Wholesaler prices lately.

[oscar21]

What is it with the recent prices I'm getting at wholesalers, just about everything anyone quotes now is about 20% dearer than I can get things for retail. Take today, I needed some conduit, saddles etc so went to a wholesalers round the corner, I don't use them very often but I know the lad who served me quite well so its not as if I'm a randomer off the street. the bill was about £100 but doing a bit of research this evening it turns out I could of got the same stuff for about £75 from Toolstation or Screwfix etc, or slightly cheaper if I ordered it on-line.

Its the same with our regular wholesaler, they are getting so expensive I hardly ever use them anymore, luckily I'm quite organised so get most stuff on-line now from various places. But these on-line places still have trade counters and physical stores, they are basically wholesalers just like the ones I use but selling on-line as well, if they can sell for that price so can the one I use. I son't see any sense in it, eventually everyone will do what I have done and just buy on-line.

I wouldn't mind but on-line is brilliant, you can order whilst sat in the bath, it arrives anywhere in the country the next day, is the cheapest option and vary rarely does anything go wrong. Wholesalers will be a thing of the past if they don't change track soon.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Stopped using the likes of CEF ages ago , utter Rip off merchants

ToolStation and Screwfix now for 95% of what I buy on a weekly basis , TLC at a push if its an odd ball item

 

[nicebutdim]

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Big sheds like Toolstation & Screwfix buy in unbelievable quantities and wholesalers have little chance of competing, especially independants.

Flip side of this is exceptionally limited range of goods. Can't imagine those retailers being much help if you need something so simple as a length of strut or a 2" bush.

 

[oscar21]

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Big sheds like Toolstation & Screwfix buy in unbelievable quantities and wholesalers have little chance of competing, especially independants.

Flip side of this is exceptionally limited range of goods. Can't imagine those retailers being much help if you need something so simple as a length of strut or a 2" bush.

I think the JCC downlights we get online come from an independent, the big chain wholesalers cant or wont beat them. I think its just profiteering to be honest.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I think the JCC downlights we get online come from an independent, the big chain wholesalers cant or wont beat them. I think its just profiteering to be honest.

I remember some years ago now , I used my local Edmundsons for cable , MK consumer units , sockets and the like.
A big screwfix opened 2 units down from them and they were selling MK boards way cheaper than Edmundson's were, so I mentioned it to the then manager and he said he couldn't get anywhere near to Screwfix prices. It wasn't even worth him trying to match prices.
Funnily that branch soon closed down and was replaced by ToolStation

 

[cliffed]

Everything gone mad… for your enjoyment take a look @ these prices
i was on 35p a hour back then …just a bit less I’m on now

 

[Dustydazzler]

So you could get 3 and 1/2 pints of beer for 1hr work in 1971 , to get that today you would need to earn £30 odd quid per hour. The average worker is on around £15 ph in England

 

[LukeD]

Toolstation and screwfix for 80% .Builders Depot for all things "Fusebox" . Local Wholesale place IF I HAVE TO .And Ebay . I love ebay for all sorts of things , rawplugs , wagos etc etc

 

[Bob Geldoff1234]

I was after some dimmable candle led lamps from my wholesalers.They wanted £3.60 per lamp inc vat.I bought them from Screwfix for £2 per lamp. I wouldn't be able to charge much profit on the wholesalers prices where as Screwfix I can get a decent markup. So to the OP,I know what you mean.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Toolstation and screwfix for 80% .Builders Depot for all things "Fusebox" . Local Wholesale place IF I HAVE TO .And Ebay . I love ebay for all sorts of things , rawplugs , wagos etc etc

Ebay is great for bulk buying screws , wall plugs , connectors , tape , clips etc etc

 

[Lister1987]

Ebay is great for bulk buying screws , wall plugs , connectors , tape , clips etc etc

Oh go on, what are your usual shops on there?

 

[DPG]

Watch out for counterfeit connectors on ebay.

 

[Marvo]

As a rule of thumb never use a wholesaler if you you don't have an account there. Wholesalers have always had much higher markup on small items, it's what keeps them afloat, they don't make much markup on the bread and butter or bulk items like cable. They're always going to be more expensive than purely online vendors but they should add value such as technical support and ease of warranty claims, a 30 day account etc.

 

[ipf]

It's all about quick turnover. All wholesalers, these days have a much smaller range of materials readily available. Where I used to be able to get most things off the shelf, if it's anything out of the ordinary it's a case of waiting for delivery or attempting to trace.
Many say it's easier with the internet and online trading but I used to find things much easier talking to a manufacturer's or supplier's rep who understood what was required than pressing buttons and being sent down cul-de-sacs.
We had a couple or regular wholesalers with others when needed. They all tended to offer decent prices and only served the trade......selling 'wholesale'. I don't think there's any such thing today. Anyone off the street gets served with 'trade' prices.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Oh go on, what are your usual shops on there?

N one in particular , if I need some lever Wagos I just type in lever Wagos and see what offers I can get.
Same with packs of tape , multiple boxes or screws.
There is always some deals to be had

 

[pc1966]

We use a mix of both the local whole sale places and the DIY sheds. Form some things it is so easy to pick up from Toolstation or Screwfix, but for others the local wholesale places are helpful and often prices are reasonable, maybe not quite as low as some on-line places.

But they often deliver locally for free which helps for stuff I can't get in my car (I still forget its much smaller than my old Ford and end up in the car park thinking WTF? as I try to get it all in) and they have good advice on what is reliable / few returns and handling that if there are. In particular the guys at my local Holland House place.

CEF has a good web site and occasionally good prices on certain items, and have cal days, so we do use them from time to time even though they practically never have anything in the shop we need.

 

[littlespark]

Screwfix is fine for domestic. Anything else, a wholesaler.

You can get a credit business account with screwfix, but I just pay as I go.
As a non-business individual, and signed up to their electrifix list, I get a voucher most months. Either 10% or £10 or whatever.

I also order online with screwfix, first going through a Cashback website. Gets 1.1% back, which can go up to 2% if you make a certain number of transactions per month.

And, I use a Chase bank account to buy it…. Which gives me another 1%

 

[Dustydazzler]

£55 for this is ridiculous , I mean who is paying that kind of money for small selection of connectors and wire nuts

In-Sure™ Push In Connector Premium Kit - https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/1823581-in-sure-push-in-connector-premium-kit

You can get a very similar wago selection set off Ebay for around £27 if you have 2-3 mins to search out the deals

 

[Rockingit]

It's a love-hate situation for me. The DIY sheds will always be cheaper on the bread and butter domestic stuff, but are rarely worth the look at for commercial and industrial stuff. However, order what you want from CEF / Rexel online via your trade account and you mostly end up looking at the bigger numbers if you'd spent ten mins surfing but you know there's no delivery hassles, restocks... etc. I bought a Fusebox 6way RCBO / SPD unit for a job a couple of weeks back and it ended up being nearly £100 cheaper as a cash sale direct from Fusebox (so basically, I was DIY Dave) than the exact same list was from my discounted Rexel account!!

But wholesalers do still have a part to play when it comes to specifics - as an experiment I recently put a shopping list of about 15km of various flavours of a specific brand of H07 cable out for quoting to the various cable suppliers, and for interest purposes also gave it to my local Rexel. Amazingly, within a few pence they were as cheap as everyone else.

Also........try getting a conversion kit for a MEM3 400A board from a toolstation......

 

[timhoward]

£55 for this is ridiculous , I mean who is paying that kind of money for small selection of connectors and wire nuts

In-Sure™ Push In Connector Premium Kit - https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/1823581-in-sure-push-in-connector-premium-kit

You can get a very similar wago selection set off Ebay for around £27 if you have 2-3 mins to search out the deals

Yes. That's the thing. If I go in and ask for it, it will be priced immediately based on my account activity levels and I'm sure it would be min 25% off that price.

But to get that price online I'd need to "Request a quote", and then wait for the branch to process that request, and then go back later and complete. The faff factor makes it not worth doing unless it's a very specialised or hard to obtain item.

It's more a case of "who has time to play that silly game!".