# Trade Price vs Retail Price on a Kitchen

*By the MTN Kitchens & Joinery workshop team · East Tamaki, Auckland · 2026-07-24 · 5 min read*

*23+ years in trade · 2,000+ kitchens supplied & installed across Auckland · Laminex NZ fabricator*

What the gap between trade and retail kitchen pricing is actually made of, who qualifies for trade, and how to buy on trade terms.

## Quick answer

**The gap between trade and retail on a kitchen is mostly showroom overhead, sales commission and brand margin, not materials. Trade pricing assumes a tight spec, a buyer who does not need selling to, and volume or repeatability. You can usually buy on trade terms by going direct to a manufacturer with a defined spec, whether or not you are in the trade.**

## Key points
- The materials are largely the same. The overhead recovered on top of them is not.
- Trade pricing assumes you know what you want and will not change it three times.
- Buying direct from a workshop removes the retail layer entirely.
- Volume helps but is not the only route. A tight spec on a single kitchen gets most of the way.
- Compare like for like: board thickness, hardware brand, and what install actually includes.

People ask why the same kitchen can be quoted at wildly different numbers, and the assumption is usually that the cheap one is worse. Sometimes it is. Often it is the same board, the same hinges and the same [benchtop](/benchtops) with a different amount of business built on top of it.

## What the retail price is paying for

**Where a retail kitchen price goes that a trade one does not**

| Cost | What it buys | Do you need it? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Showroom floor | Display kitchens, rent on a high-visibility site | Useful if you want to touch everything. Expensive if you already know what you want |
| Sales commission | A salesperson taking you through options | Genuinely helpful for some buyers, pure cost for others |
| Design iterations | Multiple redraws while you decide | Fair if you use them. Priced in whether you do or not |
| Brand margin | The name on the door | Rarely changes the board in your cabinet |
| Subcontracted install | A third party fitting what the showroom sold | This is where accountability usually goes missing |

## What trade pricing assumes about you

[Trade pricing](/blog/trade-vs-retail-kitchens-what-developers-pay) is not a discount handed out for having a company name. It reflects a genuinely cheaper transaction to serve, and it assumes a few things.

*The materials are largely the same. The overhead is not.*

- You know your spec, or you will settle it quickly rather than over six revisions.
- You can read a plan and a schedule, so the process is short.
- You are not expecting a showroom experience.
- You will pay to terms.
- On volume work, you are repeating a spec rather than designing each unit.

> ### A tight spec is worth more than a trade account The single biggest lever on price is deciding what you want and not changing it. A homeowner who arrives with a settled layout, a chosen door finish and a benchtop decision buys on close to trade terms, because the expensive part of a retail sale is the deciding, not the making.

## Who actually gets trade pricing

Builders, developers, property managers and landlords with more than one property are the obvious ones. But the line is softer than people assume. Anyone buying direct from a workshop with a defined spec is already skipping the retail layer, and that is where most of the gap lives.

Volume genuinely does move the number further, because repeating one spec across ten units removes design time, batches the material and makes the install schedule predictable. That is a real cost difference rather than a courtesy.

## Comparing quotes without getting caught

A cheaper quote is only cheaper if it is the same job. Four things are worth checking on every quote, because this is where the difference usually hides rather than in the headline.

- Carcass board thickness and whether backs are the same thickness as the sides.
- Hinge and runner brand, and whether [soft-close](/blog/soft-close-drawers-details-reduce-callbacks) is standard or an extra.
- What install includes: is it just fixing cabinets, or does it include the benchtop, the [splashback](/blog/kitchen-splashback-options-compared), appliance fitting, plumbing and electrical connection?
- Who carries the risk if a measurement is wrong. On one contract with one company it is clear. Across a showroom and a subcontracted installer, it is not.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need to be a builder to get trade pricing?

No. Buying direct from a manufacturer with a settled spec skips the retail layer, which is where most of the gap lives. Volume moves it further, but it is not the only route.

### Is a trade kitchen lower quality?

Not inherently. The board, the hardware and the benchtop are what set quality, and you should compare those line by line. What is lower is the overhead recovered on top.

### How much cheaper is trade than retail?

It varies with how much showroom and sales overhead is being recovered, and with how settled your spec is. The reliable way to see it is to price the same written spec both ways.

### What is trade pricing on kitchens?

Usually the same idea applied at volume: a repeated spec across multiple units, batched material and a predictable install schedule, which genuinely costs less per kitchen to produce.

### What should I have ready to get the best price?

A layout, rough measurements, a door finish, a benchtop material and a decision on appliances. That turns a long sales process into a short manufacturing one.

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