ᐅ Strategy for Buying a Kitchen / How to Negotiate Effectively?

Created on: 6 Aug 2020 16:47
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Shiny86
I’ve started planning my kitchen and feel completely overwhelmed. It feels like being at a bazaar. Exactly what you see on TV shows happened to me. So far, I’ve visited 4 kitchen showrooms. I’m still waiting on the design and price from 2 of them. These are smaller studios, so I’m curious to see what they come up with.

But with the other two, it went exactly as expected. Twice I asked the manager for a discount, and it turned into a kind of show. The comments were laughable: “We can do it for price X, but then we won’t make any profit on you. The manager will probably want to talk to me about this.” Even after the second discount, I still felt like I was paying too much. Both salespeople set deadlines for me. One even said I had to sign the contract that same day.

I also don’t know how to negotiate smartly or what the right tactics are. I don’t really know the actual value of my kitchen. When does negotiating become unreasonable? How do you know for sure when there’s no more room to negotiate? Are there actually people who don’t negotiate at all and just accept the first offered discount? I’ve wondered about that too. It’s a shame I don’t know any kitchen salesperson personally to get insider tips.

Since I have a lot of expensive requests, I feel almost ridiculous setting my budget too low. The problem is that I can’t compare apples to apples because my kitchen concept has changed with every planning appointment. In my small town, I’ve now visited all the studios except for Roller. There are still studios in neighboring towns, but I already feel like I won’t have a kitchen even after visiting 5 more showrooms.

Nearly all plans are for a Nobilia kitchen, coming to around 20,000 euros (about $22,000), or even more if I include my latest wishes. I’ve asked if I should buy the appliances myself to save money, but I was advised against it. They said they wouldn’t install them due to warranty reasons.

What price would you set if you were in my position? And please share how you got your kitchen and how you negotiated.

My requirements are:
- A tall cabinet row with 6 cabinets, each 60cm (24 inches) wide, boxed in drywall. Two of these should be pantry cabinets with pull-out shelves, and the other 4 will house appliances.

- A kitchen peninsula about 1.2m (4 feet) wide and approximately 3.10m (10 feet) long, with drawers on both sides only.

- I want quite high-end appliances, probably Bosch Series 8 black Carbon Accent line, likely including an oven with microwave, a combi-steam oven, and a built-in coffee machine.

- Cooktop with an integrated downdraft vent, recirculating air, flush-mounted (Bosch Series 8 has been planned so far, but I don’t know how good the cooktop is).

- Very quiet dishwasher, brand doesn’t matter (Bosch and Neff have been suggested so far).

- Refrigerator inside a tall cabinet with 2 bio-fresh drawers, brand doesn’t matter (Liebherr and Bosch have been suggested).

- Ceramic countertop

- Undermount ceramic sink

I don’t want to spend more than necessary. But I realize I probably won’t get everything for 15,000 euros (about $16,500).

How should I proceed?
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ypg
24 Aug 2020 18:23
Shiny86 schrieb:

But I want to say that I have already invested a lot of time.

What hourly rate would you estimate for yourself, and even more importantly: what hourly rate would you expect for an experienced kitchen planner? Could 10% of the final kitchen price be realistic? Or would that be too expensive because the value of the specialist’s invested hours is not clear or tangible?
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Shiny86
24 Aug 2020 21:51
I’m more interested in knowing whether it’s a “bargain,” “fair,” or “overpriced.”
For example, I have trouble judging the brand Kuhlmann/RWK despite searching on Google. I’m not sure if it’s more comparable to Nobilia/Nolte or at a higher level like Häcker/Schüller.
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NoggerLoger
4 Sep 2020 11:23
So, we are paying for a Häcker Systemat kitchen with metal handles, 5 tall cabinets plus 1 wall cabinet with a coffee machine pull-out, and a 2.5m (8.2 ft) kitchen island. The furniture costs 11,000–12,000 euros, plus a granite countertop for 3,500 euros, a Miele dishwasher, and a Bora Pure cooktop for 3,700 euros. The total is 18,500 euros, including installation. The remaining appliances we buy online, and he installs them for free.

I think your price is similar to ours.

Moderne Küche mit Insel, Spüle, Glaskeramikkochfeld und Backöfen in Holzschrankwand.
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Shiny86
4 Sep 2020 11:59
Sounds great. Thanks for the feedback. What was your buying strategy and how many studios did you visit?

I have another appointment today. Looking forward to it.
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NoggerLoger
4 Sep 2020 13:13
My two brothers have already bought from this kitchen showroom and had only positive experiences. So we went there directly. After two appointments, I negotiated a little. The consultant was the owner himself, since it’s a small kitchen showroom. I simply asked for a discount and he gave us a small reduction. Maybe I was a bit quick, but prices in this range are always like that, and since we definitely wanted a Häcker kitchen, everything worked out. In the back of my mind, I always had the price my brothers paid, who have a similar kitchen.

Why would I waste my time visiting 10 kitchen showrooms when I already had a great feeling here?
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Alessandro
4 Sep 2020 13:42
Oh my God...
If you had to pay for the time you spend trying to get the absolute lowest price (which you clearly do!), you wouldn’t bother with such ridiculous peanuts.
Kitchens or other items would be much cheaper if potential customers like you didn’t tie up countless salespeople for hours!
What a waste of time!
I would be embarrassed…