really took a lot of time and honestly told us when something wasn’t right, even if it would have made him more money.
We could have spent about 3,000 € less elsewhere, with slightly lower quality and features. But their advice and service convinced us.
Besides that, maybe we helped that small business survive a little longer during the lockdown. The fitter told us during the kitchen installation that he might soon have to go on short-time work. That’s quite sad.
Of course, it’s different if you install a few hundred kitchens a year or the same amount every month.

So, I have now also spoken with the company. The initial contact was very friendly and professional.

One thing I noticed is that they use a mixed pricing model with flexible cabinet selection. This means the furniture price is based only on linear meters and fronts, but which specific cabinets you choose—whether drawers or shelves—is decided afterward, and the price does not change.

This is somewhat interesting, but it obviously explains why they are not the cheapest from the start. In other words, if you actually want a lot of "standard" cabinets with shelves, this option isn’t cost-effective. Put differently: if you want to save money by cutting back on drawers, you won’t save much with them.

I’m looking forward to my quote, which should arrive by the end of the week.

Tolentino schrieb:

They use a mixed calculation method and allow free cabinet selection. This means the furniture price is based only on linear meters and fronts, but the exact choice of cabinets, whether drawers or shelves, is determined afterward and does not affect the price.

I had already pointed this out and roughly calculated the figures on a per-meter basis. The prices for one type seemed quite normal, while the prices for other cabinets appeared very high. Generally, there are warnings online about relying solely on prices per meter.
Therefore, an individual comparison is worthwhile.

Yes, but I didn’t get the impression that this was their intention. For me, it might not be so bad since I mostly only want cabinets without doors (except for wall and utility cabinets). However, if they base their price per meter exactly on the most expensive option and everything else below that is basically their profit, then calling it a mixed calculation would be a bit bold. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Tarnari schrieb:

Have you checked with local suppliers?

Yes, we have reconnected with a chain and also spoke with a locally owned kitchen studio.

The chain showroom wants to update their offer from last October to reflect our current preferences and the latest prices.

The locally owned studio sent us a 360-degree view of the kitchen on the same day (!!!) based on a phone call and the quote from the online company. We’re scheduled to meet there the Saturday after next to discuss details and the offer in person.

Here is a picture of the kitchen as we have currently configured it:

We have our detailed planning meeting with the online company this coming Friday.

@Tolentino I’m curious to hear what you’ll report!

By the way, both studios independently mentioned that the annual trade show takes place in September, and after that, list prices will increase across the board by 5–7%. They advised us to purchase the kitchen by the end of August to avoid the price increase.

Can anyone confirm this?

We were told that the prices will only be adjusted after the turn of the year.