I was shopping recently for 2 new sofas, and found some dramatic price differences for the same sofa between Germany and Switzerland (Pfister). Accordingly I thought it might be useful to English Forum members to document the details:

Ewald Schillig are a German manufacturer of sofas and sell in both Germany and Switzerland. Ewald Schillig sofas are available through a range of German stores on the border, and I was quoted just under CHF3900 including delivery to Lausanne for two.

A few days later I made a trip to my local Pfister store in Etoy, and was quoted almost CHF12,000 for two - with the same colour, dimensions etc etc. And delivery to Lausanne (about 20km's away) was more expensive than delivery from Germany !!!

For those wanting to verify this information, feel free to check for yourself - just go to Ewald Schillig's website and look at their Concept Classic furniture range, and then go to Pfister's and check their Pfister classic furniture range.

I've lived in Switzerland for too long to be shocked my Pfister's extreme mark-up, but mention this as a handy tip for anyone interested in buying furniture - in my experience the price difference between Switzerland and Germany can be very large, especially at the moment with the weak Euro.

Suffolk

thanks for this info! We are just like you having grown accustomed to Pfister prices but have recently had a child and want to get some additional armoires and child's furniture. We'll be shopping in Germany this time. Thx for the post

No problem, having now completed the transaction I can really recommend this. The company we used - MMZ Mobel - www.mmz-mobel.com - even offered free delivery to Lausanne (in contract to Pfister who charge CHF150 I think per item, despite being only 20km away). MMZ delivered the sofa's on time and were very courteous - really great service. The price was about Euro1800 each, which contrasts to the Pfister price of about CHF5,500 each as far as I remember - a worthwhile saving to say the least with the current exchange rates! The contact I had at MMZ is Kurt Pister, who speaks good English and is very helpful.

Suffolk

I think Pfister is the sort of shop where the price is used to keep the riff raff out. I like some of their stuff, but it's horribly, horribly over priced.

Your link should read: http://www.mmz-moebel.com/

So Pister does a pisstake of Pfister without the "f"ing around ?

should have asked them for a price match just to see the sales oink face..

I have just heard a radio advert in which Schübiger Möbel claimed to price "like Germany". I am not sure if this meant price matching, but it sounded like it.

AYB

I think this is what they call marketing! Actually looking at their web site it could be a genuine offer - http://www.schubiger.ch/
One has to compare individual item prices I suppose......

Wow that place has chairs of more than 1000 CHF! Nothing to do with German prices I think...

Also looking for German places near Switzerland to get 6 chairs for our new table. Thanks if anybody knows places!