Tactics when buying a kitchen / how to negotiate properly?

How did you approach the topic of the kitchen?

I started with

since neither you nor I live behind the moon, you surely also know that not every studio can offer everything, as not everyone has all brands in their range. That's why you always have to compare several offers from the same manufacturer.

Please don't take it the wrong way, that's not what I mean. I'm just arguing like this because I myself was shocked by what happens in this industry! It is also one of the few industries where this kind of pressure arises. I have also heard such extreme stories from colleagues who have already worked in this industry...

This is how our kitchen purchase went:

At first, a bit of planning and getting shady offers, I decided to make it as transparent as possible:

Planned my kitchen with the Keuchen Fruom (written like this on purpose because otherwise it would be censored here) and decided on a manufacturer, with us Schüller 6er Raster.
Then I went ahead and specified every cabinet, including the drawer divisions.
I also selected all the electrical appliances myself, as well as the fronts, handles, and stone countertop.

With these details, I went out and had the kitchen quoted.

1. Small furniture store from the area, where my parents had bought furniture 30 years ago, family business, very nice people.
2. Large furniture store, known from the ads with the big red chair.
3. Another large furniture store.

The first gave me an offer of about ~21k€. After a short consultation, I got another 300€ discount because they didn’t have to do any planning work.
With this benchmark and a very good feeling, I went to the second.
At first, they wanted ~45k€, only to then offer me the kitchen for 35k€ after some discussion. After things got unpleasant because he accused me of just wanting a comparison offer anyway, he went to his boss again and came back with 28k€ or so, but only for that day.
Seriously? Of course I want a comparison offer!!! Completely normal in other industries, but not appreciated here at all...
I then got angry, stood up, and declined with the statement that it was too non-transparent for me and I wouldn’t take part in that.

The third in line offered me the kitchen from the start for about ~23.5k€. After I turned down the lady because I wanted to take another better offer, she wanted to know how much we would pay, she could still come along with some lead time.
But when I told her the offer, she declined and advised me to take the offer. We did that then and also negotiated 2 cutlery inserts made of oak.

It’s like with everything else in life, only crazier:
If you don’t compare apples to apples, it’s hard to get an overview. My path was long and arduous, but it was worth it. On top of that, the kitchen really works and is good for working in. Thanks again for the help in the neighboring forum.

I’d do it the same way again, or just Ikea.

Don't worry I won't do that and I also hope that you don't because of my - admittedly - sometimes polarizing answers. I already know what you are talking about, the same thing exists in the spa industry which is equated with cartels. Nevertheless, the original post from the OP clearly reads to me: This is about getting the lowest price.

Don't worry I won't do that and I also hope that you won't because of my - admittedly - sometimes polarizing answers.
I already know what you are talking about, the same thing exists in the bathroom industry which is equated with cartels.

Nevertheless, the opening post of the TS clearly reads to me: this is about getting the lowest price.

All good

Sure, it’s about the price, that’s true, but detailed information is simply missing here and so it’s hard to guess anything. It’s not even guaranteed that everyone is offering the same kitchens, which in my opinion is a prerequisite to even make a price comparison, hence my advice to compare exactly and possibly refer to the book, otherwise you really can’t compare one-to-one and in the end it will only be the guy who convinces you saying: "I got the kitchen from that manufacturer 2k cheaper with my negotiations." Who ultimately says that the kitchen is even worth the price and that another manufacturer even offered exactly the same kitchen?

yeah exactly. The OP herself writes that the offers cannot be compared because she always added more extra wishes. So what are you supposed to advise now? I really wanted an adjustable height extractor hood, which not every studio could offer. So I was already restricted there. Besides, you are also limited regionally. It seems to me that the OP is struggling with the offer price because it is too expensive for her. Many consultants ask in advance when the kitchen is planned anyway, because their order books are so full that they don’t depend on customers who haggle over the last euro anymore. I paid my tiler 100€/sqm, which is insanely high. However, the available tilers at the time I needed them were limited to 3 companies. All were between 90-120€/sqm. What else can you do?! This has nothing to do with transparency or rationality anymore. It is merely supply and demand that determine the price.