Do bathroom showroom retailers have insane markup?

mi-key

I find unless you are buying VERY high end fittings then they are all pretty much the same these days. Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

If you look at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for £160 and this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394312372606 for £15 I would be very surprised if they didn't originate in the same factory.

I actually bought the £15 one for my kitchen. It is pretty good quality and works perfectly, no leaks and looks really nice with no damage or rough edges etc.. , and if it only lasts 5 years I can buy another one

DullGreyGuy

mi-key said:

Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

So?

I dont get this idea that just because one factory makes things for Apple and Redmi that must mean that Redmi phones are the same quality as Apple iPhones or Whirlpool and Wolf both have appliances made in the same factory then their gas hobs are the same and Wolf are just adding £2k for their brand name.

Tescos do Tesco Value, Tesco and Tesco Finest, they are not unique in having different standards of products. A factory anywhere in the world are able to produce different standards of products for clients specifications. People seem to think everyone is simply white labeling, buying the factory's own designs and just putting their label to it... this still doesnt stop grades of options but yes, some brands lose their way and put a high end name on a budget product (and some budget brands buy above the budget option and put their name to it).

mark_cycling00

If bathroom showrooms were highly profitable then the high street would be filled with them instead of charity shops.

You can probably get the profitability from looking at businesses for sale websites.

"Plastic free" shops are 50+% profit margin. Florists are highly profitable and so are fashion "outlet" stores. That place near Bicester is the most profitable shopping centre in the world but people go there thinking they're getting a bargain. Lol

Same with petrol, if selling petrol was profitable then the owners wouldn't be out in the rain at 6am putting out flowers and bags of charcoal 

jennifernil

 Both the bathrooms we recently replaced were original to the house and 33 years old, Armitage Shanks sanitary ware and Aqualisa showers, good solid stuff.  Only changed because we wanted showers instead of baths, and everything was coloured, as was the fashion in the 80s.

In fact the brassware was still like new so we reused the taps. 

We did visit a bathroom showroom, the amount of stuff on display was bewildering.  In the end we decided to stick with names we knew, stuff which felt solid, and shapes we liked.
Then we shopped around on line for the best prices.

Toilets are Ideal Standard back to wall with Aquablade flush, cisterns from Grohe, inset basin from Ideal Standard, shower trays Mira non-slip, showers Aqualisa, enclosures Kudos hinged door 1200x900.   The enclosures were the most expensive items, but none of the items were what I would call inexpensive.   All items look good and feel very solid.

We retained one set of existing bespoke furniture, adding new white end panels, and my OH made the cistern units in white himself, after looking at how the ones on display were constructed.  Second, smaller, bathroom got all new furniture as not so much required.

We also splashed out on solid Iroko countertops and plinth, fitted by OH, as a good contrast with all the white.

New lights, radiators, towel warmers, full tiling and flooring and a few other bits and pieces were also purchased.

Total spend on the above for 2 bathrooms was in the region of £7500.

mi-key

DullGreyGuy said:

mi-key said:

Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

So?

I dont get this idea that just because one factory makes things for Apple and Redmi that must mean that Redmi phones are the same quality as Apple iPhones or Whirlpool and Wolf both have appliances made in the same factory then their gas hobs are the same and Wolf are just adding £2k for their brand name.

Tescos do Tesco Value, Tesco and Tesco Finest, they are not unique in having different standards of products. A factory anywhere in the world are able to produce different standards of products for clients specifications. People seem to think everyone is simply white labeling, buying the factory's own designs and just putting their label to it... this still doesnt stop grades of options but yes, some brands lose their way and put a high end name on a budget product (and some budget brands buy above the budget option and put their name to it).

Yes thanks, I am aware of how manufacturing works. My point is that with a lot of the fittings you see for bathrooms,if you inspect them there is very little difference in the quality between cheaper and mid range ones.

With a bathroom showroom everything you buy also includes money towards the higher costs of their rent and rates etc.. when you can buy from an online only seller and get equal quality products a lot cheaper, and save yourself a lot on the cost of the bathroom

benson1980

mi-key said:

DullGreyGuy said:

mi-key said:

Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

So?

I dont get this idea that just because one factory makes things for Apple and Redmi that must mean that Redmi phones are the same quality as Apple iPhones or Whirlpool and Wolf both have appliances made in the same factory then their gas hobs are the same and Wolf are just adding £2k for their brand name.

Tescos do Tesco Value, Tesco and Tesco Finest, they are not unique in having different standards of products. A factory anywhere in the world are able to produce different standards of products for clients specifications. People seem to think everyone is simply white labeling, buying the factory's own designs and just putting their label to it... this still doesnt stop grades of options but yes, some brands lose their way and put a high end name on a budget product (and some budget brands buy above the budget option and put their name to it).

Yes thanks, I am aware of how manufacturing works. My point is that with a lot of the fittings you see for bathrooms,if you inspect them there is very little difference in the quality between cheaper and mid range ones.

With a bathroom showroom everything you buy also includes money towards the higher costs of their rent and rates etc.. when you can buy from an online only seller and get equal quality products a lot cheaper, and save yourself a lot on the cost of the bathroom

Not convinced any of that is accurate to be honest having fitted out three of my own bathrooms recently.

 I would say that with most products, if there is a significant difference in price, they are not equal quality. Alongside some mid range stuff I bought some cheaper ‘trade’ parts such as pop up wastes etc. to try and save some costs. the difference in quality is most certainly obvious, and half of it went in the bin and I found myself ordering replacement grohe/saunex parts. Far better, don’t develop rust spots, finishes don’t get marked as easily.

Likewise I’ve got my fixtures and fittings from plumbers merchants with showrooms. One local. One via tel call, quote and delivery. I compared prices with online only retailers and they were broadly similar.

plumb1_2

mi-key said:

I find unless you are buying VERY high end fittings then they are all pretty much the same these days. Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

If you look at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for £160 and this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394312372606 for £15 I would be very surprised if they didn't originate in the same factory.

I actually bought the £15 one for my kitchen. It is pretty good quality and works perfectly, no leaks and looks really nice with no damage or rough edges etc.. , and if it only lasts 5 years I can buy another one

I’ll give you 12 months max before the powder coating starts to peel.

mi-key

plumb1_2 said:

mi-key said:

I find unless you are buying VERY high end fittings then they are all pretty much the same these days. Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

If you look at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for £160 and this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394312372606 for £15 I would be very surprised if they didn't originate in the same factory.

I actually bought the £15 one for my kitchen. It is pretty good quality and works perfectly, no leaks and looks really nice with no damage or rough edges etc.. , and if it only lasts 5 years I can buy another one

I’ll give you 12 months max before the powder coating starts to peel.

Well the last one I  had lasted 7 years, so I am happy to take the risk... And that didn't peel, just developed a drip

ComicGeek

mi-key said:

plumb1_2 said:

mi-key said:

I find unless you are buying VERY high end fittings then they are all pretty much the same these days. Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

If you look at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for £160 and this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394312372606 for £15 I would be very surprised if they didn't originate in the same factory.

I actually bought the £15 one for my kitchen. It is pretty good quality and works perfectly, no leaks and looks really nice with no damage or rough edges etc.. , and if it only lasts 5 years I can buy another one

I’ll give you 12 months max before the powder coating starts to peel.

Well the last one I  had lasted 7 years, so I am happy to take the risk... And that didn't peel, just developed a drip

It doesn't state that it confirms with the Water Supply Regulations, which is a legal requirement for all water fittings, and is very unlikely to do so. Hopefully you haven't been drinking water from the tap for the 7 years.....

Also see a lot of these cheap taps with fake WRAS stickers, with slivers of metal coming out in the water flow. Really can't see it's worth taking the risk with these cheap and untested taps.

BUFF

I used to work in the industry as a supplier.
Showrooms have overheads to pay for incl. time spent with customers that don't buy for various reasons, aftersales call-outs etc.
A typical supplier discount (but it does vary by product sector) might have been 40% off MSRP.
There definitely are different product qualities - most manufacturers will have different levels in their own ranges let alone between manufacturers. Interesting story though is that re. China etc. a no. of companies found some of their products being made on their tooling on "secret" overnight shifts & sold unlabelled or under a different label ... & that is without the straight rip-off designs (China didn't have strong copyright laws).
& then you have exclusivity where demand for a product might be higher than supply/available only through a few outlets so less chance of a discount.

Lots of showrooms go bust, it isn't easy money.