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.
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.
N
nordanney22 Oct 2024 09:20Arauki11 schrieb:
But that doesn’t apply to everyone, as I often see such tradespeople and their company vehicles in front of home improvement stores; Yes, just visit a drive-through at a store like Bauhaus or similar. About two-thirds of the customers are professionals, since the home improvement store basically functions as a wholesale supplier (for many trades).
K
Konsument422 Oct 2024 10:55nordanney schrieb:
Well, there is only one direction to go after all.That is very rarely the case, and not here either.
As long as customers go along with it and contractors have enough projects, there is money to be made. When that is no longer the case, as currently with new construction, complaints arise and calls for help follow. If companies actually go bankrupt, new ones appear in a healthy economy and earn the margin.
The example with heat pumps is currently being discussed in the media. I cannot personally assess it, but I have seen videos where installers precisely calculate why a heat pump including installation cannot cost less than 30,000 euros (about 32,500 USD). However, I doubt the price would be that high without subsidies. As you say, prices in all other countries are reportedly significantly lower.
The individual components of an iPhone (excluding the software) are also much cheaper than the complete device—but that is not visible on the final bill. If you cannot assemble the parts yourself, you have to accept the market economy, choose to do without, or find your own way.
M
mcxreflex23 Oct 2024 06:28You often hear statements like, "The contractor gets better prices, which they sometimes pass on to the customer; you have to consider this advantage when doing work yourself, as private customers don’t have these benefits." At this point, I want to start a discussion about doing your own work and not the pricing strategies of contractors, but I cannot recall any invoice where the material costs were even close to the prices I would have gotten as a private individual. Where do statements like the one above come from? Or is this just another myth spread by certain interest groups?
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Buchsbaum06623 Oct 2024 07:58In my trade, a 100 percent markup is standard.
The prices listed for the end customer have always been set so that I earn 100 percent on them.
One part costs 200 euros according to the wholesaler’s price list. I bought it from the wholesaler for 100 euros.
The manufacturer sells it to the wholesaler for 50 euros. That’s how prices end up where the customer buys a product with a very high price that is not reflected in the product’s quality.
Often the customer thinks, “I paid a lot for this, so it must be good.” And often, that’s exactly how it stays.
Nevertheless, wholesale has its purpose. The contractor is also responsible for warranties. They need to trust the installed products and be able to exchange them if there are defects. This is where buying online becomes difficult.
They can only sell products for which spare parts service and functioning customer support are available.
But no one complains when Adidas buys a pair of sneakers in China for 5 euros and then sells them for 120 euros in a store. This is how most retail works, whether it’s a hardware store or a clothing shop.
As long as these products are sold, it’s not a problem.
It is different, for example, in the photovoltaic sector. Here, many small retailers sell to private customers with very low margins. There is fierce price competition, and the entire market is highly contested.
The prices listed for the end customer have always been set so that I earn 100 percent on them.
One part costs 200 euros according to the wholesaler’s price list. I bought it from the wholesaler for 100 euros.
The manufacturer sells it to the wholesaler for 50 euros. That’s how prices end up where the customer buys a product with a very high price that is not reflected in the product’s quality.
Often the customer thinks, “I paid a lot for this, so it must be good.” And often, that’s exactly how it stays.
Nevertheless, wholesale has its purpose. The contractor is also responsible for warranties. They need to trust the installed products and be able to exchange them if there are defects. This is where buying online becomes difficult.
They can only sell products for which spare parts service and functioning customer support are available.
But no one complains when Adidas buys a pair of sneakers in China for 5 euros and then sells them for 120 euros in a store. This is how most retail works, whether it’s a hardware store or a clothing shop.
As long as these products are sold, it’s not a problem.
It is different, for example, in the photovoltaic sector. Here, many small retailers sell to private customers with very low margins. There is fierce price competition, and the entire market is highly contested.
N
nordanney23 Oct 2024 08:54Buchsbaum066 schrieb:
In my trade, a 100 percent price markup is standard.What kind of trade?Just as a statistic: the profit margin in wholesale for sanitary and building components is around ±5%, and for building material suppliers about 3%.
And when I look at other wholesalers, like Metro for example, their prices are exactly the same as in any supermarket.
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Buchsbaum06623 Oct 2024 09:43Keep dreaming. Nobody gets up early anymore for a 3 percent margin in wholesale.
You’re not seriously going to tell me that if the wholesaler buys a screw for 1 euro, they sell it to the contractor for 1.03 euro.
You’re not seriously going to tell me that if the wholesaler buys a screw for 1 euro, they sell it to the contractor for 1.03 euro.
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