That does sound out of whack. I feel your pain. I'm countertop shopping myself and have gotten some astronomical pricing for certain selections as well.

Just a few questions to better understand the estimate:

- Does the estimate include removal of old counters and plumbing disconnects?

- Does the estimate include plumbing hook-ups for the new sink?

- Does the estimate include a sink?

- Are there any other items included in the estimate that don't pertain to the actual cost of the countertop material?

While these should be the same cost for any of your choices, you can only calculate the true cost per square foot estimate for the countertops themselves when these are subtracted out.

Did you also ask if they made mistake in their pricing or square foot calculation for the Corian Quartz Bianca Dolomite? Also, is Corian Quartz a regular brand they offer or are they just saying we can get it if you want it?

Most quartz manufacturers are categorized into price groups. A google search came up with this price group list from 2018 for Corian Quartz:

You can see at that time Bianco Dolomite was in a higher price group. I couldn't find any price groupings for LG or Caesarstone.

I did, however, find this information on 2019 quartz countertop price per square foot ranges broken down by brand from this fabricator ( https://www.precisionstonedesigns.com/articles/what-is-the-cost-of-quartz-countertops-calculate-prices-for-2019-now/) in the Chicago area:

• Cosmos – $33 – $69 per square foot
• Definity – $42 – $95 per square foot
• Hanstone – $39.99 – $75 per square foot
• LG Viatera – $33.99 – $65 per square foot
• Q Quartz – $39.99 – $69.99 per square foot
• Silestone – $45 – $99 per square foot
• Vicostone – $49 – $99 per square foot
• Zodiaq – $57 – $69 per square foot

So Corian Quartz (formerly called Zodiac) wasn't an outlier. But notice that the Corian price starts at $57 / sqft while both LG starts at $33.99.

I guess the bottom line is that Price Group could account for some, but I doubt all of the price differential you are seeing. Based on the numbers you are providing there's a $50 / sqft delta:

((6800 - 4500) / 46 sq ft) = $50 / sq ft premium.

They should be able to explain that to you.

IMO granite is a much better product and cheaper often Polished granite is as close to bullet proof as you can get and is not harmed by being exposed to heat .

DuPont, Corian Quartz's manufacturer, like Cambria, is selling a brand. There is no money to be made competing with the Chinese imports in a race to the bottom on price. Pay up or move on.

"DuPont, Corian Quartz's manufacturer, like Cambria, is selling a brand."

Brand premium pricing doesn't explain this price differential.

I have priced countertops in all types of materials across many brands and price groups over the past several months. Cambria comes in at the top of the range but was generally about $200 to $500 more depending upon color. Zodiaq / Corian Quartz , was not an outlier and was right there in the middle of the pack.

Plus, the OP is not comparing with a reseller, like MSI, product, that globally sources on price. She's comparing LG and Caesarstone who manufacture their own products.

If anything, DuPont is still trying to cut through all the confusion they created when they unveiled the "Corian Design" umbrella brand and rolled Zodiaq into that portfolio. So at this point, their being very realistic in their pricing.

The additional price that a brand can charge is typically established by considering it's closest competitors (i.e., other premium brands - NOT Chinese imports) with comparing product attributes, warranties, and service levels and identifying what differentiates you. Gucci doesn't benchmark with Old Navy when setting prices.

Also, Cambria lobbied hard and filed for anti-dumping and countervailing duties due to unfair subsidies and below market prices of Chinese quartz in the US market. This led to the Commerce Dept imposing duties in excess of 300 - 400% in many cases. Chinese quartz, despite some clever tricks by Chinese manufacturers, has pretty much dried up in the US market. Although apparently there's some transloading taking place - ship to a free trade zone, put it in a new container and send it on its way as being from the free trade country - all evidence of manufactured in China erased.

So what did the Chinese try? They started grinding up glass and replacing the quartz filler. Cambria caught on quick and modified their language to include glass. So importers and resellers, like MSI, started looking to India and Turkey. In response, Cambria filed petitions against those countries as well. Cambria has effectively halted, at least for the time being, a race to the bottom on price.

Anyway, @Amy costy, there's something not right with the pricing. Did you ask them to explain the difference? What did they say?

Are you purchasing by square foot or by slab? You said the amount you need, but does that fit on one slab? Just because it's less than the area of a slab doesn't mean you can cut the right shapes without ridiculous seams. Does this place mostly do by square foot or slab sales? Are the differences in price only from material? Or does one take a different process or crew? Just looking quickly, it looks like laying out the Bianco Dolomite would take more planning than Rococo, since Bianco Dolomite has a more discrete and directional veining, where Rococo's is more diffuse. I'm not a professional, though, and I haven't seen either in person, so this is just based on looking at internet images.

I think it is by the square foot. It did not include a sink. I have a 500.00 undermount stainless steel sink I would love to keep. I have been told different things by different fabricators. A few have stated we must get a new sink (I did notice they also sold sinks) others have said we can keep the sink. I started my counter journey thinking I would get granite again for sure but after going to stone yards and looking at online photos I fell in love with quartz. I have grey cabinets and subway tiles. My kitchen is 10 years old. At the time I asked my realtor about the odd cabinet color and backsplash and she said this is what will be very popular in a few years. She was right! I looked at very white granites but now they seem kind of 90s. My search is now on for the most realistic looking marble like quartz. I know practically everyone else is on the hunt for realistic looking marble quartz as well. I cant stand the huge fake graphic looking marble. I think it is ghastly but I guess it has its place. I am looking for a highly polished surface that looks exactly like marble. So far Bianco Dolomite is the closest but then again I have not seen everything out there.

Maybe Joseph will pop back in about the sink quandary ...

Are there multiple stone yards in your area? You could try getting a second set of quotes from somewhere that doesn't know which you like best to ease your mind. They may also have more to show you at the same time.

On a new top, you can have any sink you please; recycled or not. The fabricator probably doesn't have a DXF file for yours and doesn't want the expense of cutting it by hand.

"The additional price that a brand can charge is typically established by considering it's closest competitors..."

Allowing your competition to set your prices is the most stupid thing a company can do, high or low end. You sell what you make, you don't make what you sell. You ignore your competition and take care of your customers. They will take care of the competition for you.

I can promise you the fancy-schmancy quartz costs the manufactures virtually the same as the plain Janes. They are purposefully dividing the product line to capture the highs and the lows. Smart.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC Considering is not allowing. There's a big difference. All major corporations keep a close eye on what their competitors are doing - it's called Competitive Intelligence. Understanding your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats relative to your competitors is paramount. In fact it has a name: SWOT Analysis. Ignoring your competition? Seriously? That approach didn't work out too well for the Big Three Automakers in the 1970s.

And if Cambria had taken that head in the sand approach, the US market would still be overwhelmed with Chinese quartz.

@Amy costy You haven't said whether you asked directly why the price was so much different and what the response was? For all you know, someone may have made a calculation error.

" Ignoring your competition? Seriously? That approach didn't work out too well for the Big Three Automakers in the 1970s."

sissenigma:

You don't get to take my remarks out of context. The automakers in the 70s failed, as I suggested, to take of their customers. They built rusting gas guzzlers when gas prices were skyrocketing. We customers took our business to reliable fuel efficient Japanese cars.

They did not ignore the Japanese. They ignored me. Thanks so much for making my point.

By the way, I stole the advice I gave from Harvey Mackay, the self-made multimillionaire and author. While the egghead MBAs are busy making up fun acronyms to justify the graphs they draw and the papers they shuffle, Harvey's making money taking care of customers.

@Amy costy I did come come across this price for the Corian Quartz Neve and Bianco Dolomite at:

https://www.precisionstonedesigns.com/quartz-countertops/corian/

Hope this helps.

Not much to add. Except I love Neve, and I’d pay for it.

And anyone in business should read every word Harvey Mackay ever wrote — especially women. (Swim With the Sharks should be required reading for girls graduating college.)

Countertop sales person here. It all depends on which specific color you chose from that brand. There are several factors to consider: Amount of material needed, specific color picked, in stock material, etc.

Neve is less than Bianco Dolomite. Neve is a group 2 while the Bianco is a group 3 color. So Bianco Dolomite would be more expensive. Comparing these two to Rococo from LG, the Rococo is more per slab than the Bianco Dolomite.

Honestly, I did the math as if I was quoting your job and even if I had to bring in two slabs, I would not have quoted you $6800.00. There is something wrong with that price. It should be the same as the others - $4500.00 or less even if you could fit everything out of one slab.

Pricing varies by location as well. Chicago suburbs here - tons of competitors so pricing tends to be less here than Wisconsin and surrounds states.

I went to another quartz showroom and they quoted me 5000 for the same product. It really is a minefield! THe sales woman heard me say "I found the perfect countertop" and i now believe she adjusted her price accordingly. I have abandoned my quartz countertop journey and have decided upon quartzite.

@Amy costy Thanks for closing the loop. Once again this demonstrates you need to be an educated consumer.

Amy:

You've read all the quartzite horror stories here?

following.

And if the quartzite horror stories here aren't enough, head on over to the General section of www.stonefabricatorsalliance.com please.

Amy,

All companies will price you differently for any material. It doesn't matter if it's quartz, quartzite or granite. We all have different overheads, different costs, and different mark ups. With that said, quartzite is a beautiful natural material BUT it is more maintenance than a quartz and it is harder to fabricate. We are always worried about it cracking or breaking due to the fissures and just overall construction of the stone. It also tends to be a lot more expensive (at least here in Iliinois).

I am installing Corian Quartz Blue Carrara and it's way cheaper than Cambria. Although, the color does look just like blue cheese, so maybe that's why it's cheaper? We got a quote of $1400/slab vs $3500 for Cambria (not luxury).

Who quotes jobs by the slab?

@Joseph Corlett, LLC I think it might be a West Coast thing. A friend of mine in the Bay area bought his slabs outright from a stone yard. I think @Beth H: talks about this way things are done in SoCal as well.

That's not how it's done here in Western NY state where everything is purchased through the fabricator.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC lots of places out here will sell the slab separately from the fabrication/installation, especially if you're using natural stone. Many stone/solid surface dealers don't fabricate and vice versa. At any rate, it's not an unusual phenomenon, in my experience.

Dupont Corian Solid Surface Cost somewhere between 750 per square feet to 2000 per square feet. However, you will find other Solid Surface brands material starting from Rs 500 to Rs 2000 per square feet & Installation cost approx. 250 per square feet.
Customised Corian Temple cost completely depend on the size & design you choose. For your knowledge, rates depend on brands & colours – like a solid colour, translucent series used for backlit, marble & granite series. The region you are purchasing material in India also affects the price of the material.

you can find out more from this link:how much does corian cost?