How do I get the best price for new granite countertops?

How do I get the best price for granite or quartz countertops?

Ideas to consider:
-Shop at stocking fabricators not importer/distributors.
-Get whole house done at same time saves lots of money IE. Vanity, fireplace, bar etc.
-Ask for “orphan slabs”, (last of lot) or remnants, if job is small
-Be aware of your job size and how it relates to better price options
-Ask questions as to how you can get a better price, your fabricators may have an abundance of this or
that color for example. 
-Look for on-line offers, sales and promotions.
-Be flexible with timing, avoid the busy season, tell the fabricator your flexible with timing.
-Referrals are valuable, think of how you can help your fabricator with a review, referral or photos

If price is the primary concern, what should I avoid?
-Special order stones, Exotic high end stones.
-Quartz can be very expensive if your job is small and yet very competitive with granite if the job is
big, or fits on standard slab sizes which are very different for quartz as compared to granite, it’s all
about the waste.

Does job size affect the cost?
Yes it does because waste is always a factor that affects the sell price per SF.  Templating and installers cost the same to send out to template a 6 SF vanity or a 60 SF kitchen. Installers may get the 6 S.F. vanity installed a bit faster but that does not translate to installing ten  6 SF vanities per day,  so size does matter, a lot in countertops.

Quartz or granite, which is cheaper. Material selection and size in concert can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
It depends on the exact job size and waste factors more than anything else.
If your job is about 30 SF in size, quartz can be very cost effective due to the fact that the most a slab of quartz will yield is 32-35 SF typically. The average slab of granite will yield closer to 40-45 SF.

Some quartz brands have ½ slabs and jumbo slabs available but only in certain colors which is very frustrating because this makes it very difficult to say group C Silestone is $x per SF as an example.

Stocking fabricators can justify selling really popular colors for less as the left over from one job can be used for the next.  If the color is a slow mover or exotic the fabricator must weight all of the materials cost to the job that demands it or he will have a yard full of remnants instead of the cash flow required to pay his bills.

Can I do it myself (D.I.Y.) Granite Quartz Countertops to save money?
Installing granite kitchen countertop by yourself is not a good idea for the first timer even if you are good with tools. Conversely, installing a one-piece granite a vanity is actually within reach for the average DIY’er.

Here is why and what to be aware of.
Granite and Quartz are VERY heavy, but so hard that it can actually break much like glass because it is brittle. Carrying and handling granite is an acquired skill that requires specialized tools and techniques especially for long pieces with sink cutouts within them. The bigger the sink cut out size the riskier the pieces is to handle.

On the other hand smaller vanity sized pieces are actually quite doable for a DIY guy. The most important thing is to transport the piece standing up. Do not lay it down until it is at the cabinets and then do so with a lean, lift, slide motion so that the piece itself is actually supported 100% of the time during the transition from vertical to horizontal, especially in the mid section. That is when it is most venerable to breaking in front or behind the sink cutout. Once it is in place, immediately shim it so that it is fully supported. Then it is safe to begin attaching the sink bowl itself top the stone.

When we transport a piece of stone, we never have the faucet holes pre-drilled as this makes the vanity literally Swiss cheese in the most vulnerable area. Boring those holes once the piece is laying flat on top of the cabinets makes the most sense. Be sure to ask if the faucet holes are pre-drilled or if you are expected to bore them on site. Different shops handle this aspect differently. It may actually depend upon the stone. We might pre-drill the faucet holes at the shop if the stone is a very strong stone, while of it is one of the known more fragile stones we would definitely wait until it was in its final resting placed before boring holes for the faucets.