ᐅ Is an additional cost for high-quality lighting fixtures necessary?

Unbelievable! The price of an Occhio light. (But they do look incredibly good!)
I bought all my lamps from a company based in China. For example, I have 26 outdoor fixtures in the brickwork, so I cannot pay $100 per spot. (I paid about $12 each for up-and-down spots, aluminum, black powder-coated with transformer.)
I guess I subconsciously tightened the budget there.
For standard ceiling recessed GU10 spots in the upper floor and kids’ rooms, I simply bought 100 units. (Around $2.50 each for socket and bulb.)

Anyone who owns the luxury penthouse in the city center probably wouldn’t put Asian fixtures in the living room.
I invested more in flush-mounted fittings from brand manufacturers, and so on.

Rumbi441 schrieb:

So what does a homeowner who can’t afford professional planning do? Do they just have the electrician install some basic ceiling lights, a few spotlights, and that’s it?

What else can you do? It works fine, even with lamps from Ikea or Amazon. And if the lamps aren’t particularly eye-catching, visitors won’t notice whether they cost $50 or $500.

For spotlights, I can understand that having good spare parts availability is helpful, but for regular ceiling lamps, it really doesn’t matter that much. Tastes change, and eventually, you’ll want to replace the lamps anyway.

I bought these LED panels with adjustable color temperature at Kaufland back then, available in square and elongated rectangular shapes, I think for around 30 or 40 EUR each.

Compared to similar products from hardware stores, which often cost about the same, these are much more discreet (no bulky frame) and less intrusive (flatter). However, I didn’t expect it to take over a year before I actually installed them.

Bauenaberwie schrieb:

We had these professionally done by a local dealer. What shocked me were the sometimes insane prices.

Bauenaberwie schrieb:

The planning was free and part of the service offered by this dealer,

… as part of the sales service. Even a local specialist supplier factors that into their pricing.

Bauenaberwie schrieb:

The question now is whether the spotlights priced at, for example, €100 (about $110) in the middle range can be equivalent to those costing €250 (about $275)?

I don’t think so. Whether they are actually worth €250 (about $275) is another matter, but I am convinced they are higher quality than discount store or online marketplace products.

Bauenaberwie schrieb:

Do you maybe have some brands that you would recommend? Kind of price-performance ratio?

Price-performance is relative. It’s the same with lamps as with kitchen appliances: I’m not very familiar with current lamp brands, but for many, comparable quality in kitchen appliances only starts at brands like Neff, Miele, and others. More affordable brands are generally rejected.
Regarding the brand Occhio: if you like it and want it, you have to accept the price. Personally, I find €500 (about $550) for a light fixture totally overrated. Not only that, I find them absolutely and completely unattractive.

About internet prices: you should keep in mind that many online retailers can’t deliver immediately because they don’t keep stock. As an end customer, you are often dependent on several middlemen, so sometimes you have to wait months before they tell you that the item is no longer available. Of course, you’ve already paid in advance.

Many online retailers also exist only for a few years, making returns impossible.

Then there’s the comparison with household appliances, like Bosch: the serial number shows that separate batches are made specifically for discount stores. When you buy the same model from a specialist retailer, the last number or letter is different and the device is more expensive… which raises the question whether some components might be of lower quality…

And last but not least, the low price might come from a fake or scam company. That happens more often than you would think.

In my opinion, when buying expensive products online, you need to weigh things carefully: not everything that glitters is gold.