Once you buy into the form factor (48" wide, counter-depth deep, etc.), then you're already suckered in. I could almost certainly leverage connections and get a much better deal on a GE Monogram, but I've heard ample horror stories about GE's fridges (which aren't anywhere up to the standards of their otherwise excellent ovens and stoves).

At this point, I've opened up and stared at the inside layout of every fridge in this form factor, and a lot of them have stupid things wrong with them. The Sub-Zero, alone, seems to have been laid out in a useful way. One notable Sub-Zero feature is that the in-freezer ice-maker consumes less than half of the freezer space that's chewed up inside the GE Monogram. This kinds of quantifiable differences make me have to hope that there's a similar level of attention to detail in the mechanical bits. I'm probably deluding myself.

Anyway, my current best offer is on a version of the fridge that I want which has been installed for several months in a showroom, otherwise not doing anything. And even then, it's only modestly less money than my previous best quote for a new-in-box model.

All very sad, but I suppose there's a point of diminishing returns going on here. You're not going to find a brand new 911 Turbo for much less than list, and if you really want something like that on a budget, you head over to a Nissan dealer or something for a GT-R.

Grumble.