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Buying Kitchenware...used versus new, when and where?

I am in the process of writing a business plan to set up a professional kitchen/cooking center, and while writing my plan, I realized that a great deal of money would be spent on the purchase of kitchen hardware. This applies to outfitting a home kitchen as well. In compiling a list of items I will need for my business, I also looked at ways of finding/buying/bartering/tradi ng and otherwise obtaining these items at low or no cost.

There is no shame buying some things wholesale. The kitchenware stores are beautiful and well-stocked, but they can be expensive. Kitchen supply warehouses may not have the latest or the prettiest gadgets, but they are just as useful and cost a fraction of regular store prices.

There is also no shame in buying some things used. This is "buyer beware" territory, of course, because what you purchase is sold "as is." But for large, expensive or standard items like mixers, pasta machines, stock pots, microwaves, shelving and pot racks, previous ownership can mean big savings.

I am fortunate to know a man who is an auctioneer. His company's specialty is handing the sales of restaurants: their stock and furnishings, from the buildings down to the silverware. While not the most consistent way to obtain kitchenware (auctions are scheduled on an "as needed" basis), they can be another excellent source of goods.

Shop the catalogs and on-line sources. You can often find deals with these deals. Buying a set of pots and pans, for example, might get you a free item or two. And the shipping is sometimes free. You will at least have one more basis for price comparison, if nothing else.

Try antique shops, garage sales, the hardware store (the best cheese grater I've ever used started life in a big-box hardware store as a paint scraper) for kitchen tools.

If you must buy in department or kitchenware stores, knowing when to buy can save money. Do not shop for kitchenware around the food-oriented holidays. Best time to find deals: the months of January and August. January is excellent because the stores want to clean out the post-holiday inventory, and August because the stores want to clean out inventory to make room for holiday inventory!

Save money by asking yourself several questions when you buy kitchenware:
1) Does it absolutely HAVE to match my kitchen decor? Or will the white spatula, which is on sale, work as well as the red one, which is not on sale? Limited editions and fancy colors and designs are expensive.
2) Am I buying beyond my capabilities as a cook? The quenelle pan is so cute, but when am I going to make quenelles? Rice cookers are wonderful, but a pot with a lid works too, and you probably already have those.
3) Be honest about quantity. How many whisks/rolling pins/spring form pans/graters do you REALLY need?
4) Be honest about quality. Don't buy a $200.00 blender, but spend $50.00 on a set of chef's knives. You won't use the blender every day. You will use those knives several times a day every day. My set is over 25 years old. Spend money on the keeper items.

If you are willing to trade off a little in terms of the stylish and trendy, and use your money to buy what's really useful, you can stock a kitchen that is worthy of serious cooking, yet still be a place you will enjoy.

Learn more about this author, Nancy Munro.
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