RS Components - anyone have an account?

[Darkwood]

Ive had an account for 4 yrs and had a nice competitive Discount on the regular gear i order (not massive but in line with other wholesalers)... now over the last year my business has slided slightly in other directions meaning i wasn't spending as much with them so got a phone call today saying my discounts are up for review as they do every year... because i didn't meet a spend target they set I've now been stripped of all discounts although I can still use there ring in service to barter some but here's my beef!

Does anyone else know of a wholesaler that set you a target and wipes all your discounts if its not met.... what kind of business model are they running?

Anyone else had bad experiences with RS as Im writing to management with a letter of complaint and Im happy to carry over some views ...i don't expect anything from it but you never know, Id bloody understand it if they were cutting the competition in half but they only match them at best with exception of one of items here and there....but that works both ways.

 

[Kate]

What????
I was thinking of opening an account....not sure ill bother now. Just cash buy everytime. Id tell them I wont be bothering to buy anything again

 

[plugsandsparks]

My spend with RS is very variable, if I need a large item I have to ring up to get a decent price. 15% appears a starter level

 

[spark 68]

Hi DW, I have had an account with RS for about 6 years, I never really got any discount at all from them except the usual quantity price breaks.
Having said that I only ever really use them for stuff that I cannot get easily elsewhere,I have always found them expensive,good stuff mostly, but expensive. I feel some of their own brand components are of a lesser quality now than they were several years ago, but I suppose that could be said across the board now.

 

[Marvo]

.......Having said that I only ever really use them for stuff that I cannot get easily elsewhere,I have always found them expensive,good stuff mostly, but expensive. I feel some of their own brand components are of a lesser quality now than they were several years ago, but I suppose that could be said across the board now.

Exactly this ^^^

I also use RS but mainly for some of the difficult to find items.

With regards to you discount, it's not uncommon for the discount structure you qualify for to be relative to the quantities you order or your overall spend with your supplier. We also have several suppliers where we qualify for very large discounts as an OEM but they're dependent on order volumes.

 

[Darkwood]

What????
I was thinking of opening an account....not sure ill bother now. Just cash buy everytime. Id tell them I wont be bothering to buy anything again

My first year was probably 15k-ish but dropped down to about 5k as my business is partially subbing my skills out to other companies where i book gear out to their account direct to various Wholesalers.. this last yr was 5k but my discount isn't overly high ..i get easily the same from walking into any other wholesaler and paying cash and asking them to see if they can do a standard discount...... yes some of their gear is several times more expensive the place down the road i.e. Ferrules i can get 1000 bag for say £8 but RS would at best with discount be £40 +

Having said that the RS brand is often a good named brand they sale at a high price just rebranded at source as a budget price.... its a sales trick most companies play ad corners the high end market and budget market all to one source.

Yes Marvo agree this is how most companies work to some effect but that is usually to the larger customer and usually comes in the form of a tier system 'Bigger order > Discount better'.

But RS put the sales target model to the sole trader and hitting a target to keep you normal discount in place which is in line with the discount you get elsewhere without the commitment ... they have become so large they have lost sight of the small man/women out there.

Im personally going to move the bulk of trade elsewhere but they do have brands and products I like and I will just have to ring in for discount instead ...

In comparison I only put £1500 through Bennet and Fountain last year but they still beat everyone else like for like product s that i prefer to buy there... they haven't turned around and said sorry can't give you discount anymore...!

 

[Marvo]

I think for you it's just a matter of finding suppliers that are a good match to your business model and for them it's exactly the same. On a general business level it's hard work and unrewarding if you're servicing clients who aren't the focus of your core business model. Bottom line is if you do mainly commercial and industrial electrical work you wouldn't generally encourage domestic customers to acquire your services because you just know the work is going to be a ballache and even if you're charging over the odds you're going to struggle to make money because you're not geared up to do that work. Likewise it's the same with suppliers and I guess this is just what you're experiencing from the other side of the same coin. I wouldn't take it personally I'd just review your supplier list and maybe check if there aren't better or more suitable options.

 

[Darkwood]

Its nowt major already set up account with their enemies - Farnell, Scattergoods and Johnsons and Sunbridge ...all these work better for me and give you a more personal from experience so no skin of my nose but will still be forwarding my thoughts as I know a few Ex employees and know what to say to hit the nail on the head so to speak...

Ive told RS im using their free catalogue to find the parts then ringing the opposition up ....that went down a treat lol.

 

[Marvo]

Can you still get their printed catalogue? I use to enjoy spending hours thumbing throu it but we only get the disk version nowadays which just isn't the same

 

[spark 68]

I don't even get a disk, just their website.

I haven't had paper catalogues from them for a good few years now, I believe they discontinued them quite awhile back.

I use CPC now and again, the sister company of Farnell, but a lot of their stuff is cheap and chatty now, and very limited, (Farnell's is much more upmarket and a better range), again though I can usually get stuff inclusive of VAT locally for the same price as CPC ex-VAT (unless it is on special).

RS is good for if you need something onsite the next day though, and you cannot get it from stock locally, just you pay more for it.

 

[Darkwood]

1 big catalogue now its been a failure about 8" thick and as so many complaints they may be going back to multiple style and their website is **** its hard to search locate and doesnt do tag words .... hence im still on the paper

 

[Darkwood]

Can you still get their printed catalogue? I use to enjoy spending hours thumbing throu it but we only get the disk version nowadays which just isn't the same

how sad are we ....20yrs ago it was the with razzle

 

[spark 68]

Agree about the Website, lol

The last paper catalogues I had was when you got a big box with 6 or 7 books in it, I used to get a CD in with it too at one time, but the CD got discontinued even before the catalogue.

Actually I haven't ordered much at all from them this year so far, they do have an excellent range of tools though.

 

[D Skelton]

I scrapped using RS a year or two ago, their prices just got ridiculous! My wholesaler buys from Farnell and gets massive discounts. Even with my wholesalers mark up on anything they buy from Farnell, I'll still get it cheaper than if I buy from Farnell direct, and a hell of a lot cheaper than I ever would have got it from RS!

 

[Brightspark2]

The website is absolute garbage...

One of the worst I've ever used!!...

 

[netblindpaul]

All I can say is that we obviously move in different circles!

My margins are based on the price I pay for parts.

My clients are more often than not in a situation where the cost of parts is secondary.

I find the service from RS @ website pricing takes a lot of beating.

I can order @ 19:00 & have the bits with me by the following morning for a reasonable cost.

In fact, I could order parts NOW, and have them within say 4 hours, @ website cost + carriage, so what is to complain about with that.

I have discussed parts @ 01:30 on a Sunday morning with RS, the only reason we did not get the part was that we managed to fix the one we had with the parts we had on site.

I have had parts sent in a van from Coventry to Swansea on a Saturday afternoon FOC because they were not shipped for Sat am delivery.

Horses for courses & all that.

IF works are planned and quoted, unless you are quoting from the RS/Farnell website, and using their prices upon which to base your quote, then they are the wrong supplier for you.
If your client is in breakdown, then they probably are the right supplier, and if your client is not prepared to pay for the service then your client is an idiot!

 

[Darkwood]

My work colleague worked there after leaving my old firm he was invited to a boardroom meeting where the guys designing and programming the website were bigging their wares and showing how good they thought it was .... he was handing in his notice soon so his layed in and give them a full onslaught in front of senior management to which they defended best they could... he then told the to look up several items of his choice he knew were a pain to find ..... everything went quiet and they failed to find the requested items and he then said welcome to my experience of customer after customer saying the website is s.h.i.t.e. .... think he hit home that day but 1yr later the only extra addition is a request for a real person online to help you find your item.... Still crap IMHO!

 

[Darkwood]

All I can say is that we obviously move in different circles!

My margins are based on the price I pay for parts.

My clients are more often than not in a situation where the cost of parts is secondary.

I find the service from RS @ website pricing takes a lot of beating.

I can order @ 19:00 & have the bits with me by the following morning for a reasonable cost.

In fact, I could order parts NOW, and have them within say 4 hours, @ website cost + carriage, so what is to complain about with that.

I have discussed parts @ 01:30 on a Sunday morning with RS, the only reason we did not get the part was that we managed to fix the one we had with the parts we had on site.

I have had parts sent in a van from Coventry to Swansea on a Saturday afternoon FOC because they were not shipped for Sat am delivery.

Horses for courses & all that.

IF works are planned and quoted, unless you are quoting from the RS/Farnell website, and using their prices upon which to base your quote, then they are the wrong supplier for you.
If your client is in breakdown, then they probably are the right supplier, and if your client is not prepared to pay for the service then your client is an idiot!

Don't get me wrong on breakdowns i can have the part 7/10 the next morning and a customer losing hundreds/thousands and hour on down time isn't bothered if i get a discount or not... this side they excel but when i panel building i can now undercut there discount offers using local smaller and big named companies, they have a two tier business - really good deal and extortionate rip off ....

CEF 41"/41" strut hovering £10 try getting the best price from RS and last time I checked and complained it was £25+
Crimps etc with discount ....I can get a multiple mixed bag of nearly 10000 for about £28 ...ran it through RS best discount offer was over £200 and quality was equal ... they said they can't discount anymore but i liaised with the supplier they used they offered me direct for £50 and RS has a massive influence so whos taking the ****.

 

[netblindpaul]

That is exactly what I mean DW, RS are not the supplier to use for planned works!