If you have a warranty issue with the Blanco sink the problem would be resolved through the seller, whether it would be your kitchen guy or the on-line dealer. Maybe I am being cynical but it seems like a ploy to get you to spend $200 more on a product but since I am not a KD maybe there is something that I am missing. My guess would be that if he charged maybe $50 more than the online dealer you wouldn't have a problem with it. He should be more reasonable in his mark-up IMO.

Is this "kitchen guy" the one doing the work on your project? If so, then you are going to end up paying that $200 to him one way or another.

All good contractors know that to remain in business they must charge enough overall on jobs to pay cost of materials, insurance, etc., and make enough profit to keep themselves in business.

If he can't make his margin on the markup on the sink, he will have to make it up somewhere.

Let him win this one. But make sure he knows you are doing it because you are supporting him.

I agree with Holly-kay. Order it yourself. The risk is the same for you as it is for your contractor - i.e. it could get damaged in shipping or be defective whether you order it or he does. Personally, I like the "control" of being able to order things myself, and not have to rely on whether my contractor orders the correct model number, color, etc. He may not order it from a Blanco Certified seller either, how would you know.

You may even be able to find the sink for less than $450. But, make sure when you receive the sink to check it for shipping damage. If your sink isn't installed for, say, a month after you received it, it will be difficult at that point to say the sink was damaged in shipping even if it was. Blanco has great customer service and will make good that kind of damage. Whether it's you or the contractor purchasing the sink, it is Blanco that you will have to deal with for defects and damage.

Also store the sink away in a space that won't get banged - actually this is actually easier/safer for you to do than for your contractor (ask me how I know! Ugh, my last kitchen the contractor stored stuff and they got damaged).

Thank you for your replies and input. Leaning towards ordering it ourselves but definitely see juliekcmo's point as well.

Just what is likely to go wrong with a formed piece of stainless steel?

As long as it arrives in good shape, they are pretty simple things.

Formed sheet metal.

Unless he has been consistently doing real first class work at a decent price I would put him on the chopping block.

Gouging is gouging, no matter how you try to hide it.

This post was edited by brickeyee on Fri, May 3, 13 at 12:40

He is not gouging, simply getting a standard markup. The on-line places arrange to have themselves set up as distributors, especially plumbing products. As a certified Blanco dealer I have to purchase from a distributor. I pay about $5 to 15 less than the on line prices. I generally tell customers to buy on line if price is a consideration as I can not be responsible for handling anything at such a low margin.