Wont mention the company .But they are a general building supplier with semi large electrical sections . So they will sell a lot etc . Maybe not like CEF etc . It was quiet today and got chatting to the section manager about mark up % . I trust him .He was saying on cables its not even hitting 2% at the moment for them ......... Jesus , thats grim. The owner allows it to make the money from the plastic bit (sockets etc ) and Bulbs . The rest is almost a hassle . And we moan when customers question us about mark ups !
N
nicebutdim
I'd believe it - no different to the tiny profit retailers accept on fuel to get people through the door.
Interesting that you mention CEF as the nearest to me never seems to have any cable we need. Maybe they keep a decent stock of fast moving stuff, but that isn't much help.
Interesting that you mention CEF as the nearest to me never seems to have any cable we need. Maybe they keep a decent stock of fast moving stuff, but that isn't much help.
D
Dustydazzler
Once Screwfix came about the big wholesalers had to start matching cable prices and slash their margins considerably
I had a mate who was once a manager at my local WF and I also knew a manager at an Edmundsons and both said margins on cable was in the 1.5-2% range
Even things like price matching their MK stock to Screwfix prices crushed their margins
My local wholesaler is £80 squid for 2.5 inc vat , Screwfix is £71
I had a mate who was once a manager at my local WF and I also knew a manager at an Edmundsons and both said margins on cable was in the 1.5-2% range
Even things like price matching their MK stock to Screwfix prices crushed their margins
My local wholesaler is £80 squid for 2.5 inc vat , Screwfix is £71
Because they are useless and only stock the bare basics for the domestic market. Some are bad, others are shocking.
D
Dustydazzler
CEF never seem to have any gear on the shelf
Gotta hate screwfix, as If there is a company which will abuse their controll ower manufacturers its kingfisher (owners of Screwfix/B&Q), wether its pushing manufacturers to lower standard to lower Price, when the manufacturer is at a quality low enough to be beeten by chinese then offering chinese version cheaper under screwfixes own brand and when it goes bancrupt lifting chinese items brands price above the originals... (though this is more known as a tescos approach in Europe), wether its the kingfishers habit of bringing cheaper (lower quality) Chinese version of the products (rather then better Europe made version) and when company protests abandoning the brand all together (No more Siemens Thermostats).
Then its a case of taking better makes to china and having them "nearly" copied, but lot cheaper (Those LAP sockets might be sh*t but front used to look suspiciously like click sockets ant their best salles) and then putting their chinese imitations in searches in front of originals while making it harder to focus on a proper (UK/ EU made) originals,
Such as in case of flomastas JG imitations (I know its plumbing) , which when you search, and try to filter by brand, the UKs no1 sold brand wont get displayed as an option untill you chose "more options".
then there are tons of their own brands (could believe that half of all the brands their sell, but did not check) often making them sound german to trick customer.
With the buying power, they can get cable directly from china/turkey so their costs would be lower then that of smaller retailers, but outside price will be more based of what they can charge, rather then cost...
And no, most quality brands just cant manufacture in quality under that kind of pressure, so many of the best brands like Click, Wera, Heller, Bahco, Hagger, Scame, Hilty just aren't there. For quality you have to go either to smaller retailers or online
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Sometimes it's a question of choice...or lack of choice.
I live exactly between 2 branches of Screwfix, one is 14 minutes away, one is 12 minutes away. If something is out of stock in one branch, the other usually has stock. my next nearest is 20 minutes away. All have a Toolstation virtually next door, one has a CEF outlet which has virtually no stock of anything I want, and the staff might as well be in Greggs for all they know about electrical stuff.
Thus, I have no choice really. having said that, if I browse carefully I can usually find what I need/want, and at a good price. I often check Screwfix and toolstation, not for a cheaper price but because one or other may have a slightly different item that is more suitable. I don't go on price but suitability. For example, all-round band/galvy-band/whatever you call it...Screwfix do a range, Toolstation do a slightly different range. i carry 4 varieties, 2 from each supplier. It's cheap as the proverbial, but slight variations make having a choice useful.
There really is nowhere else for me to shop, except B&Q, which is part of kingfisher anyway, and often in there you can see Screwfix stuff, but at a higher price. The only advantage with B&Q is if, for example, you are looking for sockets to match existing, as they have the whole range on display so it's easy to check what you are buying. Of course, never ever rely on the labelling on the shelves or on the packaging, or you will find the back-boxes you bought are not as deep as you wanted!
Both Screwfix and Toolstation are great for returns...no questions asked. Like them or not, this is retailing at its best for now, with plenty of shops, long opening hours and a huge range of stuff. Like I said, I have no choice really, but do i need any more choice? Not really. They may have cornered the market, but frankly they deserve it, having pushed other less efficient suppliers aside in many cases. However, I still regret the demise of some independents for tools and basic ironmongery, like catani and crocketts (Glasgow based) and of course, Bill's Tool Store. I recently went to a specialist company who could provide me with specific fasteners I needed for a repair to a machine. I took the old "bolt" to them because nobody else stocked the exact same item. The guy looked at it and offered me 4 different options...steel, stainless steel, aluminium, or some fancy coloured stuff. I went with the s/s option. How many do you need, he asked? Actually, just a couple, thanks. he came back with 6 and said "Here you go, no charge, it's not worth opening the till!"
Maybe it is a shame that the big names have stolen the market, but they do so with rigour and a huge range of items. That's what we need, what we want, and what we will always value. hate Screwfix? Tell me where else I can shop for everyday items. Specialist tools, Axminster etc are great. replacement parts, well, there's loads of those too...Saxton do great multi-tool blades, parts direct and others with similar names do lots of little bits n bobs you can't get elsewhere, and some even do genuine cordless tool batteries at half the price of Screwfix too! I refurbished my favourite, 35 year old black&Decker Workmate including the rubber feet and the plastic leg stays and steel hinge pins for £14 from a specialist spares company, and a new priming bulb and diaphragm for my hayter lawnmower for a tenner. Yes, specialist stuff needs research, but bread and butter stuff is a Screwfix or Toolstation buy for me. Really odd stuff I get from the big river etc, but everything else is from the guys nearby, and if i take it back, the refund is pinged to my bank account by the time I get back to my car.
I live exactly between 2 branches of Screwfix, one is 14 minutes away, one is 12 minutes away. If something is out of stock in one branch, the other usually has stock. my next nearest is 20 minutes away. All have a Toolstation virtually next door, one has a CEF outlet which has virtually no stock of anything I want, and the staff might as well be in Greggs for all they know about electrical stuff.
Thus, I have no choice really. having said that, if I browse carefully I can usually find what I need/want, and at a good price. I often check Screwfix and toolstation, not for a cheaper price but because one or other may have a slightly different item that is more suitable. I don't go on price but suitability. For example, all-round band/galvy-band/whatever you call it...Screwfix do a range, Toolstation do a slightly different range. i carry 4 varieties, 2 from each supplier. It's cheap as the proverbial, but slight variations make having a choice useful.
There really is nowhere else for me to shop, except B&Q, which is part of kingfisher anyway, and often in there you can see Screwfix stuff, but at a higher price. The only advantage with B&Q is if, for example, you are looking for sockets to match existing, as they have the whole range on display so it's easy to check what you are buying. Of course, never ever rely on the labelling on the shelves or on the packaging, or you will find the back-boxes you bought are not as deep as you wanted!
Both Screwfix and Toolstation are great for returns...no questions asked. Like them or not, this is retailing at its best for now, with plenty of shops, long opening hours and a huge range of stuff. Like I said, I have no choice really, but do i need any more choice? Not really. They may have cornered the market, but frankly they deserve it, having pushed other less efficient suppliers aside in many cases. However, I still regret the demise of some independents for tools and basic ironmongery, like catani and crocketts (Glasgow based) and of course, Bill's Tool Store. I recently went to a specialist company who could provide me with specific fasteners I needed for a repair to a machine. I took the old "bolt" to them because nobody else stocked the exact same item. The guy looked at it and offered me 4 different options...steel, stainless steel, aluminium, or some fancy coloured stuff. I went with the s/s option. How many do you need, he asked? Actually, just a couple, thanks. he came back with 6 and said "Here you go, no charge, it's not worth opening the till!"
Maybe it is a shame that the big names have stolen the market, but they do so with rigour and a huge range of items. That's what we need, what we want, and what we will always value. hate Screwfix? Tell me where else I can shop for everyday items. Specialist tools, Axminster etc are great. replacement parts, well, there's loads of those too...Saxton do great multi-tool blades, parts direct and others with similar names do lots of little bits n bobs you can't get elsewhere, and some even do genuine cordless tool batteries at half the price of Screwfix too! I refurbished my favourite, 35 year old black&Decker Workmate including the rubber feet and the plastic leg stays and steel hinge pins for £14 from a specialist spares company, and a new priming bulb and diaphragm for my hayter lawnmower for a tenner. Yes, specialist stuff needs research, but bread and butter stuff is a Screwfix or Toolstation buy for me. Really odd stuff I get from the big river etc, but everything else is from the guys nearby, and if i take it back, the refund is pinged to my bank account by the time I get back to my car.
I use Screwfix, but only as a back up- or for stuff that wholesalers don't do.
I buy Hager do I know they won't sell to Screwfix / Toolstation and that suits me.
I prefer brands that are not on jo puiblic's radar (and decent quality)
I buy Hager do I know they won't sell to Screwfix / Toolstation and that suits me.
I prefer brands that are not on jo puiblic's radar (and decent quality)
Fair point, @baldelectrician ...but as you say, you use Screwfix as a back up...or for stuff that wholesalers don't do! and that can be quite a lot of stuff.
I deal with Holland House and Electric Center and they will get stuff in that I use occasionally and keep it in the shelf for me.
Where are you based ?
I use my local wholesalers and I am in Kilmarnock and we have a few- CEF (no), Electric Centre, Riverbank - good independent- excellent at Schneider and Holland House
I have accounts at all bar CEF Kilmarnock after they promised me discount and didn't honour it.
I have accounts at all bar CEF Kilmarnock after they promised me discount and didn't honour it.
Maybe I am blessed...I have Screwfix, Toolstation, B&Q, Halfords (don't laugh, they have some excellent tools) and even a Howden's on my doorstep...and for those really obscure items, Home Bargains is brilliant, and 2 minutes away! Plus of course, Aldi and Lidl...if you haven't been, try them! Aldi are currently selling a 4 pack of wood plug-cutters for £4, excellent for removing chipboard flooring. They won';t last long, but who cares? Forgotten your drill bits? Pop into Aldi etc and you get a set of cheapo ones for a fiver. They will do the job for the day!
I guess then you live in an area they have destroyed. I find toolstation bit more moral (that is not a hard achievement), generaly at-least attempting to offer UK/EU made options even when not forced, and generaly listening to sparkys about which brands to stock, now including Click, Wera, Heller or V-tac( I know that one is hit and miss) or UK made cable (Doncaster), but losing it by numbers stocked. One of mine local branches keeps 3x25mm appleby metal backboxes as a "full stock".
But I still find the whole-sellers more cooperative with what people want. The point is that good whole-seller will keep all your daily needs, because they need you... I generaly only use screwfix when helping plumbers out of trouble, because they do Flo-plast or when its too late for mine local independent shop.
That wasn't the point I was making. Mine point was that If a chain has too much controll it will abuse it. There are precious litle good quality manufacturers surviving in chainstore controled consumerism, and only way they can survive is if we avoid the abusers of power and go through in a way that enables good manufacturers to keep some power and stay good manufactures.
Havent done a job close enough to be within a range, but I have pulled an owner of mine local shop at 10PM to come to the shop and get me a new 3 phase fusebox when badly fited one in a local hostel got quite a lot of watter in keeping >50 guests without power. (Pitty they wouldn't let me post a picture of that box...
I take your point, but they have not "destroyed" my area, they have provided a service which was non-existent. Yes, a chain will take control, but I see no abuse here, as the tiny shops went out of business by natural decline in the face of superior marketing models. it's sad, but it's inevitable.
It's reversible too, in some industries. Greggs stopped selling bread...artisan bakeries are flourishing...but you can't flush 240V through a baguette and get anything useful out the other end...
Competition is the game, and that is why you will see a Toolstation next to a Screwfix, an Aldi next to a M&S, a Lidl next to a Waitrose...the customer actually has a choice. and makes that choice.
It's reversible too, in some industries. Greggs stopped selling bread...artisan bakeries are flourishing...but you can't flush 240V through a baguette and get anything useful out the other end...
Competition is the game, and that is why you will see a Toolstation next to a Screwfix, an Aldi next to a M&S, a Lidl next to a Waitrose...the customer actually has a choice. and makes that choice.
Say I want to buy something electrical...Amazon has it for £3.99, and Screwfix has it for £4.99...where will I buy it?
Another item...Amazon £99...Screwfix £109, where will I buy it?
CEF have it too, at £139.99...
It just makes sense to go for the Screwfix deal, cos it's same day,.. no hassle returns...and it's throwaway if all else fails.
Another item...Amazon £99...Screwfix £109, where will I buy it?
CEF have it too, at £139.99...
It just makes sense to go for the Screwfix deal, cos it's same day,.. no hassle returns...and it's throwaway if all else fails.
The abuse is the part you dont see and its targeted towards UK/European/Quality manufacturers. What I speak of is about making a choice not based on marketing but based on responsibility, the now retiring generation got loot of manufacturing skills from the previous ones. Mine generation has a tiny fracture of even Indian manufacturing capabilities with Africa slowly creaping to owertake us (China already shot pass, only bothering to take the knowledge of few superiour profesors in UNIs to china). So if our choices are based on consumerism or superiour marketing then the generation of our trainees wont be able to do manufacture much more then the baguete... Wether for lack of skill (with no oportunity to practice) or with no manufacturing dies the infrastructure for manufacturing...
Look at cable clips...say you use 100 on a job and that's a lot for a small domestic...you might pay £2 more if you buy the dear ones, which all work fine, don't break and hammer in fine...can you get them that cheap anywhere? Does it matter? Is it SO important to do the job as cheaply as possible that you have to buy the cheapest clips available?
No, it isn't! However, you won't find cable clips as cheap anywhere other than your local Screwfix or Toolstation, so the buying power is important to you as the end user.
No, it isn't! However, you won't find cable clips as cheap anywhere other than your local Screwfix or Toolstation, so the buying power is important to you as the end user.
I'm sorry, but I don't get your point...abuse is a strong term, and while I accept there has been exploitation in some areas this is not relevant to the current discussion, imho...
I buy stuff, I like it, I buy more...i don't like it, i return it...or just bin it, whatever...
That's the reality. amigo...
We have reached this point, and there's no going back, consumerism being what it is.
I hate the fact that grammar and spelling have no prime place anymore, but that's the fact...I deplore the exhortations online for me to get "Grammarly" to improve my writing,,,I don't fekn need it! I speak English, i write English i don't need some American telling me how to do it...it's a product that has been founded from a basic lack of good teaching.
Thus, we have the superstores...be glad you have them, because there isn't anything else for your day-to-day needs.
I buy stuff, I like it, I buy more...i don't like it, i return it...or just bin it, whatever...
That's the reality. amigo...
We have reached this point, and there's no going back, consumerism being what it is.
I hate the fact that grammar and spelling have no prime place anymore, but that's the fact...I deplore the exhortations online for me to get "Grammarly" to improve my writing,,,I don't fekn need it! I speak English, i write English i don't need some American telling me how to do it...it's a product that has been founded from a basic lack of good teaching.
Thus, we have the superstores...be glad you have them, because there isn't anything else for your day-to-day needs.
N
nicebutdim
Can't say I'm a fan of big box shifters like Screwfix, but there are quite a few inaccuracies in your post.
For cable, the top 10 search results on their site are Prysmian products.
197 results for Wera.
82 results for Bahco products, not that I'd consider their tools a 'best brand' these days.
Hilti aren't widely available from any retailer and, other than buying directly from Hilti, the greatest selection of their products can be found on ebay.
Scame a top brand? A widely stocked brand due to their pricing perhaps, and not the worst, but certainly not a top brand. in terms of quality.
The bottom line is very simple - manufacturers can decide who they sell to and many won't sell to companies that don't suit their business model or that want unrealistic prices. Similarly consumers can decide where to buy and many will avoid outlets like Screwfix.
What's good about Screwfix? Well I can think of a few occasions when they pulled me out of a hole on a Sunday afternoon.
Let's compare them to a well known, large electrical wholesaler who are known for poor stocks, poor quality products and eye watering prices...
Toolstation sell a large number of Einhell tools. Designed in Germany, but made in China.
Many other brands assemble goods in Europe and label them as 'made' in a European country, but manufacture of component parts takes place in China.
I can think of local wholesalers where customers are treated as though they're an inconvenience. I can think of products stocked by Screwfix that can be obtained anywhere else locally.
Do I like Screwfix? No.
Do I frequent Screwfix? No.
Do they provide an invaluable service, which can not be fulfilled by other local retailers. At times they do.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
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D
Dustydazzler
Remember that days you had to pick up the phone to place your order with Screwfix and it was only free next day delivery if you spent £45 or more...
At that stage I was only really buying tools , drill bits , screws and wall plugs from screwfix and still got most stuff from WF or Edmundsons locally. My Edmundsons closed down and WF moved about 5 miles away so I started using TLC.
About 3 years later screwfix opened in my location, and now i pretty much get about 95% of my gear from them now just so conveinient and they are cheaper on 99% of stuff
At that stage I was only really buying tools , drill bits , screws and wall plugs from screwfix and still got most stuff from WF or Edmundsons locally. My Edmundsons closed down and WF moved about 5 miles away so I started using TLC.
About 3 years later screwfix opened in my location, and now i pretty much get about 95% of my gear from them now just so conveinient and they are cheaper on 99% of stuff
They are the most forward thinking company in the business .Others are left behind due to been Dinosaurs
Apart from screws, wall plugs and safety boots I can't think of anything that screwfix is cheaper for than the wholesalers I use. None are local to me, nearest screwfix is beside my nearest wholesalers but its 20 miles away. If I order before 10AM my main wholesalers will have materials with me before lunch time. If I'm stuck they usually can get it to me no matter what time I order it, and in the past I've also been able to get what I need even when they are closed.
As others have said
Quick delivery is not new, my wholesalers do this all the time and it is also free.
N
nicebutdim
Two day delivery is free to NI on orders over £50 (large and 'direct from supplier' items generally not available).
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