Which Electrical Wholesaler?

[Coldwell]

Hello to you all!
Brand new to the trade and the forum. Thanks to everyone who posts up here, some very useful stuff!
I'm based in North London and have no idea where the "best" wholesaler is in my area. I've trawled through a few websites and have seen some extreme variation in pricing - do they just make it up?

Any recommendations from people would be welcomed, I was thinking ordering form a national supplier might be cheapest option for good quality cable etc.

Thanks in advance...

 

[IQ Electrical]

Lol, welcome, what's your favourite breakfast cereal?

Depending on what you're buying, each wholesaler will have different deals, MK gear cheap at one, conduit expensive (example).

So here, you'll get a string of different answers but none definitive!

 

[rocker]

Horses for courses, as you say have a trawl around.... For soime things web is better, other things local independents, for a few things the national carriers are the best. Some plasces do quality lighting, looks the business and costs a bomb, but if the customer wants to pay then great. Some places are cheap as chips.

 

[accordfire]

There isn't really any one best wholesaler.

Mostly, it's best to order stuff as you need it on a "per job" basis - you don't want more cash tied up in stock and materials than you have to.

Probably the best thing to do is to put together a job sheet of materials, each time you need to, and put it out to three or four suppliers in your area, and see who comes back with the best price. Over a short time you'll get a feel for who's giving you the best deal.

Just like anyone, wholesalers are in it to make money, and they'll charge whatever they can get.

There's rarely any advantage using nationals on a per job basis, unless it's a large job, or you need access across the country - most of the independents will try hard to match or beat them. If you must use a national, go into the branch and try to build a relationship with them - Cities, Edmundsons, Newies, all have branches across London and the country.

North London's a big patch too - there's little point in using a trade counter in Islington for example, if all your work is in Edgeware, say. What part of N London are you looking at?

Cable - you're very unlikely to get a better deal from a national, unless you're ordering in bulk - even ordering 2.5 T&E a couple of km a time, we struggle to get anything better form the nationals than we do locally - in fact, I usually get decent BASEC cable from one of our locals at a few quid a hundred less than Newey's can manage, or than Cities ever did.

It's horses for courses though - a lot will depend on what you're needing too, and what you specify.

 

[accordfire]

Horses for courses, as you say have a trawl around.... For soime things web is better, other things local independents, for a few things the national carriers are the best. Some plasces do quality lighting, looks the business and costs a bomb, but if the customer wants to pay then great. Some places are cheap as chips.

*&%!me - that was scary.

I just posted my reply to see yours Rocker, saying "horses for courses as you say......"

You must have literally typed that as I was!

 

[DurhamSparky]

try them all and stick with the best one..!

 

[Coldwell]

Thanks to you all - Horses for Courses it is then...
I'm based in Camden and work around Camden and Islington. I was just wondering if there was some secret supply known only to those in the trade who knew the right handshake...
I'll go and creep around my local wholesalers - sending a list to three or four and going for the best price seems obvious now you mention it, but not something I'd thought of.

Cheers!

 

[IQ Electrical]

As for cable, it seems to go up every hour, impossible to keep track!

 

[accordfire]

Thanks to you all - Horses for Courses it is then...
I'm based in Camden and work around Camden and Islington. I was just wondering if there was some secret supply known only to those in the trade who knew the right handshake...
I'll go and creep around my local wholesalers - sending a list to three or four and going for the best price seems obvious now you mention it, but not something I'd thought of.

Cheers!

Mate - well done on giving out the thank yous - that sets you apart from a lot of newbies right away, and it's very nice to see - it gains you brownie points too, trust me!

Camden/Islington - try Ryness in Camden High St, Newey and Eyre nearest is Lever St in the City, Edmundsons and W F Electricla in Pratt St by Kings Cross in the Commercial Centre.

There's JEM Electrical in Kentish Town Road, and Seante are worth a try in Brandon Road in Holloway.

Hope that helps.

 

[Coldwell]

No worries, you may have to wait a few years before I can return the favour. Hadn't heard of Seante so I'll look them up. Just did another internet search and Argos came up as an option! Might see if I can get an account there...

Thanks again.

 

[millwall ken]

Lol, welcome, what's your favourite breakfast cereal?

Depending on what you're buying, each wholesaler will have different deals, MK gear cheap at one, conduit expensive (example).

So here, you'll get a string of different answers but none definitive!

As IQ has said.
The best thing to do is to visit a few near where you're actually working. However a lot of contractors also like to use one/two who are local to their home/office etc. Especially if you intend to set up an account with them. Depending on the work that you will be doing I'd recommend using one that ain't gonna run short of your 'bread and butter' gear. NOTHING worse than running out of cable at 4pm on a saturday afternoon.

 

[Tillywolves]

Depends on who you can get on with... and who will go the lowest on price....

 

[Marvo]

Suppliers are always a juggling act between quality, price and service. There's rarely a right or wrong answer to the which supplier type questions.

 

[pennywise]

Find out the loss leader at all your local branches then only buy that brand from them, a bit of trial and error until you find out what they are and aren't screwing you on.

 

[Marvo]

I thought loss leadering was outlawed after Block and Quayle put all the small paint suppliers out of business in the UK.

 

[IQ Electrical]

It's everywhere from supermarkets to wholesalers

 

[pennywise]

I thought loss leadering was outlawed after Block and Quayle put all the small paint suppliers out of business in the UK.

wholesalers will do anything to get you through the door

 

[Tillywolves]

I get most of my stuff at cost plus 5%.... you have to bargain hard, and some branches are so desperate for turnover, they will match any price...

 

[pennywise]

I get most of my stuff at cost plus 5%.... you have to bargain hard, and some branches are so desperate for turnover, they will match any price...

I love coming up with figures and watching their faces drop

 

[the-truth]

Well, stay away from ******* **********. I used to work for them and they openly teach you every trick in the book.

If you ever wonder check the trade prices you use! never correct with them, they uplift every thing in a way that they inflate all trade prices.

I have sat in meetings when they go through invoices teaching you how and where to increase prices, in the middle of the invoice, never have a line thats say 7.45 and to change this to 7.99.

If anyone is interested I can enlighten more.