Creating a kitchen comparison portal

Thought it would be a good idea to ask before I start investing time and money into a new project, which for the domain comparekitchens.co.uk.

Do you think this type of online service could have a good business potential?

 

There's a lot about this online. Kitchen-compare.com did it a few years ago. Best you google. Include KBB in your searches.

(from iPad - K)

 

Any good money in it?

 

If you're unable to do your own research and draw your own conclusions from it, definitely no. Kitchens are a vast and complex area to work with for a lot of reasons I'm not going to spend time writing an essay here about. Comparisons can be highly subjective and unless you bought and had fitted many different kitchens, at God knows what cost, how can you really compare them with any authority?

I'd imagine the average person buying a kitchen for low £x,xxx doesn't appreciate what makes a good kitchen from a bad one and even if it were detailed they possibly wouldn't care. It's possibly done on price/deals at the time and recommendation from friends. It's not easy to compare kitchens on any like for like basis.

I've suggested where you research. If you're in the kitchen business you'd already have a good idea of all the intricacies of the industry. Since you aren't I strongly suspect you haven't a hope in hell of making this idea fly .

 

Well done for asking the question early, because it's an important one.

Without thinking about it that hard, I would initially say no, it does not have especially good business potential.

What would your business model be? i.e. how would you intend to make money from the site?

Rgds

 

You messaged me privately about this as well, but it's better to have the public thread.

The numbers of people searching Google for this are pretty minimal. If you were looking to buy a kitchen, where would you look?

Everyday Joe: B&Q, Wickes, Homebase, IKEA
Everyday Joseph with deeper pockets: Magnet and posh high street shops
Slightly more informed: Howdens or whatever

And in terms of making a business out of it, as others have said, if you don't already have the gut instincts about how to play it, it probably isn't going to work out for you.

But you could just have been asking if people would consider using such a site.. I wasn't honestly sure.

 

I'm not sure how the existing site I referenced in my first post in this thread actually generates revenue or if it even does. I took another look at it this afternoon and the variables they use to compare kitchens are based on three different shapes (galley, L shape and U shape), worktop and they don't include appliances because those are down to personal preference. Variables such as thickness and makeup of doors, the hinges and the thickness of the backboard are taken into account. They also follow three styles with sub options.

Unless one brand was using a site like this as a biased vehicle to funnel visitors to its own offerings, where's the money?

(from Note 3)

 

I was wondering how they generate revenue too. Maybe they charge retailers directly to be on the site.

Rgds

 

There is different ways to generate money I guess:

1 - Banner sales
2 - Selling leads through "fill in the form for a quote"
3 - Commission based model

 

A large number of people buy their kitchen through a tradesman. Not all buy direct and worry about fitting after. Kitchen-compare.com also run a comparison site aimed at the trade.

 

You can generate leads for a lot of verticals, a very few would buy a plumbing services online. However a lot of website compare plumbers or you can get quotes. Same thing with properties, you never buy them online, but you sure do some research online.

 

I can't be sure kitchen-compare.com are even being paid for leads. They certainly send people through to web sites of the firms they compare for but there doesn't appear to be any visible tracking. Perhaps they're hoping to build paid relationships in the future or perhaps they do get paid by some other undocumented method.

 

It doesn't sound like you know much/anything about kitchens. Did you come into ownership of this domain then decide to start looking how to build a business on it ? If you did then imo you're doing it back to front. You'd be better finding a good business model and then a domain to fit it, rather than trying to shoehorn a business model into a crap domain in a niche you know nothing about...

I don't think kitchens are a good niche for a 'comparison' site. Credit cards can easily be compared by APR. Lenders can be compared by APR / repayment terms. etc etc. There isn't a good way to compare kitchens as they're customised or unique. Or even same sized ones have vastly different qualities that can't easily be boiled down into a comparison table.

If you were already in the kitchens biz and you wanted to funnel leads to yourself then sure I'd develop this. But with your questions its obvious you're not... I'd bin the domain and do a comparison site on something else completely.

 

We're currently looking to get a kitchen done at the moment so have spent many hours this past month researching online and going to showrooms of local companies - not once have I used a comparison site, nor think it would be that useful.

 

Unless you can find someone to buy leads, then I can't see any way to make money from it. The DIY stores & high st shops usually need you to go in with a sketch to work from or they will send someone to measure the room and then sit down with you to create a design and then fit off the shelf standard cupboards to the drawing until you are happy with the layout.

 

I do all the cooking in our house, and spend many hours in the kitchen.

When buying a kitchen, we look at the high street ones, offerings from local trades people (inc custom) and go with the one the wife likes the most. Sod comparing this worktop to that, or the different type of brackets, if the wife likes it, we get it. Simples.

 

Will it be white gloss? I was told about 80% sold were when I last had a conversation with someone involved in the industry.

(from LG G3)

 

Don't do it. It's vastly overrun, every man and his dog are offering kitchens now!

You can't compare two kitchens either as there are thousands of customisation a too.

 

Really? Not a fan myself, we'll be going more traditional.

 

Not I. Too science lab.


(from iPhone)