Buying Sanitary Ware Online

Hi

We are looking to purchase sanitary ware for a bathroom/ensuite/cloakroom. Our total budget is 8k (inlcuding high spec showers, pump etc). We are looking at mid-range products - either the duravit/ideal std Jasper morrison range.

I got a quote in a dublin bathroom showrooms. I had a look online and it can be purchased online for half the cost (including the delivery). Duravit can be bought on German websites and Ideal Std on UK websites.

My question is - I am a bit nervous about spending 8k online. Has anyone purchased sanitary ware online? Could they recommend any websites that proved reliable in the past?

As always, thanks for your invaluable advice

Are the fittings not different on European sanitary ware? It might be difficult to get an Irish Plumber to work with them or to integrate with existing plumbing.

Hi Dublin6

This is quite timely.
I was planning to post about this but was going to wait until I had received the goods. We just placed our order yesterday.

Yes, Duravit is less than half the price in Germany.
We have just ordered 4.5k in total worth of Duravit stuff along with hansgrohe taps, shower bits and pieces etc online from a German site.
We just could not believe the price difference. The 4.5k includes shipping. It would have been around 9k here.

We used to live in Germany though so are comfortable speaking in German and have a pretty good understanding of plumbing.

What I would recommend is getting a full detailed quote from a shop here, with every single part number listed, and then just selecting exactly the same thing on the website. The part numbers for Grohe, hansgrohe and Duravit are all exactly the same here and in Germany. Make sure you include all your bits and pieces for basin wastes etc.

I'm not quite giving this a whole-hearted recommendation just yet as I'm worried that it's too good to be true until it actually arrives!

We ordered from www.bad24.com. The downside is that they don't take credit cards. This is a fairly common thing in Germany. You have to either pay on delivery or pay upfront. Also, the site is all in German.
If you want to wait a few weeks, I'll post again when it arrives.

(I have no connection with bad24.)

Feel free to pm me if you have any detailed questions.

I just wanted to post that it finally arrived today. It took longer than they said it would but it's here now and all is well. It was well worth the wait.

Guys,
Could anyone recommend a good UK-based online seller of sanitary ware please? Unfortunately I don't speak German so the ones mentioned here are out of my jurisdiction.
Thanks
Pudzer

we ordered and recieved from megabad.com, also in germany and my husband did as the previous poster suggested and got all th part #'s from shop and then ordered. If you have any questions just call them and they will spaek english. well worth the savings.

Hi,

I bought some stuff from Germany earlier this year. The site I used I was www.reuter-bathrooms.com. The site is available in German and (mostly) English, i.e. some of the product descriptions are not translated. They do accept credit cards and correspondence with them (email) was either in English or bilingual.
Wrt pricing, I think the Irish/UK distributors are taking the p*ss with regard to Grohe prices here ...
Cheers,
Tom

Concerning www.megabad.com, I happened to be in Cologne a few weeks ago and dropped into their affiliated store G. Stiller thinking I could buy stuff directly there and then. Unfortunately, the sales rep said I had to through the website instead for shipping abroad. He did say that if you direct your mail to either Hr. Freidel or Hr. Glaw at [email protected] , they speak good english and will be able to help you.
d2ww

I ordered various bathroom and kitchen stuff from megabad, reuters, taps4less.co.uk and bathroom heaven.co.uk. Showers-direct2U.co.uk do great Grohe prices. As one poster said - the irish distributors are smoking something with the prices they charge. My bath, sink and shower arrive tomrrow from Reuters.

Thanks for the links, will come in very handy!

people I know have used with success.

Has anybody bought from http://www.ssd-armaturenshop.de/ getting good prices for Grohe fitting for 3 bathrooms

is it nescessary to have a pressurised water system to use grohe taps etc. am i right in saying that you dont get the full benefit with a gravity fed system?

seantheman said:

is it nescessary to have a pressurised water system to use grohe taps etc. am i right in saying that you dont get the full benefit with a gravity fed system?

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Most Grohe only work in high pressue systems (greather than 1.0 bar). They do have some low pressure models. For our Grohe shower mixer we put a pump on the shower.

Porbably a stupid question (and a bit off the original point) but what would actually happen if you put a high pressure tap (1 bar) on a gravity fed system (say 0.5 bar)? Would it just drip feed or what?
Just curious!
Pudzer

I am a bathroom retailer and wholesaler in Ireland.
my experience is that yes there are savings which are available online compared to shops here. This is true of every single product on the market including made in Ireland products (?)
I would suggest anyone buying any product online would check what the situation with a warranty on the products is as I think the irish distributors would probably tell you where to go if you went to them with a problem having bought elsewhere. I deal in high quality products from european countries and this has been my experience. Maybe a good idea to buy smaller items such as accessories and taps but i would guess sanitaryware may be a bit risky.

to pudzer: a high pressure tap on a low pressure system may work, but generally won't. average pressure in irish houses is 0.1-0.2 bar but can be more. the recommended pressure from most companies is usually a bit more than necessary to cover themselves. if it is too little then you may get a dribble or else nothing at all. (it will still look nice tho!!)

OCY said:

Has anybody bought from http://www.ssd-armaturenshop.de/ getting good prices for Grohe fitting for 3 bathrooms

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I have purchased from the above and have been notified that my first shipment is on the way via UPS. Free delivery.

Taps I ordered would have cost €622 euro here v's €180.70 from Germany. I have purchased brassware for 3 bathrooms at approx 1/3 the price of Irish prices.