Wickes toilet to go.

[Plumbcrazy56]

I needed a cheap complete toilet recently for a landlord, I purchased one from Wickes for £44.99. I was very impressed with this product, it was the best I have seen in the budget range. The cistern fittings were excellent with brass bolts and wingnuts and floor fixing screws with decent plastic dome covers.
If Wickes can sell for this price why do all plumbers merchants rip us off for a similar product?

 

[kay-jay]

cos they have bigger purchasing power and can therefore negotiate cheaper unit prices on massive orders.

 

[Plumbcrazy56]

If every town had a Wickes , a Screwfix and a Toolstation most of the plumbers merchants would go out of business.

 

[kay-jay]

i think its wickes who own toolstation and b and q own screwfix. just the prices and product range differ. its the small independents as you quite rightly say that are going to suffer.
the big sheds are a bit faceless though and the staff there just don't have a clue!
i was in b and q not too long ago, it was nearest at time and i needed a tin of propane, so i picks one up and some gobin in a uniform accosts me and says why don't you try the mapp its much better, i told him it depends on your point of view and that i wanted the propane. and as a proffessional plumber i knew which product i wanted. he then went on about how he is a plumber by trade........

course you are chicken, thats why you work in b and q for 6quid an hour!

 

[BLOD]

b&q plumbing specialist told me the other day that no one uses solvent weld glue anymore.
I must try harder to move with the times

:30:

 

[Kimou]

i think its wickes who own toolstation and b and q own screwfix.

It's Travis Perkins that own Wickes and toolstaion etc...

Back to the main point. You will find that they sell these products cheaper as for reasons Kay-jay said. But the sundries and fittings valves etc...are a hell of a lot more expensive. They sell them at the proper price whilst merchants sell cheaper and more specialist variety.
They're smart. And their marketing ploy works. People assume they are cheaper. They may make less on the big stuff, though still profit for them due to buying power, but they will make more on all their fittings too. They provide panflets and online videos, instore demos on how to do stuff-anything. And then you feel confident and buy up all their pushfit fittings at an exorbitant mark-up...Get rich quick if you ask me. Genius!

Also, the merchants are more inclined to sell quality chinaware. For example, if you bought one of those units from one of the ubiquitous giants, then you can bet your bottom dollar that in two years time if you damaged or cracked your cistern or basin, you wouldn't be able to replace it with the same colour code. If you could even get the same model. The gubbins are usually useless. Whereas if you bought an established [read British made] product then you could probably get the same vitrious china recipe from 20 years since.. Not like one of the 100's of thousands imports from Lithuania one year and Albania the next cz they were cheaper. White has so many hues and will not be the same with the unknown companies
*Countries were extracted from my imagination. I have no basis for mentioning them. It's only an example.

 

[marsaday]

guy who set up screwfix flogged it to bandq and has now set up tool station in partnership with travis. i real arrogant pratt i have heard.

 

[REDSAW]

guy who set up screwfix flogged it to bandq and has now set up tool station in partnership with travis. i real arrogant pratt i have heard.

not really, he's my cousins husband. from sommerset.!

i agree, i fitted up one of those bogs and very impressed at the quality for chinky-china.

 

[kay-jay]

done a couple meself. they are pretty good for the price, bog seat is a bit cheapy but at least the waste outlet is the right height

 

[cr0ft]

Wickes buy from the manufacturers directly whereas local merchants (who are nothing more than small retailers in the scale of things) buy from wholesalers who in turn buy from distributors who in turn buy from manufacturers abroad. National plumbing merchants just rip us off

 

[erj]

guy who set up screwfix flogged it to bandq and has now set up tool station in partnership with travis. i real arrogant pratt i have heard.

Might be a pratt, but he has the money now so he know some thing!

 

[stevetheplumber]

i started using screwfix years ago when they were in somerset and worked it all by mail order they were a pleasure to do buisness with now they are the builders version of argos whose service model they copied

 

[macplumb]

The toilet is same price in city plumbing but it is the same company, travis Perkins who are getting a bit of a monopoly: city BSS group pts list goes on.

 

[tackleburger]

I needed a cheap complete toilet recently for a landlord, I purchased one from Wickes for £44.99. I was very impressed with this product, it was the best I have seen in the budget range. The cistern fittings were excellent with brass bolts and wingnuts and floor fixing screws with decent plastic dome covers.
If Wickes can sell for this price why do all plumbers merchants rip us off for a similar product?

Thanks for the heads up will bare Wickes in mind in future.

 

[tackleburger]

i started using screwfix years ago when they were in somerset and worked it all by mail order they were a pleasure to do buisness with now they are the builders version of argos whose service model they copied

Notice the prices have shot up at Screwfix for some things.

 

[adzul]

I've always found that if the bog/basin in a box is undamaged fitting will be hassle free.
As previously mentioned color matching is impossible.
I don't think local merchants try to rip us off, their cost base and the fact that they buy from stockholders and have to pay their staff and overheads just adds to the cost of operating.
Screwfix used to be cheaper for virtually everything that fitted easily in a courier friendly box - last catalogue the lead free solder is £17.70 + vat that's cheeky
'zul

 

[jase158]

I bought one from wickes before, I think it is a similar price at B and Q, was shocked that screw fix did the same toilet for nearly a tenner more?

Now onto B and q, I recently opened a trade account, I have used it twice and both times the product was the same price as the customer pays, also They are out of stock of 90% of stuff so have to wait for next day delivery.
so what are the benefits of their trade account?

I don't think that plumb centre wll go out of business as they still have things that you cant buy at screw fix/ b and q
Although as the older plumbers start to retire and the younger generation come in, I think there is more of a price guidance then a quality guidance.

And to the comment about solvent weld, I started by using push fit waste and ended up having 1 in 10 pipes leaking due to o rings going, I have never had 1 leak from solvent weld. Definetly my choice is solvent weld.

 

[365drills]

Local merchants try to provide a service of convenience. Out of town retail provide bigger selections and keener prices.

But taking the last point first its often only a few memorable things they price lead on. The "nuts and bolts" are often marked high. The boring bits.

As a manufactuer of PORSADRILL tile drills - we have been "screwed" during price negotiations with Retail Giants. Hence we cant get into Wicks, Screwfix, Toolstation, Plumbase, PTS, Travis and all the others.

Screwed? What do you mean?

Basically they seem to work off a flat grid of pricing:
It sells for £50 we would be paid £8
It sells for £40 we would be paid £6
It sells for £30 we would be paid £4

Yes that works for the slave labour of China where they can feed on a bowl of rice for 20p a day and buy it in container loads.
And their ground rent is cheaper with big warehouses.
But the manufacturer gets the bad end of the stick.

Imagine if you had a boss and he quoted a simple job to a customer for £50. And he sent you along and said you would only get £8. I think you would say where to go....!!

Good news for us is that its the local independants that stock our stuff. And they are a bit more practical with pricing. They dont pay £8 for a £50 item!!
Just as well really or we would be bankrupt.

http://www.*********.com/jpgs/bfk4.jpg

Big retailers just wont play ball on prices. £49.99 in the shops = £8 delivered to their door from the factory!!!
Make a loss? Nahhhhh...