Wholesaler prices lately.

[Marvo]

I remember many years ago when we were expanding as a panel workshop that we got to a point where we were doing a lot of business with our wholesalers and we started dealing with them through one of their account managers rather than with their counter staff. At that point we started getting pricess at least 10 or 15 percent cheaper. Also when we registered with our suppliers as an OEM manufacturing business rather than as electrical contractors and again we got considerably better discounts but obviously the prices were based on the volume of sales on our account.

 

[oscar21]

I still think its profiteering though, I called into a wholesalers today that specialists in data/ aerials that sort of thing. They wanted £50+VAT for a 16 way switch, you can get them all day long of amazon for £45 delivered to the job next day. They wouldn't budge on price either. I thought wholesalers were meant to be cheaper than retail. Same story for the bread and butter stuff as well. My local wholesaler charges £2.30+VAT for a twin click socket and I use loads of them, I have just ordered 30 on-line for £2.30 including vat plus a load of other 2nd fix stuff. My local also want £13+VAT for a Fusebox RCBO, I can get them for £9.50+VAT no problem, and it all gets delivered to wherever you want the next working day. Whats not to like, if anyone has been into a wholesalers you know you can write an hour of your day off no problem between leaving the job and getting back to it.

 

[nicebutdim]

As a non-business individual, and signed up to their electrifix list, I get a voucher most months. Either 10% or £10 or whatever.

They switched me to Electricfix without my asking. Gave me a £10 voucher and that was it.

I only go near the place when nowhere else is open - usually a Saturday afternoon - as the local Screwfix is a nightmare to get anywhere near to. I dislike them ever more now that I know they're handing out vouchers, but not to me.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Forget the price of cable , tray and sockets

The real tragedy this week is the price of a McDonalds Latte has gone up by 20 pence

 

[LukeD]

Forget the price of cable , tray and sockets

The real tragedy this week is the price of a McDonalds Latte has gone up by 20 pence

Poverty spec Coffee......No shame man ,no shame !

 

[nicebutdim]

I still think its profiteering though, I called into a wholesalers today that specialists in data/ aerials that sort of thing. They wanted £50+VAT for a 16 way switch, you can get them all day long of amazon for £45 delivered to the job next day. They wouldn't budge on price either. I thought wholesalers were meant to be cheaper than retail. Same story for the bread and butter stuff as well. My local wholesaler charges £2.30+VAT for a twin click socket and I use loads of them, I have just ordered 30 on-line for £2.30 including vat plus a load of other 2nd fix stuff. My local also want £13+VAT for a Fusebox RCBO, I can get them for £9.50+VAT no problem, and it all gets delivered to wherever you want the next working day. Whats not to like, if anyone has been into a wholesalers you know you can write an hour of your day off no problem between leaving the job and getting back to it.

It's just business and I don't think any wholesaler markets themselves as being the cheapest option. While I can think of plenty of negative comments to post about wholesalers, I can also think of as many positive comments to post.

Like I stated early in this thread; you pays your money and takes your choice. For some people, ordering everything from different online retailers is a no-brainer, but for others it's a world of hassle. The goods you mention buying cheaply are the staples of this trade - like bread and milk for supermarkets. Ask yourself why any wholesaler might want to stock the huge quantities of these items required to buy at a competitive enough price and then sell them at a profit of pence in the pound?

Move away from basic items, which DIY sheds buy in container loads, and wholesalers become your main option. 250A MCCB from Screwfix? 120mm Tri-rated cable from Toolstation? It's not simply a question of availability, they won't be attempting to assist you with anything that isn't in their catalogues.

 

[oscar21]

It's just business and I don't think any wholesaler markets themselves as being the cheapest option. While I can think of plenty of negative comments to post about wholesalers, I can also think of as many positive comments to post.

Like I stated early in this thread; you pays your money and takes your choice. For some people, ordering everything from different online retailers is a no-brainer, but for others it's a world of hassle. The goods you mention buying cheaply are the staples of this trade - like bread and milk for supermarkets. Ask yourself why any wholesaler might want to stock the huge quantities of these items required to buy at a competitive enough price and then sell them at a profit of pence in the pound?

Move away from basic items, which DIY sheds buy in container loads, and wholesalers become your main option. 250A MCCB from Screwfix? 120mm Tri-rated cable from Toolstation? It's not simply a question of availability, they won't be attempting to assist you with anything that isn't in their catalogues.

I know toolstation and screwfix arne't much cop for odball items and even a lot of their run of the mill stuff is rubbish like axiom and LAP but you still don't need a wholesaler for the other stuff, just as an example I googled 120mm Tri rated cable and the same place I get all my click stuff came up, they can deliver a cut length of that cable anywhere in the country by Friday morning, if I had ordered it before 2PM it could have been delivered tomorrow, you cant really beat that. So I don't see why I should pay over the odds for the bread and butter stuff just because they can get the odd ball stuff as well, because so can I.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Poverty spec Coffee......No shame man ,no shame !

I much preferer a McCafe Latte over Starbuck , Costa , Nero anyday

 

[Dustydazzler]

I know toolstation and screwfix arne't much cop for odball items and even a lot of their run of the mill stuff is rubbish like axiom and LAP but you still don't need a wholesaler for the other stuff, just as an example I googled 120mm Tri rated cable and the same place I get all my click stuff came up, they can deliver a cut length of that cable anywhere in the country by Friday morning, if I had ordered it before 2PM it could have been delivered tomorrow, you cant really beat that. So I don't see why I should pay over the odds for the bread and butter stuff just because they can get the odd ball stuff as well, because so can I.

Wholesalers for me are a bit of a last resort / odd ball item kind of place now.
I probably use TLC which is my nearest maybe once every 2 months when I'm in a real pinch and need something that day that I don't have on me. I know it will cost me 15-20% more in TLC than online but in a pinch its a price paying sometimes just to get a job finished etc

 

[nicebutdim]

I know toolstation and screwfix arne't much cop for odball items and even a lot of their run of the mill stuff is rubbish like axiom and LAP but you still don't need a wholesaler for the other stuff, just as an example I googled 120mm Tri rated cable and the same place I get all my click stuff came up, they can deliver a cut length of that cable anywhere in the country by Friday morning, if I had ordered it before 2PM it could have been delivered tomorrow, you cant really beat that. So I don't see why I should pay over the odds for the bread and butter stuff just because they can get the odd ball stuff as well, because so can I.

You make my point very well if your 'usual supplier' works for you.

As an aside; that supplier sounds very much like an electrical wholesaler, albeit one that operates online and eschews the costs associated with stockholding in multiple locations.

I rarely buy from wholesalers, preferring instead to be well organised and well stocked, but that's easy for me as my own work is mainly domestic for which materials are readily available at low cost. The contractor I mostly work for could never hope to operate in the same manner, due to the huge lists of material that someone would need to spend countless hours pouring through to find the best options.

Maybe it's different over here, where delivery of large and heavy goods can be more problematic, but I struggle to imagine many sizeable industrial jobs being organised on the basis of materials sourced from multiple online stockists or ebay and it's precisely this sort of work in which wholesalers excel.

 

[Dustydazzler]

You make my point very well if your 'usual supplier' works for you.

As an aside; that supplier sounds very much like an electrical wholesaler, albeit one that operates online and eschews the costs associated with stockholding in multiple locations.

I rarely buy from wholesalers, preferring instead to be well organised and well stocked, but that's easy for me as my own work is mainly domestic for which materials are readily available at low cost. The contractor I mostly work for could never hope to operate in the same manner, due to the huge lists of material that someone would need to spend countless hours pouring through to find the best options.

Maybe it's different over here, where delivery of large and heavy goods can be more problematic, but I struggle to imagine many sizeable industrial jobs being organised on the basis of materials sourced from multiple online stockists or ebay and it's precisely this sort of work in which wholesalers excel.

On large commercial jobs / industrial jobs I don't think the price of materials is such an issue as it is in Domestic where customers are counting every penny ?
I do some work for a sports centre and I reckon I could bill them £100 for a metal clad double socket on the materials part of my final invoice and they wouldn't bat an eyelid and just pay it.
Trying charging a home owner the same and they would start checking the price on Screwfix website

 

[Rockingit]

You make my point very well if your 'usual supplier' works for you.

As an aside; that supplier sounds very much like an electrical wholesaler, albeit one that operates online and eschews the costs associated with stockholding in multiple locations.

Exactly. All that's happened is that the independants have upped their game online. That, and quite often manufacturers will hold stock at themselves rather ship out to the middleman - so if I want to sell cable clips and I reckon I can shift a million of them a year at 2p each, I buy a million clips from the factory at 1p (or a factored promise to buy) except the factory keeps them and each day I have a system that tells the factory where to ship a thousand clips at a time to. I have no warehousing or staffing costs in that process and still make 50% profit.

 

[nicebutdim]

On large commercial jobs / industrial jobs I don't think the price of materials is such an issue as it is in Domestic where customers are counting every penny ?
I do some work for a sports centre and I reckon I could bill them £100 for a metal clad double socket on the materials part of my final invoice and they wouldn't bat an eyelid and just pay it.
Trying charging a home owner the same and they would start checking the price on Screwfix website

I get what you're saying and agree that such an extra would be trivial in the grand scheme of things, but price of materials will be critical in terms of winning quotes and making profit.

Quote for the wrong cable spec and you might find youself going from making a decent profit to weeks of work at a loss.

 

[nicebutdim]

Exactly. All that's happened is that the independants have upped their game online. That, and quite often manufacturers will hold stock at themselves rather ship out to the middleman - so if I want to sell cable clips and I reckon I can shift a million of them a year at 2p each, I buy a million clips from the factory at 1p (or a factored promise to buy) except the factory keeps them and each day I have a system that tells the factory where to ship a thousand clips at a time to. I have no warehousing or staffing costs in that process and still make 50% profit.

I first encounted a similar situation, several decades back, in a different industry. The company I worked for provided engineering services and was also a wholesale distributor. They were sole distributors for some very desirable brand names, but also stocked a range of better priced options and no competitor could ever manage to break their market dominance.

Finally a competitor began making some real progress and we couldn't understand how they were managing to offer such keen prices. Turned out they struck distribution agreements with several manufacturers that allowed them to work on the basis of 5% commission. In order to make it work, stock was held locally and the manufacturers retained title of goods. What the local distributor hadn't factored was how much warehouse space they'd have to dedicate to large, low volume goods and also how much skill was required to maintain reasonable levels of stock when dealing with the perpetual holiday situation that is Italian manufacturing.

 

[LukeD]

I wonder how many small /medium suppliers will just give up? I have one near me (BEM , North London) What keeps them going is mainly accounts .The account holders need that "credit period" so dont mind paying a bit more in some cases .I dont want credit and never had a proper account .I always pay as needed .Its a lot easier and less riskier ?

 

[ipf]

I wonder how many small /medium suppliers will just give up? I have one near me (BEM , North London) What keeps them going is mainly accounts .The account holders need that "credit period" so dont mind paying a bit more in some cases .I dont want credit and never had a proper account .I always pay as needed .Its a lot easier and less riskier ?

I understand your reasoning.
In commercial and industrial, it's generally a case of waiting for money coming through, though. It's a bleedin pain, alright.
It's Ok saying 'Oh, I don't work unless paid immediately', but in industry it just doesn't work that way. That's why wholesaler accounts with payment after a couple months are a must.
Working on a one to one basis with payment on the spot is great for any small domestic business, especially those who aren't VAT registered.

 

[LukeD]

I much preferer a McCafe Latte over Starbuck , Costa , Nero anyday

Blank Street Coffee - https://www.blankstreet.com/ If ever you get up to London .

 

[oscar21]

The funny thing is, I work in a few different areas and its the independent type wholesalers that are usually the best with pricing, I walk into them with a fear that I'm going to get shafted but they always seem to treat you great, I managed to get a Crabtree shower pull from an independant the other week and it was the cheapest one I've ever bought. Its the "chain" type wholesalers that always try to shaft me even though some of them already have my details as I use other branches so its not as if I'm a stranger to them.

 

[ipf]

I much preferer a McCafe Latte over Starbuck , Costa , Nero anyday

Is that because you get free ketchup with it?

 

[DPG]

I much preferer a McCafe Latte over Starbuck , Costa , Nero anyday

Now Starbucks and Costa - that's profiteering!!