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leelister6

leelister6

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Just having a skim through Screwfix sale items and spotted this:

https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/flomasta-magnetic-central-heating-filter-22mm/4672f

Thought it'd be worth picking a couple up but, lo and behold, not available for either pick up or delivery. This is probably the 7 or 8th time they've had stuff on for silly prices but aren't actually selling them. A while ago they had a £250 Makita biscuit jointer for £30, same story. Is it a sales ploy? Cos if it is it sucks balls!
 
Every new catalogue they bring out and the prices rocket and the price increases are not something we can continually pass on to our customers. The rock bottom sales prices are exactly what Ric2013 describes above. They are discontinued items and are only available in a few stores. I did manage to grab a multitool that was reduced to £30, but had to travel 30 miles to another store to collect it. Luckily I was working not too far away on the day I went for it.
 
The way things are going was explained to me by an md of a large plumbing and heating outfit. Customers are being pulled towards screwfix , toolstation etc. Where things are cheap but no expert help is available. The local plumbers merchant excel at advice and customers will also go there. However B & Q are suffering badly in that they have a large inventory, high prices and poor advice, essentially inexperienced staff wandering around directing customers to the correct isle. The future is bright but its not B&Q orange
Rob Foster aka centralheatking
 
I remember going into B&Q a few years ago and the plumbing “expert” tried selling a really old bloke about £30 of fittings for a small job he was doing. I collared the old bloke before he got to the counter, Told him to put em back, took him to my van and gave him 3 fittings, told him what to do with em and said to give me a ring if he had any problems. He rang me later on to thank me and I advised him to go to local builders merchant who I know would not goose him in future and are very knowledgeable. B&Q are ok if you need summat and they’re close and you know what you want but I generally avoid. Toolstation and Screwfix are great, free delivery to job etc but I’m a big believer in using the independents if possible. When they’re gone, they’re gone!
 
The likes of b&q, Wickes, Toolstation and Screwfix are just a 'handy' place to pick up gear, but as said above, if you want sound advice, go to a plumbers merchant. Even the prices can be cheaper in some instances. As far as the websites are concerned, you have two conflicting problems here. The company generally knows nothing about how a website should be built and operate for their business and secondly, a Web designer generally knows nothing about their products. Put the two together and you end up with a website that sends you to the wrong product or cannot find what you are searching for. B&q website in the early days used to drive me crazy. For example, me searching for dpc had no results. Expanded to Damp Proof Membrane... No results. Eventually found it by scrolling through tonnes of building materials. Yes, it was there but there was no link from any relevant search terms used.
 
I use Plumbfix because of its speed and convenience. I can place and order online, I know immediately if the items are in stock via the website and it's ready for collection within a minute. Out of stock items can either be collected from another store or be ready for next day collection. No plumbers merchant can compete with that, in fact it's quite the opposite. When I go to a plumbers merchant, I have to wait until I'm served, then place my order and then wait again for it to be picked and ready at the counter, that is if it's in stock, to which I have no idea, then wait again for the invoice to be printed and signed. Often I can be in a merchants for over 10 minutes which is a lot longer than a click and collect order from Plumbfix. Time is money and I can't be arsed messing around early in the morning collecting gear before I go to my jobs.
A few of the Plumbers merchants do have online collection, but it's not nearly as good as or as fast as Plumbfix.
 
Cailean said:
I use Plumbfix because of its speed and convenience. I can place and order online, I know immediately if the items are in stock via the website and it's ready for collection within a minute. Out of stock items can either be collected from another store or be ready for next day collection. No plumbers merchant can compete with that, in fact it's quite the opposite. When I go to a plumbers merchant, I have to wait until I'm served, then place my order and then wait again for it to be picked and ready at the counter, that is if it's in stock, to which I have no idea, then wait again for the invoice to be printed and signed. Often I can be in a merchants for over 10 minutes which is a lot longer than a click and collect order from Plumbfix. Time is money and I can't be arsed messing around early in the morning collecting gear before I go to my jobs.
A few of the Plumbers merchants do have online collection, but it's not nearly as good as or as fast as Plumbfix.
Click to expand...
You are quite correct, for you this is a good option. Most experienced engineers know exactly what they want. The bigger picture is Mr or Mrs inexperienced who are being let down and ripped off by the big sheds. Get what you know you want from the fast service operations and what you need advice about from your local,merchant ...this is the way the market is splitting ...bye bye
B&Q and they know
Rob Foster aka centralheatking
 
Jim Goodenough said:
Whilst Screwfix and B&Q are both part of the Kingfisher Group you can't compare them - Screwfix is definitely a useful supplier.
They must be doing something right to be growing so fast!
Click to expand...
Screwfix have all but cornered the market and with aggresive targeted marketing and rapid expansion, they have all but eliminated choice in many towns. Their stores are everywhere and in prime industrial areas. They also have very long opening hours and their ordering system is much quicker and superior to the plumbing merchant counters. Screwfix are NOT cheap, in fact most of their products can be sourced much cheaper elsewhere and with the release of every new catalogue, their prices jump up by 25%. Their marketing strategy appears to be to eliminate the competition and rule supreme. The closest to Screwfix is Toolstation and even they are not as quick with click and collect orders. It was in fact two former disgruntled founders of Screwfix that formed Toolstation.
 
Majority of plumbfix gear is good. Some is tat.

Plus I get a free big cup of hot chocolate.

Screwfix are no different to any other retailer, they want to sell.

Plus they get a lot of trade customers.

Went into an Indy on Wednesday late on for a wirquin jolly flush kit. Guy behind the counter said 'thank f@ck, somebody who knows what they want'. He was complaining that he'd had nothing all day but 'plumbers' who hadn't a clue.

To be fair, when I go te get parts I know what I want and only need to get creative when things aren't available.
 
Jim Goodenough said:
Which merchant do you work for Rob? :)
Click to expand...
If indeed I was going to work for merchant it would be AT Carr in Lancashire a smashing operation serving 98 + happy plumbers merchants in Wales and NW England. They are my friends. If I wanted to purchase plumbing and heating gear as I do at rock bottom prices but top branded quality ...then it’s no contest....BES Gas Controls
Electric Avenue Brum. Used this outfit for years

Rob Foster aka centralheatking
 
Cailean said:
I'm a fan of JTM Plumbing Supplies online and they have good prices that are far cheaper than Screwfix, a good range of stock, and they have good customer service.
Click to expand...
Ray Stafford’s operation is really going well ...I think it’s essential that we all put this together and support our favourite suppliers ...rubbish suppliers bye bye good ones ,
Yes please and spread he word
Rob Foster. Aka centralheatking
 
I was in Graham a month ago.

(There is a local independent but it has a bad reputation in the trade; the reputation has it that it sells cheap tat, or faulty branded stock and if you ever have a problem with something you've bought there, don't bother trying to get satisfaction.)

So, I was replacing a WC siphon as the diaphragm was damaged and not worth repairing as the siphon was too high for the water level and I wanted the new one to be as close as possible to 25mm over the waterline. How it should be, in other words. WL was a little over 7" so I wanted an 8.5" siphon. I feel that on a low or high-level cistern, removing a siphon is no big deal, and that on a close-coupled cistern the close-coupling plate is usually starting to rust by the time the diaphragm fails so to change one without the other would be doing the customer a disservice. In this case the diaphragm had lasted 20 years.

So what wanted was a one-piece 8.5" siphon. Graham had a height adjustable siphon at some ridiculous price, or a 3-piece 9.5" siphon at over £16 plus VAT. They were out of stock of 8.5" versions. I told them that was a ridiculous extra hike to my customer's bill to not even really have the product I wanted. Just makes me look expensive without either myself or my customer deriving any benefit.

Toolstation had a 9" one-piece of a reputable brand for £4.76 inclusive in stock. Guess which supplier made the sale.

The other problem I have with merchants is that I tend to supply emailed quotes and I write these in the evenings, but the merchants are closed and cannot supply me with prices. I price my jobs based on what I can find on the Plumbfix website and then find there isn't the money in the job to allow me to buy at the merchants.
 
I use the likes of Screwfix, Tool station, B&Q as they are open late which is great for us trades to use at the evening saves losing valuable time in the mornings. I hardly visit regular plumbing Merchants now, i do most of ordering over the phone and get deliveries to site, just picking up bits and pieces from Screwfix at night once the bulk of the deliverley is on site.
Screwfix/toolstation etc will grow rapidly as more trades use them for ease of getting everthing in one place at a time to suit you and like Rik2013 says the prices are there to help price up a job.
 
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