Kitchen price comparison - Fair or fantasy?

A reputable provider prints everything out for you and gives it to you to take home. For me, device prices and prices for countertops were listed separately. I found that quite transparent.

You probably come across something like this more in smaller furniture stores than in large furniture stores or big kitchen studio chains, right?

We were both at the furniture store and the kitchen studio, which supposedly offers equally fair prices. In the end, we planned everything exactly the same, and the furniture store had about a 3,000 EUR price advantage. We had already asked the kitchen studio for a discount beforehand - no chance. Then we canceled at the kitchen studio, and they still came back with an improved offer by 2,000 EUR (by email after a few days). It was still about 1,000 EUR more expensive, but the idea that the kitchen studio offers equally fair prices is not true.

I would simply recommend that you also replicate the kitchen 1 to 1 at IKEA, but of course replace the IKEA appliances mathematically with real appliances (calculate serious providers plus delivery plus installation). Then you should include assembly and extras like, for example, a kitchen backsplash (a few square meters of ESG glass is not free including cutouts, of course) and possibly the countertop.

Once you have calculated all this, you can make a fair price comparison with IKEA, and we were hardly above that. Not that I would have chosen IKEA, but the fully lacquered kitchen at the furniture store was then only slightly more expensive than the IKEA foil kitchen. I believe it was under 10% in the end.

So, never buy an IKEA kitchen, but please always include it as a price benchmark in your planning.

One is probably most likely to come across something like this in smaller furniture stores rather than in large furniture houses or big kitchen studio chains, right?

In my case, it was Böhm Küchen in Potsdam. They are rather large but I don't think they are a chain. There wasn't much of a discount there either. When we were almost decided on some types, they added LED lighting on top. I also planned a similar kitchen with internet-enabled devices at Ikea to have an initial reference point.

Just very briefly about our experience with large companies, medium-sized furniture stores, and a small kitchen studio:

About 5 years ago, we needed a new kitchen for a temporary apartment, including all appliances (sink, dishwasher, stove, fridge-freezer combo, hood). Very small, very simple, the requirement was an absolute minimal budget. We already knew at the time that we would build or buy and probably wouldn’t take anything with us anyway. We went through the usual odyssey and tried everything from IKEA to the premium furniture store. The range went from a display kitchen "just like assembled in the store" for a bit over a thousand in pure white to the premium model for "normally 15,000, but since it’s you and today the moon phase is right" only 9,999€.
End of story: A small, local kitchen studio calculated a price of 2,500€ including installation. Appliances from the budget range of Oranier, refrigerator from Electrolux, visually acceptable, bought! In this shop, the senior is a trained carpenter, his three sons have since taken over, and of them, one is a carpenter, one an electrician, and one a businessman. Fits...

For our house, we didn’t go anywhere else. We had simply calculated (without naming our 15k budget): lacquered fronts on 8m and peninsula, mid-range appliances from AEG, all drawers, 90cm cooktop, ceramic sink, exhaust hood. Price without negotiation in the budget (12k) and they also installed our old refrigerator. We had 2-3 small defects, all of which were fixed, and yes, it is not an absolute premium kitchen. But practical, functional, and also visually a solid thing. Therefore, absolute recommendation for such small family businesses.

Basically, comparing kitchens is not that difficult, or rather you get the hang of it eventually. The electrical appliances can always be the same, often each manufacturer only has 1-2 devices anyway that are explicitly considered (e.g. fridge-freezer combo with ice cube preparation fully integrated, Liebherr has exactly 1 model). What the appliances cost can be easily found out on the internet. Add about 50-100€ to the cheapest internet price and you have your price from the local kitchen expert. By the way, it is the appliances that discount the total price, since the difference between the RRP price and the selling price depending on the manufacturer is 60-70%. The particle board and fronts are discounted very little. Once you have the prices for the electrical appliances at hand, you know how much money you have to spend on which front design. Because the carcass elements are almost always the same...

Support. Bosch Series 4 washing machine and dryer. 1700 RRP. 1000 at the local electronics store. 900 MediaMarkt.
The surcharge for fronts is very transparent at IKEA Metod. You can even have fun comparing gloss with matte online with the same cabinet. Likewise for handles.
A friend, a master electrician, self-employed, often has projects for holiday apartments. Therefore, he also sells Nobilia kitchens to offer customers the complete renovation. The industry, he says, is at carpet dealer level. In the studios and furniture stores, everything is done to prevent transparency and comparability and to call up exorbitant prices, which are then brought down to earth with discount promises to the customer. But it still isn't cheap. The tactic of presenting a very unsuitable kitchen, which almost no one can take as is, for 4000 complete and then marking it up to 10 with minor changes is ineradicable. His conclusion is that the industry should not be surprised if more and more middle-class people, even late sixties, flock to Ikea because they are tired of being treated the way most studios do. The kitchen furniture at Ikea is not even very cheap, just fairly priced. His Nobilia prices in the equity list are such that he can compete well with the Swede. His device purchase prices are also such that he does not have to be afraid of Roller and the like. He just doesn’t have the people for assembly and installation to scale up the business. The electrical trade is also fully booked.