Curious to know also. What is the difference in the gauge ratings? Is a higher gauge thicker, or is it the opposite?

The lower the gauge, the thicker the SS.

I don't know how much difference there is between brands (when they are the same gauge, style, etc.). Maybe differences in cosmetics (e.g. the welding--smoothness), the finish or undertones of the SS itself, sound dampening....?

Many here have gotten and been just as happy with their Ticor/Vigo/Kraus/Artisan sinks as others with their Blanco/Franke/Elkay/Julien sinks.

We saw Julien sinks for the very first time at the store where we purchased ours. Had never seen nor heard of Julien before our first visit to the store, but we were very impressed with the look and "feel" of the sink on display (very solid, very quiet, 0-radius corners were finished very nicely). Sizing options/configurations worked for our space. SS drain assembly/strainer basket were included with the sink. Pricing (at the time at least--late 2006) worked for us, so based on all that, that's how we chose.

Ticor is a particular favorite on this forum. Search for threads by typing Ticor into the search box on the bottom (not the top) of the forum page.

I went through the same thing before we finally chose our sink last week. I was all set to buy the Kraus single bowl, 16 gauge, 30" sink. Something just told me it was too good to be true for the price. 16 gauge sinks sell for well over $1,000, so there was no way this was a good quality sink selling for $350.

In the end, we decided on a Julien sink, 18 gauge. Honestly, 18 is just fine in my opinion. They say that 16 gauge is "commercial grade" and 18 is "residential grade." Lots of salespeople tried to sell us a $1,000+ 16 gauge sink, but at the store where we ended up buying, the salesperson said that 18 gauge is still very good and we would be fine with it in the long run. There is a significant price difference between 18 and 16 gauge. 16 gauge is about 25% thicker than 18. Most people I know have 18 gauge and are very pleased with it.

My advice (and this was our reasoning): we plan on staying in our house for at least 10 more years if not more. If we are going to be here that long, I want something that is going to last, that I won't have to worry about, and that has a good reputation. Because of all this, we felt it was worth it to spend the extra money and get the Julien, which is a really beautiful sink.

Hope this helps.

I've seen sinks from Overstock and Ticor. (Nothing to complain about.) Sinks are one thing that might make sense to buy from a web supplier.

In the money-saving tips forum, people focus on little things and not the big things.

This thread is similar: price differences in the hundreds.

Many people blow tens of thousands on cars that depreciate fast. A better resale value in their cars would save them more money than the savings made by buying sinks from web suppliers. People don't seem to be buying reasonable size cars so there is one more savings possible: buy a car smaller than the ones you used to have. This assumes that saving money is a good thing to do for your social standing.

Hth

The difference is marketing, where it's made and the brand name. Some Blanco sinks are made in China now to compete with these new lower priced "high end" sinks.

I have a Ticor still in the box but from what I see, it looks sturdy, beautiful and streamlined. I purchased an undermount low radius double sink and am very happy with how it looks. It actually looks a little sturdier than the Barazzas I touched.

I had a Moen sink that was $50 and 18 gauge and it lasted 10 years and still looks fine. I think it's really subjective in a lot of cases.

Even Geminis, that cost $1000+, are made in China.

When I purchased my sink, I went with what had the sizes that best suited my needs and the aesthetic to match. Of course, I wanted quality as well. When I asked the salesperson she seemed to indicate that other than gauge, there are no significant differences.
Then I started to dig deeper. I found out that not all steels are created equal. I agree with davidro1 in that if you are looking to cut costs, a sink is an easy place to do it. Having said that, be careful to make sure that what you are paying for is worth the savings as well.
For me, it was easier to go with a reputable brand than worry about researching the quality of what I was purchasing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interesting link about sinks

Thx for the advice. We ended up with a Kindred/Franke, as that was the only decent sink we could find that was less than 10" deep. My wife didn't want that much depth because it was hard on her back. Anyway, more money than we wanted to spend on a sink, but she's happy.

JohnnyToronto, it seems Kindred/Franke is an Ontario company; you may have added a drop to help the local economy in southern Ontario instead of paying for containers to come from China.

Kraus is made in China- even thous they say Kraus US. Also Houzz is deceiving customers by putting Kraus in thr made in USA