poem 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2012 Dear all, We request quotations from some ID firms. They quote material price from their suppliers, and promise to bring us to their suppliers for selection. Should we trust the price that ID firms quote? Do they usually mark-up the price? Is it advisable to do some market-research first? Where do you recommend us to visit for the market-research? We know Balestier Road has many renovation material suppliers, is Balestier good enough for market-research? We are laymen and first time do renovation, any advice is very much appreciated.* Renovation material = tiles, hard surface/marble for kitchen cabinet, doors, lighting, toilet bowl, basin & accessories, kitchen sink & kitchen accessories... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tiler Seng 57 Report post Posted April 19, 2012 Dear all, We request quotations from some ID firms. They quote material price from their suppliers, and promise to bring us to their suppliers for selection. Should we trust the price that ID firms quote? Do they usually mark-up the price? Is it advisable to do some market-research first? Where do you recommend us to visit for the market-research? We know Balestier Road has many renovation material suppliers, is Balestier good enough for market-research? We are laymen and first time do renovation, any advice is very much appreciated.* Renovation material = tiles, hard surface/marble for kitchen cabinet, doors, lighting, toilet bowl, basin & accessories, kitchen sink & kitchen accessories...Hi poem, are you looking for ID to design your house and do not want them to mark up price from other suppliers?you may reflect to them to ask them to charge you a design fee, 3D drawing fee, and remember to ask them what other service their company able to provide other than marking up from other supplier and sell it to you.i'm sure they will be more than happy to tell you the detail and make your renovation even easier.You are Right, Balestier is a good place for renovation sourching, what myself like about that place is that there are many tiles supplier gather which is so much time saving, easy to compare for selection Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poem 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2012 Hi Tiler Seng, thanks. Since we do full renovation, most of the IDs gave us package + some additional items (per our request). Actually our first intention is that if we know the market price, we can bargain with the ID and not to be over-charged. I haven't thought of asking ID to design & provide labour only, and we buy the materials. This is a very good idea. I'll speak IDs see if it's possible. Many thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tiler Seng 57 Report post Posted April 20, 2012 Hi Tiler Seng, thanks. Since we do full renovation, most of the IDs gave us package + some additional items (per our request). Actually our first intention is that if we know the market price, we can bargain with the ID and not to be over-charged. I haven't thought of asking ID to design & provide labour only, and we buy the materials. This is a very good idea. I'll speak IDs see if it's possible. Many thanks.Oh, you can send me your best quote, i can help you to check if they are over or under quote,this is a free service, but i can only reply when i am free: designerhouse@pacific.net.sg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NanthaDjFlexkid 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2012 (edited) Dear all, We request quotations from some ID firms. They quote material price from their suppliers, and promise to bring us to their suppliers for selection. Should we trust the price that ID firms quote? Do they usually mark-up the price? Is it advisable to do some market-research first? Where do you recommend us to visit for the market-research? We know Balestier Road has many renovation material suppliers, is Balestier good enough for market-research? We are laymen and first time do renovation, any advice is very much appreciated.* Renovation material = tiles, hard surface/marble for kitchen cabinet, doors, lighting, toilet bowl, basin & accessories, kitchen sink & kitchen accessories...Hi poem, i'm also doing my renovation currently so would like to share my experience so far with u. I went to Balestier with my fiancee a couple of times, up and down almost all the shops. The prices there are not the cheapest as compared with Jalan Besar and Geylang but they have gd selections. I took down prices from alot of shops for the same items (Model, brand) as close as possible and compared them. And finally we got the best quote from this shop in Jalan Besar, GR Link Marketing. He has bathroom accessories and other stuffs. The price difference was not a couple of dollars but a few hundreds. The uncle was a very nice and sincere man also. He even told us not to get the items from his shop first and compare it with the rest.But we didnt get the items straight away since our ID (We didnt engage him in the end) had told us there's a shop he always brings his customers and can get gd price. So we thot we would just give it try. When we did the comparison of the total quote with GR Link, to our surprise the diff was about $2k We told our ID that we had been to another shop and the price was much lesser by $2k and he spoke to the salesman separately. Awhile later, the salesman came back saying that he will match the price with the other shop. So u can see for yourself whether its being marked up.So we finally decided that we will get our own accessories from GR Link instead. But you have to take note that this is just for bathroom and kitchen accessories. If u want to get ur own items, then u got to go ard many places to do a comparison which is super tiring. Edited April 20, 2012 by NanthaDjFlexkid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poem 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2012 Hi Tiler Seng, thank you so so much. I'll meet 5 IDs this weekends, will send you the best quote i have. Yup, if you are not free, it's ok.Hi NanthaDjFlexkid, $2K for kitchen and toilet accessories??? That's a lot . Definitely we need to do our own market research, and visit the shop you recommended. Like that, if i order tiles from ID, the price will be super marked-up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OnTheRoad 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2012 Hi poem, Actually you can search for some suppliers directly & call for quotes. Kitchen tops are one, tiles just go to Hafary showroom. As for wcs, basins, these are not in the quote anyway, so can shop around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeeWeiLi 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2012 long answer short, u look for ID or contractor (there is no difference between btw) u pay exorbitant marked up prices Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GESNONO 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2012 Hi poem, i'm also doing my renovation currently so would like to share my experience so far with u. I went to Balestier with my fiancee a couple of times, up and down almost all the shops. The prices there are not the cheapest as compared with Jalan Besar and Geylang but they have gd selections. I took down prices from alot of shops for the same items (Model, brand) as close as possible and compared them. And finally we got the best quote from this shop in Jalan Besar, GR Link Marketing. He has bathroom accessories and other stuffs. The price difference was not a couple of dollars but a few hundreds. The uncle was a very nice and sincere man also. He even told us not to get the items from his shop first and compare it with the rest.But we didnt get the items straight away since our ID (We didnt engage him in the end) had told us there's a shop he always brings his customers and can get gd price. So we thot we would just give it try. When we did the comparison of the total quote with GR Link, to our surprise the diff was about $2k We told our ID that we had been to another shop and the price was much lesser by $2k and he spoke to the salesman separately. Awhile later, the salesman came back saying that he will match the price with the other shop. So u can see for yourself whether its being marked up.So we finally decided that we will get our own accessories from GR Link instead. But you have to take note that this is just for bathroom and kitchen accessories. If u want to get ur own items, then u got to go ard many places to do a comparison which is super tiring. Why not check out a Reno quote from this contractor, 90054593, Simon from Lamidoor. I got my bathroom accessories, sink, taps, basin free "FOC" included in the Reno quote which is also very good since they have own carpentry factory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidSee611 3 Report post Posted April 30, 2012 Why not check out a Reno quote from this contractor, 90054593, Simon from Lamidoor. I got my bathroom accessories, sink, taps, basin free "FOC" included in the Reno quote which is also very good since they have own carpentry factory.Hi, i just gotten a quote from a contractor dealing only with kitchen top material. It is at least 20-30% percent cheaper than what ID is quoting. You might want to give him a call. If u need let me know. I will Pm u. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaka 0 Report post Posted April 30, 2012 Hi, i just gotten a quote from a contractor dealing only with kitchen top material. It is at least 20-30% percent cheaper than what ID is quoting. You might want to give him a call. If u need let me know. I will Pm u.Hi DavidSee611,Can pm me the details for kitchen top material?Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidSee611 3 Report post Posted May 2, 2012 Hi DavidSee611,Can pm me the details for kitchen top material?Thanks Hi Kaka,I have leave a comment on ur status. cant PM lei. Hope it helps! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yhkoh 2 Report post Posted September 3, 2012 Hi, i just gotten a quote from a contractor dealing only with kitchen top material. It is at least 20-30% percent cheaper than what ID is quoting. You might want to give him a call. If u need let me know. I will Pm u.Could you please also PM me the detail of the contractor dealing only with kitchen top material? Who will be installing this kitchen top? The contractor or the ID? What type of kitchen top material you selected. Mind sharing what is the cost? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
conie choo 2 Report post Posted June 26, 2015 I prefer go check the carpentry price at factory, so that u can roughly know how much your contractor charge you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conie Choo 4 Report post Posted July 11, 2015 For kitchen top i prefer Granite or Quartz.. more SOLID! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites