Do you buy at the local specialty store or do you order online?

I am currently facing exactly the same question, so I'm jumping on this topic.

We received the craftsman’s offer via GÜ for the interior doors and were quite surprised when we compared the door prices on the internet. There I get exactly the same doors including delivery for half the price (!).

Then we compared our sanitary objects and the same pattern emerges there; in some cases, the craftsman even asks for the triple of the internet price. A pretty hefty margin! I understand, "evil internet," "I’m weakening the region," "craftsmen also have to make a living," ... but I do, too The money – after all, it’s a matter of several thousand euros! – would be very useful to us because (as always) it has already become much more expensive elsewhere than planned.

Does it make sense to buy things through the craftsman anyway for warranty purposes, or has anyone ever dared to order everything via the internet and just have it installed? How does the warranty work then? Because even if the installation then becomes expensive, say twice as expensive (I’m happy to pass some on to the craftsman, as suggested), I still save a considerable amount!

: How exactly did you do it back then, and are you still satisfied? Would you still do it exactly the same way?

Indeed, a very difficult topic – as you can also see from the posts here.

Basically, we like to buy as regionally as possible. We already considered that when choosing the developer. All companies are local – which also has the advantage that if there is ever a problem, I can reach someone personally and don’t have to spend weeks calling all over northern Germany.

Here, especially in the somewhat rural areas, we have some small shops where you can get a lot of things. There are good ones we also like to support. Before I order something online, I always check if I can get it on the way, and it’s not just about a few euros.

However, there are also two types of shops that want to take you for a fool. One type pretends they need every euro and pays their employees minimum wage – but the boss and his family live on a huge estate, drive several luxury cars, and prefer to spend their time somewhere in the Caribbean. In that case, the extra cost just hits the wrong person.

The other possibility is the small shops that have to sell their goods at pharmacy prices. Their purchase quantities are so small that they do not get good prices, and rent, staff, etc. also cost money. Even if you don’t want to hear it, these are no longer up to date and will gradually disappear.

At the end of the day, we try to support the small specialist businesses that provide service and charge prices high enough for them to make something, but without fleecing the customer completely.

Just as there will always be things we buy locally, there are also purchases we will repeatedly make online. When special offers from well-known large retailers save several hundred euros, then I have to think about my wallet.

Buying online and hiring craftsmen on an hourly wage for installation does not work. Nobody does that. He wants the whole job or he leaves it. The times are such that he can enforce it.

I was more thinking of consumables or small items that we process ourselves.

For materials used by craftsmen, we have found that they often buy better than we do as private individuals anyway. If they are good companies ordering large quantities regularly, they have their suppliers with corresponding conditions for that.

Buying online and having craftsmen install on an hourly wage doesn't work. No one does that. He wants the whole job or nothing. Times are such that he can enforce that.

I can't imagine that no one does that. Alone on MyHammer, there are already many requests of this kind, and surely someone will do it.

Regarding the warranty, I inquired; apparently, the craftsman is not liable for the material – on the contrary, the material supplier must even pay the craftsman for removal and reinstallation if the goods are defective. So if you don't pay the craftsman less than minimum wage, I don't understand why they should resist it (unless their order books are so full that at the same time they have dozens of orders with which they earn twice as much). Especially when they are already on site at the customer anyway.

With materials that craftsmen use, we have experienced that they often buy better than we do as private individuals anyway. If they are good companies that regularly purchase large quantities and have their suppliers with corresponding conditions for this.

That's true, the wholesaler also told us that. But if the craftsman then adds a 200% margin, unfortunately that doesn't help me as a private person either.