I would suggest you shop around to different places - you'll find some variation in the prices but in my experience the places tend not to negotiate much.

I don't know if you are supposed to negotiate, but I recently got 3 quotes from fabricators and I was very surprised to find out how close they all were. The highest was just 2% higher than the lowest! And these guys were all recommended from different directions and were located in different parts of the SF Bay area. It makes me think that their pricing is consistent and therefore no or very little negotiation.

of course you can negotiate! We bought three slabs. the more you spend the more negotiation room there is. Same thing goes for stone tiles etc.
It helps to get an idea for the going price for material and labor in your town before you negotiate. In LA, templating, fabrication and installation go for $30 per sq ft unless you building the taj mahal :)

I got 2 quotes for fabrication of my soapstone. I wanted to go with the more expensive guys (b/c of quality of their work). I simply told them that I'd like to go with them, but XXX quoted me $. Could they match that price. And they said sure!

(As to the details, one wanted 60 sq ft, the other 50. But the former also wanted around 600 to do runnels, while the latter wanted 350.)

Francy

Thanks for your input, everyone - esp. pharaoh, since I am also in the LA area. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if that was their best price, especially around or after the holidays when they will (hopefully) be slower.

i negotiated everything in my remodeling to the pt of pissing a lot of people off. its my nature to get the best deal i can. for isntance on the granite in my area. i got tropic brown that is $50 a square foot. but i found a 10% off coupon which made it $46. i used the biggest granite fabricator in the south who has 300 employees. they do all home depots. i went around hd and direct. but here's why iw ent with them. for ogeee edge the cheapest i found anywere is $20 a linear foot. this company has machines that do it and they only charge $4.50 a foot. i have 50 feet so a huge difference

Cash is king. Always gets me discounts on top of other sales/offers.

I saved a few thousand on the counters and significantly more than that on the tile by negotiations. I was picking the slabs from the same yard for three companies, and each had a different price, some quite a bit higher than others. I asked if I gave them all of my business, what could they do for the price, and they beat the competition :) I saved about $2 sq ft on all of my travertine (it was from the same dealer in SEattle, but sold through different seller here) and a significant amount on the counters, which I had already picked at the slab yard.

I don't recommend going with the lowest price necessarily...be sure to check their work. I didn't go with the very lowest (I visited a kitchen they did and was horrified at the seams and finish on the edges...but they were cheap LOL) So know what you're buying!

I definitely hope there is room for negotiation. Right now I'm picking out tile for four baths and granite. I'm not shopping the granite and I've used this fabricator for my kitchen and three baths now. I'm totally satisfied with their work and customer service so for me it's not worth it to go else where. Since they also do tile, I'm slowly choosing that and waiting for prices. I need 3-4 slabs for my kitchen, one for the MB, another for kids bath unless I can find a huge remnant. Anyway, this will be a hefty bill but with as much as I am doing I think there is definitly room on price.