Trade discount at Howdens

h0ney

Hi all. I wonder if anyone can help me. We are ordering our kitchen through a joiner aquaintance of my husbands. The joiner has said we can order the kitchen on his account and pay him back. We are fitting the kitchen ourselves. He rang today with the price - he said it would retail at £7200 but we can get it for £6500 on his account. Does this seem accurate? It seems expensive to me. Admittedly our kitchen is quite large but that figure is units, handles and work top only, no appliances included. The discount doesn't seem very large for an account holder.

What do we think?

davef

Hi
Next time you are passing a Howdens pop in and get a brochure and current price list. Check what the units retail for rather than rely on his say so.

As a comparitive I have a trade account with these guys and typically get 70-75% discount off retail prices. So I would get a £7200 retail kitchen for £2160 trade.

Worth checking out because his figures dont tally. BY my calcs that equates to a 9.7% discount he is offering = way out IMHO. Someone is out to pocket a large sum at your expense !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regards
Dave

sean_rudenko

Howdens is basically the trade arm of MFI, they do the same units but call them different names. Go to MFI, and if you see the same units, they will be schreiber units (already assembled), get a quote from them for the kitchen, they will also do a plan for you (Don't tell them that you may be getting the units from Howdens).

Its difficult to say how much your kitchen would be without knowing what the specs are.

Sean

stuartjp_2

davef wrote:

way out IMHO. Someone is out to pocket a large sum at your expense !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

im with you dave sounds wrong to me to

sloughflint

Maybe I'm a sucker, but I would expect someone to make some profit out of ordering from Howdens for me. Customer getting a discount and account holder profiting too for his trouble. However if post 2 is anything to go by, account holder making a very nice profit here.

h0ney

Thanks all, I appreciate what you are saying Sloughflint, but my husband is a plumber and has got a bathroom on his account at PTS for this joiner and has charged him cost price exactly. The joiner knows this.

Tracyk_2

Seems pricey to me. We got a kitchen from Howdens in Oct for £3000. My kitchen is 5m x 3m and units all the way round, and included 3 corner units with the pull out and twist workings. All the drawers are cushion close and handles - no appliances or worksurface.
We opened a trade account ourselves and since they are now apart from MFI - each branch is quoting against the others for business - so they discounted and discounted till we eventually bought it.
Any way you could open a trade account yourselves? If your dh is plumber - all they want is a letterhead that they can credit check.

Uniscots97

This seems very pricey for Howdens. I got my kitchen from them after my kitchen flooded and it was Howdens that the company the insurance folks sent used. I've seen the full price list I can't see how you would get to that price unless its solid oak doors and granite worktops?

Coveredinbees!!!!

My friendly plasterer told me that builders will do you a quote from Howdens retail price list and say I can give you 20% off that price. He will get 60% off so in effect still be making on the deal before he picks up a screw driver.

h0ney

It is actually one f the cheaper doors i have chosen - Stornaway, but we are having the solid oak worktop. The whole kitchen is about 1 units plus custom fit / end panels etc etc

Madstuthe1st

Honey,

I got a kitchen from Howdens a couple of years ago on father-in-law account. It was £6000 when they 1st added it up and then with discount it became £1800. So I would say either Howdens can't doing good discounts anymore or he is pulling a fast one.