ᐅ Toilet prices ranging from €27.90 to €500 – objective information on the price differences?
Created on: 17 May 2017 18:58
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DReffects
Hello!
After receiving a hefty quote for bathroom fixtures of around €22,200 (about €900 for a toilet bowl), I just got back from the ICU recovery room and am now dealing with toilet bowls.
The rimless wall-hung toilet from the company with the +, their own brand, seems to be from Laufen according to my research and has an average rating of 1/5 stars on Amazon. Reason: water splashes out at the front, and quality appears to be mediocre.
I went to the home improvement store (*ahem*) and saw:
- Standard wall-hung toilet €29
- Rimless wall-hung toilet €89
- Brand-name rimless toilet €300
When I asked, the saleswoman said, "Oh, it’s all the same, they all work equally well; you just pay more for the brand name with the branded manufacturers."
The super-premium rimless toilet from TOTO with Tornado Flush I found online for about €380.
In my apartment, there is a roughly 35-year-old toilet, now with many dull spots, but it still wonderfully houses the 'product.' I clean it every few weeks with some cleaner and a brush. So far, no complaints.
So, quite simply: Where on earth is the difference?
Thank you very much for your input!
After receiving a hefty quote for bathroom fixtures of around €22,200 (about €900 for a toilet bowl), I just got back from the ICU recovery room and am now dealing with toilet bowls.
The rimless wall-hung toilet from the company with the +, their own brand, seems to be from Laufen according to my research and has an average rating of 1/5 stars on Amazon. Reason: water splashes out at the front, and quality appears to be mediocre.
I went to the home improvement store (*ahem*) and saw:
- Standard wall-hung toilet €29
- Rimless wall-hung toilet €89
- Brand-name rimless toilet €300
When I asked, the saleswoman said, "Oh, it’s all the same, they all work equally well; you just pay more for the brand name with the branded manufacturers."
The super-premium rimless toilet from TOTO with Tornado Flush I found online for about €380.
In my apartment, there is a roughly 35-year-old toilet, now with many dull spots, but it still wonderfully houses the 'product.' I clean it every few weeks with some cleaner and a brush. So far, no complaints.
So, quite simply: Where on earth is the difference?
Thank you very much for your input!
K
Knallkörper18 May 2017 14:28We had a rimless toilet in the rental house, but unfortunately it splashed. Now we have two Keramag Icon models, which just work well. They also look good, with concealed installation, etc. They are supposed to be easy to clean since there are fewer surfaces.
Anyway, the toilet is the cheapest part of the bathroom...
Anyway, the toilet is the cheapest part of the bathroom...
Or you can decide in advance how much you want to spend and then buy what fits your budget—this approach leads to long-term satisfaction and allows you to focus your time on your family instead of losing sleep over whether you could have gotten a slightly better deal.
The talk about the mafia is pure populism. In my wider circle, there are many wealthy people, and I do sometimes wonder if everything about their dealings is entirely above board. However, kitchen and bathroom suppliers are not among those I question. They simply use a mixed pricing model to cover expenses, staff, and their own earnings. If it were possible to offer significantly lower prices, other companies would have already undercut them easily.
The talk about the mafia is pure populism. In my wider circle, there are many wealthy people, and I do sometimes wonder if everything about their dealings is entirely above board. However, kitchen and bathroom suppliers are not among those I question. They simply use a mixed pricing model to cover expenses, staff, and their own earnings. If it were possible to offer significantly lower prices, other companies would have already undercut them easily.
Well, if you say so. Labor time is charged like with any other tradesperson. $80 per hour plus an additional $50 for the apprentice is quite normal here. Travel costs apply as well. Then you still have to add 100-200% on top of the wholesale prices just to survive?
They don’t have a warehouse; everything is always ordered. Retail stores are usually quite small and located in simple areas, not designed for walk-in customers.
It works differently with other tradesmen; for me, the attitude in the plumbing and kitchen sector is hard to understand.
They don’t have a warehouse; everything is always ordered. Retail stores are usually quite small and located in simple areas, not designed for walk-in customers.
It works differently with other tradesmen; for me, the attitude in the plumbing and kitchen sector is hard to understand.
K
Knallkörper18 May 2017 20:15At first, I couldn’t understand why our plumber was charging 200% above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), demanding four times the price of the cheapest online retailer. Then I saw the two Porsches, a white one for her and a black one for him (bold, considering that as a regular employee working as a nuclear power plant chimney sweep, I can barely afford a Mercedes E-Class)! Most of the installers there are temporary workers. Well, I guess you have to make money when the times allow it.
77.willo schrieb:
Or you decide in advance what you want to spend and then buy what fits that budget – that leads to long-term satisfaction and lets you focus your time on your family instead of spending sleepless nights wondering if you could have gotten just a little more for your money. The mafia talk is pure populism. In my wider circle, there are plenty of wealthy people, some of whom I do wonder if everything is above board. But kitchen and sanitaryware salespeople are definitely not among them. They simply work with mixed pricing to cover their costs, employees, and their own income. If it could be done significantly cheaper, other companies would simply undercut them on price and take their business.We decided in advance what we wanted to spend. Every furniture and home goods store told us: for €3,000 to €4,000 (about $3,200 to $4,300), you can get a great bathroom.
Right now, according to the quotes, the prices being asked are indeed between 200% and 400% of the online price. No question — a physical store with a showroom and consultation has to and should be more expensive than an online retailer. In all other areas, the difference is between 5% and 25%. That’s acceptable and not a problem. But charging three times the price for a shower fitting without providing added value that justifies this price difference doesn’t really add up for me. Of course, the tradesperson is liable. But I also take responsibility in the IT field. And I only add about 5% on top of my own costs. Computers don’t get better or different just because I had them in my hands.
But okay, you can discuss that at length. I certainly find it interesting that the term “mafia” was mentioned — some acquaintances who have built houses have brought that up as well.
During our house build, such price differences only appeared for the plumber’s work — floors, windows, etc., were all within a reasonable range of “online price + 10-20% markup.” And that’s fine. In my opinion, 200% to 400% is not.