Any helpful info or advice???????

It depends on the company, I guess. I'm in the midwest.

The price of stones, granite,or marble... is like
the price of a diamond. It is going to vary. Yes, there
is a mark up. There is no specific standard price
because there are fluctuating factors involved.

$75 for the granite you want is not unreasonable.

And as for $90 for Jet Mist. Right now that is a fantastic
price. Because Jet Mist is very popular. It is an
alternative to soap stone. This means those who would
only have thought of SS are now thinking..
"Maybe Jet Mist, it is cheaper and is a little harder
than SS." Now there is a larger pool of buyers. Those
who would be looking a only SS and those who want a dark
swirly granite.

Depending on where you are will depend on the price of
your stone. If you live in Italy you could get marble
cheaper than here in the US. If you lived in Brazil
you could get Blue Bahia granite far cheaper. The stones
do not have to travel across the ocean via ship, across
the country via truck to a slab yard to be cut. The shipped
again via truck to your neighborhood.

A stone in Boston might be cheaper than a stone in Kansas
City. But it depends on the stone and the availabilty.

Rocks are unique, like a diamond. A diamond starts out
as a shiny rock that has to be cut and shaped. So too does
your granite counter. There will be no other exactly like
it which can run the price up. Juparena Persa is far
more unique than a UbaTuba. Which means you could get
UbaTuba for less but it won't be as unique. I love UBatuba
so this is not a judgement. Just a fact.

I too, thought Jet Mist would be cheaper because it is
from the US but I found the availability had an effect
on the price.

Is this fair? The flexibility of how to price a stone ?

Well the granite guys need to be paid for their work and
it is a big process not just the sale of a diamond. It is
the buying, (Often from another country) transporting,
by ship or truck, the templating, (precise measurements
that a surgeon would do) cutting, delivering and
installing to perfection. You want beautiful edges,
no seams so that when you run your hand across your
counter it feels smooth. You want the granite to match
up perfectly to the backsplash wall.
You want the gorgeous honed or polished rock to shine in
your kitchen a a true piece of art.

The stone slab buyers can not just buy one slab. This means
they have to make a guess based on market. They have
to buy in bulk. A large section of the mountain and
predict how many slabs and be sure they look lovely
not with ugly patches or weak areas.

Installers need to know where the stone came from, the
quality, the source or the availability. Otherwise
they may have issues installing it. Will it crack, chip,
shatter or be destroyed and destroy your cabi,nets.

Granite installation is an art and those with talent
are worth their weight in gold. I would focus on a good
installer and then work on the price for what you can
afford. A good installer will work with you, to keep
your business but he needs to be paid for his craft.
Like a good jeweller you want your stone to have quality.
~boxer

Uba tuba is one of the cheapest granites, between $300 and $600/slab.

I've seen some Juparana (not Persia, but other varieties) on clearance for around $700/slab.

I'm in the San Francisco Bay area.

Now that I know it's equivalent to installed moderate price rock, I know more.
(see my posting on logs from Lake Superior)

btw, 2cm came in only marginally cheaper because its installation cost is higher.

The least expensive fabricator $67/ft(the one who owned the stones) had the least desirable slabs - stripes ran diagonally like a candy cane. We couldn't live with that. They didn't upcharge for sink/hole cutouts or edges (even ogee). The more expensive fabricators had access to the better looking slabs from the stone yards but were around $90/ft and charged extra for sink/hole cutouts and fancy edges. Even here, each stone yard had vastly different looking "Sienna Bordeaux" labeled stones.

In an earlier post, someone mentioned that it is similar to buying a diamond. I agree, except that in the diamond world, there's a standard grading system that the consumer can understand. In granite, it seems to be so ambiguous - different names for the same stone and everyone seems to have their own grade or tier. Prices vary greatly. Shop around and be sure you are pricing apples with apples and find a good fabricator.

I'm in NC.

I would look for a fabricator first and hit the stone yards knowing the fab cost and how many slabs you need.

They quoted us $49 sq ft installed with free sink and half bullnose. I gave them my layout for an exact quote.

So far they are significantly less than our kitchen designer and lowes.

Peacock Green

I also noticed they are running a "special" on their website, 50 sq ft, with sink, faucet, and the usual templating, etc for $1999 for a level one stone-which they have a wide variety of these stones.

I will say that they did excellent work.

I am in the midwest.

Your price sounds reasonable to me.

Good for you for keeping the budget in mind. I bet the Wilsonart looks really good, even if it's not your first choice. It's hard sometimes to look at what other people on this site have done and then settle for less. We replaced floors on the first floor (including kitchen) last spring/summer, and hope to deal with appliances and countertops this year. I'm beginning to think that we, too, will have to settle for laminate countertops, instead of solid surface that I really wanted. But so far we've paid cash (or used credit card and paid off before any interest charges) for the home improvements we've been doing. Yes, I'd like to do a complete reno with all my wish list materials, but I like being virtually debt-free better (in a little under 2 years we should have the mortgage paid off early and then we will be debt-free). So, while understand the angst of giving up on something you dreamed of, I applaud your decision. It sounds like it was the right one for you.