Harvey Jones sales

[Enchancia]

Hi, we are looking for a new kitchen and have narrowed it down to Harvey Jones (shaker) or John Lewis (Windsor) - the look is very similar. At 'standard' prices, they would be almost identical, but HJ is currently offering 25% off cabinets, which makes them significantly cheaper, and would probably swing it for us. We are feeling under a bit of pressure to make a quick decision though, since we would need to put down a £1,000 deposit by Thursday to secure the HJ sale price (although could then take our time to choose exactly what we want). I've seen a couple of threads on this before, but had a couple of specific questions (1) do you know how often HJ do sales - i.e. if we miss this one, is it likely to be this time next year before another comes along, or do they discount quite regularly? and is 25% the best we can expect? (2) we love the quality of the HJ cabinets but have seen mixed reviews about the fitting/project management / aftercare service - does anyone have any comments on this? (3) is anyone able to offer any tips on Harvey Jones vs John Lewis in these particular ranges? thanks v much!

[Pinkje]

Pretty sure they do a January as well as July sale though I think with a bit of pressure they'll extend their sale prices (which presumably they've told you they'll honour as long as you pay a deposit up front).

Can't comment on the quality as I've had neither a HJ nor John Lewis kitchen. You mean John Lewis, the high street, not John Lewis of Hungerford (?) I presume.

Just had a friend rave about her Wren kitchen by the way, and the photos look good.

[Madeup5]

Hi a friend has just had harvey jones kitchen and without doubt it is stunning. She did say the only down side was that they don't manage the other services and she found that really stressful.

I am having a kitchen fitted in a few weeks - english revival by mereway which is the same as john lewis Windsor. I had a quote from john lewis also and it was a lot more than going to mereway direct. You should really look at a third option, find a good independent company who use mereway and get them to quote. My kitchen fitter is managing the whole thing and so far it is remarkably stress free! He will start while I am on holiday. I suggest you go to the mereway site to find a local kitchen supplier, if you are in the midlands then I can let you know who I have gone to.

[Enchancia]

Thanks both, that's really helpful. Will definitely look at Wren and Mereway (nowhere near the Midlands unfortunately Madeup5 but thanks!).

[kmdesign]

First off, NEVER feel pressured to sign on the dotted line. Your kitchen will be the biggest purchase you make for your house so its got to be absolutely spot on.

As an independent kitchen retailer let me help you burst the myth of sales. There is no such thing as a sale in the kitchen world. Its simply a ridiculous markup and then a discount to make things look like a sale. The kitchen business is very competitive and any respectable retailer will put on a markup to cover the service they offer. But there simply isnt enough margin to offer 10% discount and stay in business for any reasonable length of time.

So HJ offering 25% off is simply untrue. It may be that they are offering 25% off their normal prices but it makes be question their normal markups and their business policy. I dont think JL offer any discounts as such though I know their markups are pretty steep (I have heard 60% margins but cant vouch for it).

Someone has mentioned that it would be worth seeking another MEreway supplier and this is absolutely true. However, if you are looking to spend that kind of money, there are much better products out there.

Choose wisely and slowly and be absolutely sure that the kitchen you choose is the one you want and will cherish for years.

[Bambi75]

We've just paid a deposit on a harvey jones kitchen, making use of the summer sale. With the 25% off it still came to over £40,000 though ... Oops :-)

That said, they have been amazing so far. From the meeting with the designer in the showroom to when she came round to measure up. At no point did we feel under pressure to put money down or that she was being a typical saleswoman. I'm sure you probably can get similar kitchens elsewhere but the quality of HJ is great.

[17leftfeet]

40k for a kitchen??

Is it made of solid gold?

[LottieTee]

I can't fault the job Harvey Jones did for us. We had a very good designer, and she was really flexible and helpful in responding to what we wanted. Aftercare was great too.
From the 'shopping around' we did, John Lewis don't do actual hand made kitchens so you're not really comparing apples with apples. Hope this helps!

[kmdesign]

Sorry LottieTee. Harvey Jones kitchens arent hand made either. There is a hell of a lot of smoke and mirrors in the kitchen industry and only a tiny fraction of what's sold as hand made is actually hand made.

Harvey Jones use carcases that are cut my enormous CNC. They may be hand assembled but that isnt necessarily a good thing. A CNC jig will form a perfectly square carcase every time. Hand assembled carcases wont be. Thier carcases are made from chipboard like everyone elses. Nothing wrong with that. Chipboard is a very strong durable material.

Harvey jones do make their doors inhouse but they are not unique in that. Any MDF door they made is not handmade. It cant be. Any timber doors they make are hand assembled like every 5 panel timber door. Nothing unique about it either.

Their drawers are solid wood dovetailed. Nothing special about that. You can pick up solid dovetailed drawers quite cheaply.

The only think about Harvey Jones which John Lewis MAY NOT be able to offer is bespoke sizes on doors but I am not sure if HJ can do bespoke doors on all ranges.

I am not knocking HJ. Just that their kitchens arent as handmade as they would have you believe.

A true handmade kitchen would be one made as a special commission for you by a joinery. And I am pretty certain they will cost a lot more than a HJ kitchen costs.

[onceipopicantstop]

It might be worth holding off ordering a bit longer. HJ were offering 30% off when we looked about 6 weeks ago. Were told we had to order by the end of the month to get the discount. But as it neared the end of the month we were phoned and offered 40%!!

In the end we've opted to go with a local bespoke cabinet maker as he was very similar in price.

[Bluntwit]

Here's my first ever online rant - Harvey Jones Kitchens uuum, thought I'd treat myself to the 'designer' experience but it hasn't honestly delivered what all the gloss would imply. After agreeing to build a split level island with higher breakfast bar level, they admitted they had no idea how to construct it and I was told to get my builders to do it. When pushed they came back suggesting 4 wooden brackets costing £400!
The first designer in Hove threw a strop when I suggested it wasn't a professional approach and slammed the phone down. I get flipped to a designer who came down from London to bail out, then he disappears off on holiday over the installation period without warning and I realise we'd never talked about the handles - I was told to source them! Although I managed to get a 30% sale price still the price of a simple 500mm shelf to deliver and install is £350! No lights either.
Watch out I'd say - the devil's in the detail and there's no detail at all on their website. Frankly Howdens produce excellent 3D designs free! rather than pencil sketches and seem to be an honest bunch - maybe I shouldn't have felt so 'worth it' on that day - I think Ikea would have been less hassle! Installation next week... gulp!