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.