Tactics when buying a kitchen / how to negotiate properly?

What can you say according to the book? The kitchen is not a never-ending story for me. I’ve had pretty clear ideas for a long time. But they have become more concrete through the 4 visits. Also, you obviously have to spend a lot of time on the topic. The open kitchen will be the heart of the house. And if I hadn’t said myself that the cooktop should be flush-mounted and that I want an undermount sink, no one would have suggested that to me. Also, no one would have planned a base cabinet with a waste system, meaning the trash bin under the countertop, by themselves. And I don’t think about pricing when I’m in a restaurant. But there I only pay a one- or two-digit amount too much... I can live with that. With a kitchen, I have the feeling that people tend to be relieved of a few thousand euros too much. I can well understand why then prefers to buy at Ikea.

It always depends on how much value someone places on it or how much the effort is worth to you to get something "better," especially price-wise, than another buyer. Those who deal with it and invest a lot of time (similar to building a house) will ultimately be rewarded, definitely. It’s just a question of whether you want that or not. It doesn’t always have to be about the price. Also by knowing what you want in the first place, etc. I also always find it important to inform yourself independently of the consultants, for example in the form of such a book, which is naturally very suitable in this area. Only in this way do you get an overview and can also estimate whether what you simply put in your head is actually any good and really fits you? The salesperson will always agree with you... after all, they want to sell, and of course at the highest price. Telling you what you can say according to the book is very difficult. The book has 300 pages... Just take a look at the general description, then you might already notice how diverse everything is. There are things in there you would never have thought about beforehand. Tricks of the salespeople that you as a buyer without background knowledge wouldn’t even remotely notice... I can only recommend it!

I once just stood up during the show when they were asking for a discount from the boss, etc., and said that I didn't like that attitude

I think that's great! I should have done that too. One salesperson was simply gone for about 15-20 minutes to ask his boss and the second time asking the boss took 10 minutes. Then I was supposed to sign the same day to get the price. I was really annoyed at how they handled my valuable time. Planning a kitchen already takes at least 1.5 hours (or longer if you're still undecided about what you want) and then the show artificially extended that. And then he was also very unfriendly and annoying. I have a 2-year-old and a baby at home. I would have preferred to spend my time with my family instead of sitting around waiting for the great offer.

What can you say according to the book?


The kitchen is not a never-ending story for me. I have had quite clear ideas for a long time. But they have gradually become more concrete through the 4 visits. Also, you obviously have to spend a lot of time on the topic. The open kitchen will be the heart of the house. And if I didn’t say myself that the cooktop should be flush-mounted and that I want an undermount sink, no one would have suggested that to me. Also, no one would have planned a base cabinet with a waste system, meaning the trash bin under the countertop, on their own.

And I don’t think about pricing in a restaurant. But there I only pay 1- to 2-digit amounts too much... I can live with that. With the kitchen, I have the feeling that people like to be relieved of a few thousand euros too much.

I can well understand that then prefers to buy at Ikea.

This is not the ultimate wisdom but solely MY current attitude towards this topic.
If you have certain specifications, some manufacturers are out of the question anyway regarding dimensions, functions, etc.
And yes, in the end, I also want to have a good feeling when buying, that advice, service, and quality fit, no matter which purchase it is.
Therefore, for example, I would never build my house with someone I find unsympathetic only because they might be cheaper. At the moment, I consciously pay significantly more so that THIS PARTICULAR PERSON creates the project for me; often I don’t even ask about the price, but just let it be done because I know that he will handle it well and fairly.
As long as you move somewhere in the mid-range, in my opinion, you won’t get a bad kitchen anymore. I see it more like when buying a car, that you can have great fun with a Renault and only troubles with an Audi. Really bad kitchens are rarer nowadays; even at OBI you get equally decent kitchens now. Don’t let yourself be pushed anywhere but do what suits you and what you like.

This is not necessarily the final conclusion but solely MY current attitude towards this topic.
As soon as you have certain specifications, some manufacturers are already out of the running in terms of dimensions, functions, etc.
And yes, in the end I also want to have a good feeling when buying, that advice, performance, and quality fit, no matter what the purchase is.
Therefore, for example, I would never build my house with a person I find unsympathetic just because they might be cheaper. At the moment, I consciously pay significantly more for exactly THIS PERSON to carry out the project for me; often I don’t even ask about the price but just let it happen because I know that he will handle it well and fairly.
As long as you move somewhere in the middle range, in my opinion, you won’t get a bad kitchen anymore. I see it more like with buying a car, that you can have great fun with a Renault and only trouble with an Audi. Really bad things are rather rare nowadays, even at OBI you can get decent kitchens now. Don’t let yourself be pushed somewhere but do what suits you and what you like.

I basically agree with that too. I also find it extremely difficult to accept the idea of being "fooled," which is common in this industry. That’s exactly why some background knowledge doesn’t hurt, so you can also counter something here and shine with knowledge; that often puts you in a different negotiating position, just like when buying a house, exactly the same!

I also see it as you do! Trust is paramount. However, if a salesperson is sitting opposite a potential buyer who says yes to everything and has no good knowledge about the subject, then he will simply sell him overpriced things or things the customer doesn’t necessarily need.

Unfortunately, nowadays it is like that (I think it was already that way before as well). You just must not be too naive and believe that the other party always wants only the best and cheapest for the customer, that is definitely NOT the case anywhere.

Maybe yes –, but that’s not what this is about.

What else should it be about if not the lowest price?
That’s why I don’t understand the wisdom you’re sharing. It almost reads as if one would be opening Pandora’s box or that the salesperson wants to rip you off when entering a kitchen studio, which is why you absolutely must read a 300-page tome so you don’t fall into that trap.
When I read what has listed as wishes and writes that the offers are all around 20,000,-, I don’t understand what else one could expect?
But you can surely explain that to me.

Interesting thread, especially to read about other people's experiences.

My personal experience:

We (or so we believe) have done quite well by fixing on a kitchen manufacturer relatively early. Otherwise, it would have become even more confusing. Then it was actually quite good to compare. Same planning in a regional kitchen studio, a regional furniture store, and a very, very large furniture store with summer super giga ultra only-for-a-short-time discount.

Played with open cards that we were getting two other offers for the same kitchen. (Well, one didn't give up and really wanted to know what the other offered, so I just deducted 1-2k EUR from the competitor's offer).

All were in a similar range +/-.

Modular kitchen, island, back line with wall cabinets, three tall cabinets, two of them with appliances, Schüller kitchen, partly glass fronts, Siemens appliances, Bora X-Pure, Neolith countertop

25k.

More than we initially budgeted, but most of our life takes place in the kitchen area. That was important to us and therefore a large part of the VAT savings from the house went into kitchen upgrades.

P.S.: With a ceramic countertop, I would not choose an undermount sink. As insensitive and robust as the slabs are, their hardness at the edges is the weak spot. I actually know of two cases among acquaintances where the edges chipped off at the sink. That’s why ours will be flush-mounted.