ᐅ Pricing of Materials by Trade Contractors

Where is the limit of what is reasonable and understandable regarding material pricing? This actually affects many trades.

Example:
Cosmo heating expansion tank: online price including shipping, warranty, etc., €50, charged with tax €171.
Wilo heating pump: €160 compared to €352.
No, I do not expect the contractor to spend hours researching and comparing prices. They will buy from their wholesaler and, with a high degree of certainty due to discounts, get the components even cheaper. Of course, they may have personnel and travel costs to collect the parts.
Instead of €210, I now pay €523.
Also, odd items like small parts and installation aids are puzzling, since gaskets were of course included with the components and only a few centimeters of sealing tape were actually used.
As a customer, I have no chance in advance to find out the final prices at all.
Recently, there was a TV report about the installation of heat pumps in houses in France, which due to local pricing were barely more than half the cost. This with identical components.
It gives cause for serious reflection.
It probably leads to more and more private procurement and then installation done under the table.
Ultimately, tenants are also affected, because if the owner’s maintenance costs get out of control, the only option left is a rent increase.

the-blue-cloud schrieb:

He will buy from his wholesaler and will most likely get the components even cheaper due to the discounts.

Wholesale prices are significantly higher than online prices. Because someone still makes a good profit, namely the wholesaler.

the-blue-cloud schrieb:

As a customer, I have no chance at all of finding out the final prices beforehand.

You are interested in only one final price. That is the one on the overall invoice for a trade, a repair, or wherever. And you are free to request various offers and quotations. How the total amount is composed is irrelevant to you.
If you do not request different offers, that is your own responsibility.

Do you have a specific problem or a concrete question?

What is so difficult to understand about the fact that the price of a product increases the more people are involved in its value chain? At home, a serving of spaghetti carbonara made with ingredients from a discount store costs me 80 cents per person. At my preferred restaurant, it costs 12 euros (about 12 USD) for a smaller portion. Should I write angry comments on a cooking website because of that?

Schorsch_baut schrieb:

Should I write angry comments on Chefkoch because of that?

Only if it was made with whipped cream and shaped ham.

Tolentino schrieb:

Only if it was made with cream and shaped ham.

Of course, from the packet. They probably also sell it as a 1kg (2.2 lbs) pack in stores.

Unfortunately, the only solution is to get multiple quotes and then carefully compare them. Flat fees for small parts do make sense. Are you really expecting every single screw and seal to be listed? And if the contractor needs a different small part, should they ask for your permission in advance (since it’s not included in the quote)?