Wholesaler prices lately.

[nicebutdim]

The funny thing is, I work in a few different areas and its the independent type wholesalers that are usually the best with pricing, I walk into them with a fear that I'm going to get shafted but they always seem to treat you great, I managed to get a Crabtree shower pull from an independant the other week and it was the cheapest one I've ever bought. Its the "chain" type wholesalers that always try to shaft me even though some of them already have my details as I use other branches so its not as if I'm a stranger to them.

I'm not sure why you think they're trying to shaft you. CEF are one of the most well known nationally, and I'm not exactly a fan of their pricing or often lengthy wait at their counters, but they advertise all prices on a website.

Independents and just as the name suggests and free to price goods as they see fit. National wholesalers will have policies, to which staff are obliged to adhere. You and I might not understand or appreciate those policies, but it's likely that they benefit the business. Perhaps they feel it's only worthwhile taking the time to deal with small orders at list price, whereas sizeable accounts are profitable enough to warrant decent discounts? I honestly don't know but, at the risk of repeating the same points, they have significantly higher overheads than online operations and can't hope to match the buying power of large retail chains.

Spend your money where you see fit and don't think too much about how other business owners choose to run their operations.

We buy groceries in Lidl and Asda. I couldn't care less about the prices in more expensive supermarkets.

 

[oscar21]

I'm not sure why you think they're trying to shaft you. CEF are one of the most well known nationally, and I'm not exactly a fan of their pricing or often lengthy wait at their counters, but they advertise all prices on a website.

Independents and just as the name suggests and free to price goods as they see fit. National wholesalers will have policies, to which staff are obliged to adhere. You and I might not understand or appreciate those policies, but it's likely that they benefit the business. Perhaps they feel it's only worthwhile taking the time to deal with small orders at list price, whereas sizeable accounts are profitable enough to warrant decent discounts? I honestly don't know but, at the risk of repeating the same points, they have significantly higher overheads than online operations and can't hope to match the buying power of large retail chains.

Spend your money where you see fit and don't think too much about how other business owners choose to run their operations.

We buy groceries in Lidl and Asda. I couldn't care less about the prices in more expensive supermarkets.

Its because wholesalers should (and used to be) the go to place to get your stuff. If you were a DIY'er you went to B&Q or more recently screwfix/toolstaiton, if you were in the trade you went to a wholesaler and got things cheaper than the DIYer or householder so you could make a markup on it which paid for the time and effort of sourcing it and getting it.

Nowadays wholesalers are just a retail outlet trying to maximise their proffits in any way they can.

 

[pirate]

Starbucks and Costa...best example ever. There's a book about it, and it makes interesting reading. I am fortunate with my occasional work, so I don't have the hassles of wholesalers and 30 or 60 day credit, however I well remember the collapse of a huge contractor in Scotland who just went bust owing hundreds of small businesses lots of money...the Laff**ty group killed so many small guys, and nothing could be done. Rule One: Do not put all your eggs in that one basket.
Rule two: If you do occasional stuff, get paid for materials up-front...or at least before they are installed.
My local jobs are for a few clients. They ask for a quote, I give it, and if they accept it I bill them for the materials, and once that's paid I do the work. They always pay me my labour costs promptly because nothing works until I am paid...I have the "key".
The beauty of this model is that they know I will do the job properly, so they don't fek about when it comes to paying.
Thus, wherever I buy the cable or other accessories, the cost, without uplift, is the price I have paid to the supplier, which is important to the client, particularly when the customer is a charity.
The only possible points of contention are:
1. The supplies might be cheaper elsewhere
2. I am too expensive
Given these are small jobs, point 1 is not really significant, so if they want me to leave them with the last 5m of a drum of t&e, so be it. It may come in handy for the next job on their site. They've paid for it, so it's theirs.
As for point 2...well, it's their choice...as my jobs are usually small ones, they either take my price or leave it. £200 or £300, it's nothing really.
I fully appreciate my situation isn't the most common one, but thought it might be worth mentioning it, because as a model for business, it suits me very well and may suit those who are not working 24/7 to support a family, such as a retired bloke like me who does it for fun.
I go to Screwfix and pick up the cable and accessories...ok, it's £20 more than last week...but it's only £20 on the bill.
For those who do huge contracts, that's a big problem. If you are buying 10 drums of 2.5mm, or 100 drums even, there's a huge cost differential. If you stick to small jobs, the cost isn't too significant.
Small is beautiful!

 

[nicebutdim]

Its because wholesalers should (and used to be) the go to place to get your stuff. If you were a DIY'er you went to B&Q or more recently screwfix/toolstaiton, if you were in the trade you went to a wholesaler and got things cheaper than the DIYer or householder so you could make a markup on it which paid for the time and effort of sourcing it and getting it.

Nowadays wholesalers are just a retail outlet trying to maximise their proffits in any way they can.

Wholesalers haven't changed, but you have and so has the world. Wholesalers are doing what they have always done.

 

[LukeD]

Wholesalers haven't changed, but you have and so has the world. Wholesalers are doing what they have always done.

UK should be like certain parts of the world .where many items cannot be sold to members of the public as id has to be shown .mainly gas, water and electrical stuff . And should a client ever pull out a screwfix etc catalogue out and question a quote it would be 'Have it all here the day before I start work .None of it will carry any form of warrantee from me and anything missing or wrong needs to be sorted out by you and if necessary a hourly rate will be charged if it slows down the job."


You dont take your own meat and veg to a restaurant !

 

[DPG]

UK should be like certain parts of the world .where many items cannot be sold to members of the public as id has to be shown .mainly gas, water and electrical stuff . And should a client ever pull out a screwfix etc catalogue out and question a quote it would be 'Have it all here the day before I start work .None of it will carry any form of warrantee from me and anything missing or wrong needs to be sorted out by you and if necessary a hourly rate will be charged if it slows down the job."


You dont take your own meat and veg to a restaurant !

I get your point. But don't you think I should be allowed to repair the brakes on my car as I have for many years? It's only the same thing.

 

[oscar21]

Wholesalers haven't changed, but you have and so has the world. Wholesalers are doing what they have always done.

They have changed, do you not remember years ago, the manufacturer would send a rep round to the wholesalers or even retail outlet and had a price list, one one page was the price list you could buy stuff from the manufacturer for, and on the next page was the price list for what you could sell it for, you had to adhere to these prices otherwise the manufacturer wouldn't deal with you. It stopped loads of undercutting and driving other business's out of existence just for pure proffitt.

 

[Dustydazzler]

There is no way the sale of cable and pipe will be restricted , not a chance

 

[nicebutdim]

UK should be like certain parts of the world .where many items cannot be sold to members of the public as id has to be shown .mainly gas, water and electrical stuff . And should a client ever pull out a screwfix etc catalogue out and question a quote it would be 'Have it all here the day before I start work .None of it will carry any form of warrantee from me and anything missing or wrong needs to be sorted out by you and if necessary a hourly rate will be charged if it slows down the job."


You dont take your own meat and veg to a restaurant !

While you raise a valid point about gas, electric and water, I don't like the idea of regulation for this reason and the argument is somewhat undermined when you go on to clarify the actual objection to be one based on profit.

There are plenty of tradespeople who are happy for customers buy materials as it helps ensure their turnover remains below vat threshold and, perhaps cynically, places onus on customer where warranty of materials is concerned.

In days gone by, a system (similar to that which you describe) existed and was self-regulating. Wholesalers only discounted prices to proven trade customers and only discounted by a significant margin where large accounts were concerned. This served wholesalers well as small customers went to a convenient distributor and availed of the same prices, while ensuring wholesale trade counter wasn't overburdened with small orders. Those distributors made a profit and appreciated that the wholesaler stuck rigidly to this model and allowed the distributor to make a profit. Small trade customers were happy as they received a discount, but...

those small trade customers were paying through the nose. In many instances, a manufacturing customer or distributor received huge discounts of anything from 25%-80% (depending on product range in question), while the little guys received maybe 5%-20%. Retail customers paid list price and it is important to acknowledge who set these list prices - the wholesaler.

You often make the point that you choose who to work for and who to avoid, well that's often what wholesalers do. The only difference being they don't decline your business, but accept it at a price they deem to be agreeable. I find it incredible to learn that, instead of being happy with the huge range of options now available in terms of suppliers, anyone might wish to return to the days when few options existed for the procurement of goods.

 

[nicebutdim]

They have changed, do you not remember years ago, the manufacturer would send a rep round to the wholesalers or even retail outlet and had a price list, one one page was the price list you could buy stuff from the manufacturer for, and on the next page was the price list for what you could sell it for, you had to adhere to these prices otherwise the manufacturer wouldn't deal with you. It stopped loads of undercutting and driving other business's out of existence just for pure proffitt.

So your issue is with manufacturers no longer fixing prices (now illegal) and other oulets selling too cheaply?

Forgive my confusion, but you initially stated that wholesalers should sell to you at lower prices and now lament the demise of the days when they had to sell at a minimum price.

If you're worried about 'loads of undercutting and driving other business's out of existence just for pure profit. then surely you'd want to support the wholesalers who are hammered on price by large DIY chains?

 

[oscar21]

So your issue is with manufacturers no longer fixing prices (now illegal) and other oulets selling too cheaply?

Forgive my confusion, but you initially stated that wholesalers should sell to you at lower prices and now lament the demise of the days when they had to sell at a minimum price.

If you're worried about 'loads of undercutting and driving other business's out of existence just for pure profit. then surely you'd want to support the wholesalers who are hammered on price by large DIY chains?

No because they didn't have the same pricelist for everyone. Trade places would have to sell at trade rates which would be the same as other trade places and retail outlets would have to sell at retail prices and wholesalers wouldn't be able to sell to the public, it was just a fairer way of doing things, you knew what price you would pay almost before you even walked in the door.

 

[nicebutdim]

No because they didn't have the same pricelist for everyone. Trade places would have to sell at trade rates which would be the same as other trade places and retail outlets would have to sell at retail prices and wholesalers wouldn't be able to sell to the public, it was just a fairer way of doing things, you knew what price you would pay almost before you even walked in the door.

I'm no longer certain of the issue under discussion, but have commented at length on the original points raised and don't feel I can add much to that.

 

[Marvo]

........In many instances, a manufacturing customer or distributor received huge discounts of anything from 25%-80% (depending on product range in question), while the little guys received maybe 5%-20%. Retail customers paid list price....

We have at least 2 suppliers where we get 60% discount or more from the list price or official retail price. It's mostly main agents for EU origin motors, pumps and compressors etc they sell. Ive never understood how the retail price could be 2.5 times higher than the trade price.

 

[ipf]

Its because wholesalers should (and used to be) the go to place to get your stuff. If you were a DIY'er you went to B&Q or more recently screwfix/toolstaiton, if you were in the trade you went to a wholesaler and got things cheaper than the DIYer or householder so you could make a markup on it which paid for the time and effort of sourcing it and getting it.

Nowadays wholesalers are just a retail outlet trying to maximise their proffits in any way they can.

That's why you don't get the same range of stock, too.
Anything that's been standing on the shelves for long at audit time is just got rid of, one way or another, to make room for more saleable items.
I'm talking long before B&Q and ages before Screwfix....when trade price at a wholesalers was the cheapest.......FOR A TRADESMAN.
Some asked for ID and folk off the street were turned away, even people from other trades.

 

[nicebutdim]

We have at least 2 suppliers where we get 60% discount or more from the list price or official retail price. It's mostly main agents for EU origin motors, pumps and compressors etc they sell. Ive never understood how the retail price could be 2.5 times higher than the trade price.

Clearly much depends on how a wholesaler chooses to structure pricing, but large distributors and equipment manufacturers would usually receive greatest discounts. The former allows for sub-distribution.

Smaller distributors, manufacturers and trade customers would receive lower discounts, generally on a sliding scale commensurate with the level of business received anually.

'Retail' prices are plucked out of thin air or, more accurately, based on a large mark up of supplier ex-works pricing. If a trade customer finds out one of their customers has bought directly from the wholesaler, they would expect that pricing would have been identical with their own. When things worked in this way, everyone was (for the most part) happy. If a distributor's customer received a discount directly from the wholesaler, then complained to the distributor about their pricing, you were guaranteed a long and uncomfortable phone conversation.

I guess this system was something of a cartel, but most people were content with how it worked as evidenced by OP lamenting its demise in the electrical trade.

 

[nicebutdim]

That's why you don't get the same range of stock, too.
Anything that's been standing on the shelves for long at audit time is just got rid of, one way or another, to make room for more saleable items.
I'm talking long before B&Q and ages before Screwfix....when trade price at a wholesalers was the cheapest.......FOR A TRADESMAN.
Some asked for ID and folk of the street were turned away, even people from other trades.

That about sums it up. Buy huge quantities of a limited range of items, then pile them high and sell them cheap. Everyone is happy until they need something less common and find the only local source has closed their doors.

If wholesalers want to compete, they'd have to turn over sigificant amounts of shelf space to items on which they'd make minimal profit - in all probability, wholesalers would never be able to buy popular goods more cheaper than large DIY sheds, so efforts to compete would be wasted as trade prices would never be lower than retail prices of those retail outlets.

The only way to restore the old system would be if manufacturers refused to sell as cheaply to DIY outlets, but they'd simply lose sales to other, or 'own', brands.

In 2021, Kingfisher Group (parent company of Screwfix and B&Q) made sales of £13.2 billion globally, whereas in the same year CEF turned over £751 million. Hopefully this helps put the issue in perspective and aids understanding with regard to buying power and why manufacturers might choose to offer preferential prices to certain companies.

 

[LukeD]

Interesting post I read about screwfix .... They 'dodge " retail planning consent as they claim they are only TRADE . THis caused them issues during CV19 and covid grants for retailers !

 

[ipf]

Interesting post I read about screwfix .... They 'dodge " retail planning consent as they claim they are only TRADE . THis caused them issues during CV19 and covid grants for retailers !

Obviously, then, there is still a difference between trade and retail.
So I can't see how they could be trade if they have retail customers.
Maybe, in some cases, you actually can't have your cake and eat it.

B&Q must use 'TradePoint as a separate business, then. Easy to see with it's own counters, I suppose.

 

[oscar21]

Well so much for wholesalers, I need a 6 way 3 phase MCG board this morning and neither of the two closest CEF's have any in stock, it's their own brand, he said I will have to order one online

 

[nicebutdim]

Well so much for wholesalers, I need a 6 way 3 phase MCG board this morning and neither of the two closest CEF's have any in stock, it's their own brand, he said I will have to order one online

45 in stock for next day delivery. Seems they also cater to those who prefer online wholesalers.

6 Way Triple Pole and Neutral Distribution Board with 125 Amp 4 Pole Incoming Isolator Solid Door

4 Pole 125A incomer included

www.cef.co.uk

 

[ipf]

45 in stock for next day delivery. Seems they also cater to those who prefer online wholesalers.

6 Way Triple Pole and Neutral Distribution Board with 125 Amp 4 Pole Incoming Isolator Solid Door

4 Pole 125A incomer included

www.cef.co.uk

Has that taken over from their own Proteus cr*p?
Looks just as flimsy.

 

[nicebutdim]

Has that taken over from their own Proteus cr*p?
Looks just as flimsy.

Fitted a couple for site supplies. Not the worst, but certainly not the best.

They still sell Proteus.

 

[oscar21]

Has that taken over from their own Proteus cr*p?
Looks just as flimsy.

I think they still do proteus as well. We are kitting out a brand new industrial unit but it only had a 4 way 3ph board in it and two of the ways were taken up by the roller shutter door and an SPD so that only left 6 single phase ways for lights, heaters, sockets etc and it simply wasn't big enough.
After all the talk on here about wholesalers selling bread and butter stuff I thought a leading wholesaler situated right in the middle of one of the biggest industrial sites in europe might have had one of their own make board in stock but when I inquired they looked at me like I was stupid for thinking they would. It was "nah mate, we wouldn't have one of them, you will have to get it on line"

 

[nicebutdim]

I think they still do proteus as well. We are kitting out a brand new industrial unit but it only had a 4 way 3ph board in it and two of the ways were taken up by the roller shutter door and an SPD so that only left 6 single phase ways for lights, heaters, sockets etc and it simply wasn't big enough.
After all the talk on here about wholesalers selling bread and butter stuff I thought a leading wholesaler situated right in the middle of one of the biggest industrial sites in europe might have had one of their own make board in stock but when I inquired they looked at me like I was stupid for thinking they would. It was "nah mate, we wouldn't have one of them, you will have to get it on line"

I'll bet they'd have had an alternative - possibly Schneider IKQE.

While not a fan of CEF pricing, their website is decent and stock levels shown for each store are exactly what that store's staff see on their own system. Other than occasional inaccuracies, I find this to be generally very reliable - saves a wasted journey.

 

[oscar21]

I'll bet they'd have had an alternative - possibly Schneider IKQE.

While not a fan of CEF pricing, their website is decent and stock levels shown for each store are exactly what that store's staff see on their own system. Other than occasional inaccuracies, I find this to be generally very reliable - saves a wasted journey.

Alternative was no good though, the original board already had a main switch and several RCBO's in it which could have gone into the new board. If it meant a different make panel then I would have got the whole lot from somewhere else anyway.
Don't you need to be logged into the CEF web page to see the stock etc.

 

[nicebutdim]

Alternative was no good though, the original board already had a main switch and several RCBO's in it which could have gone into the new board. If it meant a different make panel then I would have got the whole lot from somewhere else anyway.
Don't you need to be logged into the CEF web page to see the stock etc.

One of those days when things don't go quite as well as they could.

I find the bulk of stock in CEF branches is very much tailored to the market served. My local branch stocks quite a bit of stuff that other nearby branches don't carry. Conversely, I've often found that items not stocked locally are always available elsewhere - sometimes this applies to an entire range of goods. I guess this is one knock on effect of fewer people buying from local wholesalers and instead seeking out savings online.

No need to log in to view CEF stock in branches. I can't remember the last time I logged in and just type in the nearest town name on individual product pages. Perhaps the website automatically shows local branch stock if logged in.

 

[pc1966]

Don't you need to be logged into the CEF web page to see the stock etc.

No.

But if you are logged in you can't sort by price!!!

 

[nicebutdim]

No.

But if you are logged in you can't sort by price!!!

That answers a pertinent question. I remember on some occasions being unable to sort by price, but other times it was no problem. Never understood why.

 

[123]

Don't use online much for materials, I find wholesalers better and generally cheaper!
My nearest wholesalers are over 20 miles away, so I'm dependant upon delivery. But they'll phone me on route and deliver it to where I want, rather than an address I specified a day or two ago. With my main wholesaler I can get same day delivery 5 days a week if ordered before 10AM and if I'm stuck and in a pickle they'll sort me out in the afternoon.

For the likes of T&E CEF have always been cheaper than Toolstation & Screwfix for me. Click, Wago's, Consumer units etc...all cheaper at wholesalers than I can see online. There are some things that will be cheaper online, but the biggest plus for me is when something goes faulty and needs replaced, they send me down the item, I go and replace it, and then I send back the faulty one for credit. No chance you get that with an online supplier.

 

[mattg4321]

I doubt you’ll beat toolstation for t&e at the moment. They’re 15-20% cheaper than all the wholesalers last I looked

 

[123]

I doubt you’ll beat toolstation for t&e at the moment. They’re 15-20% cheaper than all the wholesalers last I looked

I got some through the week from wholesalers and was cheaper than Toolstation. Not by much, about 60p a coil, but also another 2.5% off that again for settlement payment when I pay the bill.

 

[nicebutdim]

I doubt you’ll beat toolstation for t&e at the moment. They’re 15-20% cheaper than all the wholesalers last I looked

A few months back, Tradepoint was cheaper than Screwfix & Toolstation. It's like a competition to find who can sell T&E at the lowest profit and I'm content to see prices driven downwards again.

 

[Lister1987]

A few months back, Tradepoint was cheaper than Screwfix & Toolstation. It's like a competition to find who can sell T&E at the lowest profit and I'm content to see prices driven downwards again.

Someone needs to make an app there was diodeelectrical but it seems to have let the url lapse

 

[oscar21]

A few months back, Tradepoint was cheaper than Screwfix & Toolstation. It's like a competition to find who can sell T&E at the lowest profit and I'm content to see prices driven downwards again.

There is T&E and T&E though, our wholesalers cable is awful, all of it, you cant strip the SWA for love nor money and the T&E is jst as bad, its like stripping LSF using their stuff. The Prysmian that Screwfix sell is the best but the coils are naff, the cardboard ends keep falling off unless you keep it in the box with is another impossibility. Toolstations Doncaster cable is ok if they have any in stock.

 

[SJD]

There is T&E and T&E though, our wholesalers cable is awful, all of it, you cant strip the SWA for love nor money and the T&E is jst as bad, its like stripping LSF using their stuff. The Prysmian that Screwfix sell is the best but the coils are naff, the cardboard ends keep falling off unless you keep it in the box with is another impossibility. Toolstations Doncaster cable is ok if they have any in stock.

I agree about the naff Prysmian reels in cardboard that falls apart. So much so that I pay a bit more sometimes somewhere else to avoid buying the stuff.

 

[Lister1987]

I agree about the naff Prysmian reels in cardboard that falls apart. So much so that I pay a bit more sometimes somewhere else to avoid buying the stuff.

Take a leaf out the milkman of old; plastic reels that you return for credit and get reused.

 

[nicebutdim]

There is T&E and T&E though, our wholesalers cable is awful, all of it, you cant strip the SWA for love nor money and the T&E is jst as bad, its like stripping LSF using their stuff. The Prysmian that Screwfix sell is the best but the coils are naff, the cardboard ends keep falling off unless you keep it in the box with is another impossibility. Toolstations Doncaster cable is ok if they have any in stock.

It was Prysmian that was cheapest in Tradepoint, although I'm never in a great hurry to buy the stuff.

As you rightly point out some T&E can be a pain to strip and I've experienced this with Prysmian on a couple of occasions. Seemed as though the sheath was almost stuck to the insulation and no chalk was present between these layers.

I'd rate Doncaster above all others, but it's not widely available over here and I only occasionally buy it from Toolstation. Pitacs, which I think it a Toolstation brand (probably from one of the Turkish manufacturers), has never caused me any problems and nor have the likes of Pamukale or PX which many wholesalers stock here.

Come to think of it, Prysmian is the only brand of 6242Y that I've had problems stripping.

As for SWA, there is most certainly some awful stuff being sold, with bedding material that's tougher than the outer sheath.

 

[Simon47]

Move away from basic items, which DIY sheds buy in container loads, and wholesalers become your main option. 250A MCCB from Screwfix? 120mm Tri-rated cable from Toolstation? It's not simply a question of availability, they won't be attempting to assist you with anything that isn't in their catalogues.

In a previous job I'd use CEF a fair bit. Where the real wholesaler won for us was that I'd look at a job (networking) and (for example) see what trunking was already installed. If (as was normal) it wasn't something I recognised, usually the local staff could identify it from photos - and get the socket boxes in even for non-stock brands.

UK should be like certain parts of the world .where many items cannot be sold to members of the public as id has to be shown .mainly gas, water and electrical stuff.

And then you go down the slippery slope to restrictive trades. While that can have some positives, it has some negatives.
Take just yesterday. I went to our rental flat as the tenant reported that the boiler wasn't working and there was water dripping from it. It was immediately obvious that water was coming from the combustion chamber, which shouldn't happen in a non-condensing boiler ...
It did fire up for me a couple of times, but I noticed the pipes weren't getting very warm. Ah, so checked the TMV that's part of the circuit with the thermal store - and when I tried adjusting it to get the return temperature up, the boiler quickly got very hot and turned off. Then I realised that the very professional "engineers" that I have to use had refitted the TMV the wrong way round after removing it while on a wild goose chase diagnosing what should have been an easy fault to identify (scaled up heat exchanger causing kettling).
So thanks to employing "fully qualified" people to work on the boiler, it's failed again (after a while) because they took stuff apart they didn't need to, didn't reset it as it had been (had they done so, the system wouldn't have worked at all), and caused condensation that's probably taken out another control board. Going to be very hard keeping calm when I phone them tomorrow.

No because they didn't have the same pricelist for everyone. Trade places would have to sell at trade rates which would be the same as other trade places and retail outlets would have to sell at retail prices and wholesalers wouldn't be able to sell to the public, it was just a fairer way of doing things, you knew what price you would pay almost before you even walked in the door.

And it was illegal for the obvious feature of allowing the manufacturer to dictate prices and thus keep them up at the expense of the public. It's arguable that the other extreme is just as bad, especially when the big supermarkets drove* prices down so hard that suppliers (farmers) had to sell below cost, but retail price maintenance was very expensive for the public.
* Some have now realised that they need to support their supply chains and are less aggressive with their purchasing.

 

[nicebutdim]

In a previous job I'd use CEF a fair bit. Where the real wholesaler won for us was that I'd look at a job (networking) and (for example) see what trunking was already installed. If (as was normal) it wasn't something I recognised, usually the local staff could identify it from photos - and get the socket boxes in even for non-stock brands.

It would be great if manufacturers always placed their name in data trunking boxes. You'd think it would be a no-brainer, but invariably find yourself trying to get hold of something which can be shoehorned into place.

 

[oscar21]

I'm now in two minds about this buy everything on-line stuff. Its so frustrating as it should be brilliant but we are being let down again and again by shear incompetence. Should have had an order dropped off yesterday morning but it never turned up, no phone call, no text, no email, nothing. rings them up and its "oh yea sorry mate the courier didn't arrive to pick up the order, you will get it tomorrow."

Fast forward to this morning and the delivery guy turns up but only has two packages and not 3, rings them up again, "oh yea sorry mate there wasn't enough room on the van for everything." Then when we eventually opened the boxes on site a cooker switch was missing so had to go out and get one.

However on the other hand I had to go and purchase the missing bits from our wholesaler, it was 2 LED batten fittings, 2 Aico's, a cooker switch and 5 light switches. Not a massive order but on line I could have got everything for under £100, our wholesaler charged me £137, that's nearly 50% dearer than on-line.

If only the idiots that work in packing or delivery would get off facebook for two minutes whilst they picked my order everything would be hunky dorey. Why are they so blase about a customer that spends about £40k a year on bits.