Plumbers Merchants

[cr0ft]

Does anyone else suffer from rubbish service with their local merchants? Was about to pass them a £600 sale today on a designer radiator but they couldn't even be bothered to get back to me to let me know an order date. I'm finding less and less reasons to support my local merchant as time goes on and more and more reasons to buy online.

 

[gaspastemania]

I posted something similar yesterday about my local merchants . I have the same problem with them either inept or completely negative just as well goto B&Q

 

[Puddle]

called in to mine yesterday for a syncron motor,never had any,said been waiting for a few week ????

then asked for some a 1/2 flat washers to go inside 1/2 female ,again said do not have any in stock,not even the box sets,getting a waste of time,find my self using the tintinet more and more for stuff,some good savings to be had
used to feel guilty and liked to support local merchants but they are not helping themselves not stocking basic items

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

mines the same,screw fix opening up near them soon,they say bring on the competition think they are in for a shock

 

[royston]

Prices at them at the moment vary so much on different things you dont know where you are Example a stop tap is £8 at one place and £3.50 at another. The list is endless.

 

[dontknowitall]

Prices at them at the moment vary so much on different things you dont know where you are Example a stop tap is £8 at one place and £3.50 at another. The list is endless.

I like my local merchant on the whole but one thing that niggles is the price depends on which member of staff is selling the stuff or which computer they're using or whether it's sunny or all manner of things.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

same here ......stopcock 15mm -£8 some local toolstation i think it was £3 for the same make ....honey well trv pack £17 +vat
I get them for £11 inc vat delivered to my door ! aint happy with boiler prices to so i get them from virtual mate of mine

 

[CES]

I used to avoid my local merchant due to pricing but they seem to have their act in gear near me. I still go in occasionally waving the plumbfix catalogue just to let him know what he'sup against. The downside with screw/plumbfix I've noticed is that they sometimes supply items in odd numbers? e.g. pack of 5 inserts for speedfit pipe. Or if Im wanting 2 compression fittings then they come in packs of 5 or 10? wtf??

 

[Dannypipe]

mines the same,screw fix opening up near them soon,they say bring on the competition think they are in for a shock

Happened to my merchants. They said exactly the same. You should see their faces drop when you take the Plumb/Screw Fix catalogue into the merchants. They hate it.

 

[SimonG]

I was in today as they where giving a price for a grundfoss 15/60 £83 plus change. Should have seen the look on the blokes face when I said I can get two for that.

 

[cr0ft]

called in to mine yesterday for a syncron motor,never had any,said been waiting for a few week ????

then asked for some a 1/2 flat washers to go inside 1/2 female ,again said do not have any in stock,not even the box sets,getting a waste of time,find my self using the tintinet more and more for stuff,some good savings to be had
used to feel guilty and liked to support local merchants but they are not helping themselves not stocking basic items

That's how I felt doing this, but then I realised I was saving £60 extra buying the rad online compared to my local merchant. In difficult times that adds up pretty quick. I was doing a bathroom install this week. Up till now I've been explaining to all of my customers the benefits of buying from places like Eastbrook Bathrooms as opposed to the DIY sheds. Then one of the WC pans turns up smashed - not just chipped/cracked, but completely smashed at the bottom.

The more I work with the merchants the more I realise that they're not really wholesalers at all, just retailers. The wholesaler sits behind them, then the distributor and finally the manufacturer. There's as many as 5 people in the chain all adding on their profit in the case of some sanitaryware.

I guess with a company like Screwfix or other similar, they buy direct from the manufacturer hence the savings? I don't particularly like them but I have saved a packet this week buying identical parts to what my local merchant sells.

 

[GQuigley67]

I have never used plumbfix, whats the deal anyway do you order your stuff then collect it at screwfix ?

 

[GQuigley67]

ok thats twice today i havent been able to edit my posts almost instantly, I've already spoken to admin about this. Does this happen to anyone else ??

I just joined plumbfix there should be getting a catalogue sometime next week.

 

[dontknowitall]

I have never used plumbfix, whats the deal anyway do you order your stuff then collect it at screwfix ?

I've always done delivered orders to my house (free when you spend over £100). Arrives the next day (assuming you order early enough the day before).

 

[dontknowitall]

ok thats twice today i havent been able to edit my posts almost instantly, I've already spoken to admin about this. Does this happen to anyone else ??

I just joined plumbfix there should be getting a catalogue sometime next week.

Does this to me too sometimes but doesn't bother me.

 

[royston]

Think ill have to try that one, walk into the merchants waving screwfix catalogue in one hand, plumbfix in the other, and wearing a trade-point t shirt !!

 

[johnmcginty]

What gets me is if you are doing a big shop in merchants , as there are never any prices on anything I end up just going to plumbfix or toolstation as thier prices are on display and are very reasonable, I mean i bought a syphon and a outside tap from plumb centre other week and they said £26 ....I mean toolstation you can get the exact same stuff for less than £9 !!

 

[royston]

Think ill have to try that one, walk into the merchants waving screwfix catalogue in one hand, plumbfix in the other, and wearing a trade-point t shirt !!

Might have to put a toolstation hat on then as well.

 

[Blackcatgas]

I like my merchants, the quality and choice is much better than b and q, I can ring them and they will sort out any queries I have, I also have a 5k account with them which helps my cashflow no end. You cant beat screwfix for things like screws though.

 

[quality]

I normaly like my local merchant but I have had some invoices through today and have been charged £19.68 + vat for a plastic coated flue guard.

I will be querying that one

 

[GQuigley67]

i have credit account with my merchants and a £5000 limit with wolseley, but I have used toolstation before for a couple of compression fittings and was amazed when it came to under £5

 

[grahamgas]

Does anyone else suffer from rubbish service with their local merchants? Was about to pass them a £600 sale today on a designer radiator but they couldn't even be bothered to get back to me to let me know an order date. I'm finding less and less reasons to support my local merchant as time goes on and more and more reasons to buy online.

Keiran
It wasnt Williams was it?
I bet it is HPS tho.
I too have had similar

Graham

 

[cr0ft]

Hi mate. Yah it is HPS. I did try Williams after you mentioned them but my first experience wasn't a good one - I guess as with most merchants it depends which branch you are at.

I've found Plumbfix locally to be quite good but the quality of the products varies so be careful what you buy. They sell Floplast instead of McAlpine (I think) and I've learnt first hand that Floplast flexible WC connectors are of dubious quality. Had a callback to replace one which had cracked and started to leak sewage over the floor. Nice!

I'm being much more price conscious now though as being able to keep your prices down for customers and still make a margin is becoming more and more important, imo.

 

[northcarr]

could not agree more mate you need a cristal ball to guess the price with plumb center

What gets me is if you are doing a big shop in merchants , as there are never any prices on anything I end up just going to plumbfix or toolstation as thier prices are on display and are very reasonable, I mean i bought a syphon and a outside tap from plumb centre other week and they said £26 ....I mean toolstation you can get the exact same stuff for less than £9 !!

 

[tackleburger]

Paid £20 for a role of solder in my local building merchants, whom I use a lot for plumbing stuff they have a decent range. I wanted a shed load of end feed so went on to plumbfix solder was only £12 a role? Fernox as well local stuff is Appollo or something anf the ends of the soop always snap. I have found loads of small items have shot up. I wanted a cheap pump for a tight landlord so I went to the same place and bought a Salus charged £48 last year only £35.