Howdens - how to get a good trade price?

bluedrop

Hi all, Howdens designer is coming to design my new kitchen tomorrow.My fitter said he will not take a cut and will pass the full discount. (will give me howdens invoice)

How do I get the best possible price (maximum discount) from Howdens?

I run a business, but it has nothing to do with building trade. Will I be able to open a trade account showing my business debit card?

phill99

YOU won't get any discount. Your fitter will. What he gets will depend on the relationship he has with the branch, his spending patterns and which kitchen range you are looking to buy.

sg0102

I have a supplementary question to this...we are in the same process and yet to choose the builder. Once one of them gets a howdens quote can we use the same design for another builder to get a quote, or do we have to start all over again?

southcoastrgi

sg0102 wrote: »

I have a supplementary question to this...we are in the same process and yet to choose the builder. Once one of them gets a howdens quote can we use the same design for another builder to get a quote, or do we have to start all over again?

I think phill has already answered your question

newtonflotman

Or just let it slip that you have Mag Kitchens or or similar well known kitchen supplier coming round later that day to do the same.

sg0102

I don't think Phil has, unless I'm missing something.

Does each builder need to get a separate howdens quotation? Is that what you are saying?

rainbow12

My Builder just told me his details and I did all negotiations and got a good deal. It helped that I had other quotes and prices, broken down into categories (appliances, worktop etc).

Once you have a kitchen plan you can take it anywhere for more quotes but I would suggest whoever you buy from you get them to come and measure before finalising the order (just in case).

By the way I just discovered B and Q do ready built Cooke and Lewis carcasses for trade. Im not sure of the quality though.

Rockingit

You wont get a different price on the same kitchen/design from the same manufacturer. If you take design A via Builder A and get builder B to ask for a price you'll still get price A (otherwise there would be a trade war by all their trade customers and it would get very silly very quickly).

I have always found Magnet to be very reasonably priced and better quality than Howdens or the DIY chains. However, I had a customer yesterday tell me that he's found a bespoke oak kitchen (think it's a fairly small one) for the same price as the DIY chains so it might pay to think outside the box a bit and shop around.

LEJC

phill99 is spot on....

We opted for howdens and our fitter passed on upto 70% discount on most items

the kitchen planner can be hit or miss...but make sure you go into it knowing what you want...the planner we had didnt listen to me and basically filled the space with as many cupboards,sliding larders and black sinks that he could..basically picking the expensive packages over the practical!

Needless to say we then pulled his plans apart and designed the kitchen we wanted ...and shaved nearly £1000 off of his original design.

They will probably steer you towards things like sof close drawers and pull out larders which are at the top end of their price ranges....if you want them fine but its those types of touches that will push up the cost of your kitchen

its also cheaper I believe if you want drawers to opt for drawers over cupboards rather than a single unit of 4 or 5 of them.

we opted for the midrange burford grey kitchen...the space we had was not huge and the final total with the discount for the units sink taps and hob came in at around £2400...obviously fitting was extra

adamg

oh 70% discount.......

LEJC

adamg wrote: »

oh 70% discount.......

Actually I think that the howdens kitchens are very overpriced if anyone buys them at less than 70% discount...but I guess its all relative in the scheme of things...everyone thinks they have benefitted if a good discount is applied!!!

What we ended up with was a reasonably solid kitchen thats functional and suits the needs of the house...