Hi, I’m Lloyd Feldman. For many years I worked for a large distributor that supplied independent kitchen showrooms.
Therefore, I have a good understanding of which showrooms sell what kitchen brands and how the price and quality of those brands compare to each other & to the chains & trade only suppliers.
Why is it so hard to find the best value kitchen?
Lack of knowledge
Most people know very little about kitchens. If you were to ask 100 people if an Audi is a better quality car than a Fiat, most would know the answer. However, if you asked the same 100 people if a Bauformat kitchen is a better quality kitchen than a Magnet kitchen, few would know the answer.
Too much information
Buying a kitchen can seem like a minefield. With so much information to take in, ensuring you get the best kitchen for your money isn’t easy.
Independent kitchen showrooms who tell you their kitchens are the best
Visiting independent kitchen showrooms can be confusing. Most will tell you why their kitchens are the best. However, when you’ve visited 3 or 4 showrooms who all sell different brands & all tell you that their kitchens are the best, who should you believe?
Sales tricks & pressure selling from the chains
The chains make buying a kitchen even harder with their sales tricks. They try to mislead people into thinking they’re getting a bargain by inflating their prices & then offering 50% off discounts.
They then try & pressurise people into putting down a deposit by telling them their sale ends in a few days time.
Sales tricks from builders & trade only suppliers
Builders also try & mislead people into thinking they’re getting a bargain with promises of up to 80% off trade only kitchens. Unfortunately, this is the same sales trick the chains use. Trade only suppliers hike up their prices so builders can then tell people they get up to 80% off.
In reality, the prices builders quote for kitchens is usually similar to the chains. In fact, sometimes they quote more than the chains, especially in affluent areas.
Kitchens purchased via builders with effectively no guarantee
When you buy a kitchen from one of the trade-only suppliers via a builder, you’re buying a kitchen with effectively no guarantee.
This is because your contract is with the builder & not with the trade only supplier. Therefore, if you get a problem with the kitchen & try going back to the trade-only supplier, they’ll usually tell you to go back to your builder. However, when you go back to your builder, they’ll usually tell you that they’re only responsible for the fitting, and you need to go back to the trade only supplier. This toing and froing usually goes on for some time until people eventually give up.
We regularly get consumers contacting us who are looking to replace a kitchen they purchased via a builder only 5, 6 or 7 years ago. Most of them have tried to get the problems with their kitchens repaired by the builder or the trade-only supplier, but failed. The most common fault is peeling doors.
Guarantees from the chains that aren’t worth the paper they’re written on
Another mistake is to assume that because some ranges from the chains come with a 10 or 15 year guarantee, they’ll actually last 10 or 15 years. Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily the case. Plus, If you do get a problem & try claiming under the guarantee, you’ll most likely be told the problem is wear & tear which isn’t covered.
