The business with the toilet

Everything that connects to the drinking water should strictly speaking not be installed by a layperson. Buying online and then looking for a slave to install it cheaply is something I find inappropriate – just like those surcharges. A good plumber charges moderate surcharges and that’s fine. I pay almost as much at my plumber as at megabad, Reuter, or similar – sometimes even less! And nothing was negotiated there...

I don't want to deprive anyone of their earnings. The plumber should be paid appropriately. I just don't see the prices of the [Ausstatter]. On the internet, I have read the term toilet cartel or toilet mafia....in my opinion, that fits quite well.

Hi, if the general contractor calls up such prices, he has to credit them to you if you take that out. So get it yourself and screw it to the wall yourself. It really isn’t rocket science. Or look for a plumber who will also screw self-purchased items to the wall for you. He will then charge a bit more for the work because he earns nothing on the materials anymore. But it should still be cheaper. And the warranty? First of all, it’s very questionable whether you’ll even manage to claim a washbasin with the general contractor after 1.5 years, and on the other hand, it’s not worth the hassle. You can easily get decent and nice washbasins for 150-250 €. With the money saved, you can write off quite a few defects.

Of course, if you want the 3000 € washbasin, I would have it done professionally…

Best regards,

Andreas

The missing warranty is just their standard excuse. And yes, many installers don’t want to install the parts at first. Their problem is that they can damage your part during installation and have to be liable for it, even though their liability is actually included in the price of the component (from which they don’t earn anything here). Some things are hard to install yourself, like a bathtub, since the surroundings will be tiled (if it’s included in the scope of work during house construction). Some things like the toilet or especially the sink are really easy to replace yourself. It’s complete nonsense that only professionals are allowed to screw on a sink. Since a non-return valve prevents backflow from the meter onwards, it’s at worst your problem if something goes wrong with the water (which would also be nonsense, what could happen there?!). The prices on the internet for the parts are so cheap because basically “almost no one” can install the parts they bought there themselves. The selection is huge, but hardly anyone buys it (proportionally). So they undercut each other so that anyone buys something at all. What’s the point of a bigger better bathtub for 300 instead of 2000€, if you can’t get it installed and also can’t find a real professional to install it. You can roughly imagine it like 1000 online shops for firearms, where no one is allowed to buy without the permit from the authorities...

The prices on the internet for the parts are so cheap by the way because basically "hardly anyone" can install the parts bought there themselves. The selection is huge, but hardly anyone buys it (in relation). So they undercut each other just so that anyone buys something at all. What's the use of a bigger better tub for 300 instead of 2000€ if you can't get it installed and can't find a real professional to install it either. You can roughly imagine it like 1000 online shops for firearms, where no one is allowed to buy without the certificate from the authorities...

That is nonsense. The sales are actually substantial.

That is nonsense. The sales are quite significant.

but you do know the word "ratio," right? In relation, relatively little is bought online compared to total sales. No one would sell an item with an MSRP of €1000 for €300 if they could also get €700 through your "significant" sales. Sure, a lot is sold online, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many providers. However, the installation is associated with difficulties that are compensated for by the low selling price. In the end, the installation of the internet parts is either done by oneself or as a "favor," since hardly any real installer does it officially (for liability reasons). I already mentioned the reason in a previous post.