Why are kitchen faucets so expensive?
13 years ago
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- 13 years ago
- 13 years ago
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Why wall ovens so expensive in USA? Ancona is only $600 at Costco
Comments (11)Yes, "what the market will bear" is a big reason for the pricing of anything. It's worth what people are willing to pay for it up to the point where you increase demand so much you have to start hiring a bunch more people and building a new factory. At that point you raise your prices and fewer people will want what you sell but you're making more per unit than before. The other big factor is economies of scale. Most cheap freestanding ranges go into apartments, motels and the like. When you make lots and lots of the same thing, it costs so much less to make that you can afford to sell it for a lot less and actually have a bigger profit than if you sold fewer. Those are usually old tech models that have been made for years. They only cost resources and labor to make. The kinks have been worked out so they don't require a lot of warranty work. They're not for discriminating cooks. They're for landlords who can't rent a unit that has no oven (seriously, in some localities you can't get a certificate of occupancy without one--a cooktop by itself isn't sufficient). Of course, plenty of folks also buy these for themselves. The price and general reliability are very attractive. If it weren't for the thousands of units that you never see because they don't pass through retail inventory, however, the price would be a lot higher. As are wall ovens and slide in ranges. (And the design of the slide-in range isn't almost the same because it's a different model. Anything that isn't made from the exact same parts on the exact same line in the exact same way has different variables and a whole different cost/price structure.)...See MoreWhy are 'luxury' ranges so expensive?
Comments (11)I'm range shopping, too, and I think that the three big differences are the BTU's (super-important to me, because I want to do real stir fry), the build quality, and the ability to get open burners, which are hard to find on most brands and only exist on a few high-end ones (Viking, Blue Star). But I think it's possible to get what you want if you only want one of the two (build quality or BTU's). The GE Profile ranges seem really well made to me, and aren't as expensive. In fact, I think all the national brands make pretty nice high-end "industrial" looking ranges that are not that expensive. Same with Dacor-- a little cheaper, nicely built. They don't have super-high BTU's, though. The electrolux range seems like a really good deal to me-- it doesn't have the build quality of a high-end range, but it has 18K BTU's on one of its burners-- for around 2500 for the range (at least the one I saw today)! That is quite a bargain. So I think it's possible to make little sacrifices here and there and end up not paying as much. The BTU/Build quality trade off just seems to be there-- the Blue Star (what I will get, most likely) does not have the quality of some others I have seen although it's really nice-- it's not beautiful like a Thermador or a Wolf, though, to my eyes and hands. But the beautiful Thermador has only 15K BTU's, which doesn't get me all excited like the 22K on the Bluestar. Even DCS doesn't seem quite as nicely made as the Wolf or Thermador. But it has much higher BTU's. I guess if any range had everything I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway!...See MoreWhy is this house so expensive to build?
Comments (45)I get that reaction. What you might be looking for is a GC who can "get" with your building goals: Beautiful result, on a realistic budget. Let me be clearer: You don't really want to "bypass" builder's suppliers, but you ARE looking for the vendors that can build to your budget. That means: --- You're looking for a GC who will give you line-by-line itemization. ALL of it, to really lay out the cost. 190-300 line items, depending on the complexity. Don't shoot yourself- a bid like this is, truly, a "blue print" for you. My last custom build was a hybrid- fixed costs on 2/3rds of the bid (infrastructure) plus the 1/3 that was classified as "allowances". I was very specific with certain wants, so he knew to find a supplier for the best price on the cooktop I wanted, the tile I thought I'd need, the plumbing fixtures and on and on. SO awesome, since, at every stage? I was free to choose something more expensive, if warranted, but also saw my path to the budget I was asking for, It was TOTALLY important for me to have the majority of my budget at fixed cost, since I was building in a hot, hot, hot market where labor costs could go up in an instant- I mean that. A bid for labor that jumps 35% in 2 weeks? Screw you- we find other avenues. And by "we" I mean my contractor. Yep. He did, and it was great. There were places that I increased my own budget. For example- stucco. I had a choice, and I ended up choosing the most expensive option- an integral color, never paint the thing stucco. The upgrade cost on that (and my true Gavalume roof) was really small, and allows me the low-maintenance costs I want. All the allowances? Our contractor set me up with ALL his suppliers, who could help me affect beauty/function in my budget. The exception was lighting, where he told me "go- find it cheaper online. It will be fine". Fine? OMG- I saved 60% on my lighting- whole house- shopping on line from reputable sources, in comparison to what the local showrooms wanted for the exact same product. Major appliances though? Contractor was VERY negative on that. He told me story after story about clients ordering online appliances on the cheap, only to realize that they'd been delivered without any "guts" or a lot missing. Still? The place I shopped was a place where my contractor is a very big customer. So I still got a great discount, and local folks to help is anything goes wrong. Long story short- find a GC who understands your goals, get your line item bid and don't look back!...See MoreShelf Microwaves - why are they so expensive
Comments (3)Guessing you're looking at microwave drawers? which tend to be in that price range. While those are perhaps the "best" option for base cabinet microwaves there are other choices. I do a fair number of base cabinet micros each year. My advice if not using the drawers is: get one with a handle (easier to open/less bending) DO NOT get a trim kit (I want the micro as high up as possible and a trim kit drops it another 2" or more) The better options for microwaves that have a handle instead of a push button can be found by searching for "amana professional microwave". One link it brings up is on amazon Plenty between 2 and $300 between 900 and 1100 watts unless you need something bigger in which case stick with the drawers....See More- 13 years ago
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