I plan to get some better chisels a new plane and a few other bits in an order that will end up being between £500 - £600 and was wondering if anyone has ever asked if they will do a deal on this kind of order and whether it was worth asking?
Has anyone ever asked for/received a discount when making a larger order from WorkshopHeaven?
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thetyreman
Established Member
why should they give you a discount? not trying to be argumentative, but why?
Always 3worth asking, they can only hum and haw and refuse.
Haggling is not something we normally do in the UK, but i have read on money saving expert .com that you should always see if the sellers are willing to engage.
Haggling is not something we normally do in the UK, but i have read on money saving expert .com that you should always see if the sellers are willing to engage.
rogxwhit
Established Member
On the contrary, haggling is entirely normal. Has anyone ever paid the listed price for a new or used car? Or list price in a builders' merchant? It's less likely to work if there's a monopoly on the product, though.
Sometimes retailers give a discount if you give them a larger than average sale as it can lead to a customer paying more by adding an item. Like back in the mid to late 00's I bought a tv and surround sound, the guy I was dealing with knocked off 3% which led to me buying a bluray player too.
rogxwhit
Established Member
3%, hey? Phew! ;-)
You will never know unless you ask, it all depends on the suppliers profit margin and how much discount they might get on turnover of the product.
This was posted today by Wood Workers Workshop, a UKW sponsor. You might find what you are looking for there.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/10-off-everything.137860/
If you’re polite and courteous, and take no for an answer why not ask. If I’m spending a fair amount in one place I’ll often give them a call and see if there’s any wiggle room. Sometimes you get nothing, sometimes it’s something small like a few free samples or free shipping, other times it’s a few percent off.
To be fair to workshop heaven they’re a fairly small specialist business, that I’ve had excellent customer service from. They need to make a margin to keep in business and I’d rather they kept going than had to close. They may have something shop soiled, ex-demo, etc though.
So long as you’re polite, worst case is you pay full price but have a chat with someone who knows about their products and gives you some good advice about how to get the best from them.
To be fair to workshop heaven they’re a fairly small specialist business, that I’ve had excellent customer service from. They need to make a margin to keep in business and I’d rather they kept going than had to close. They may have something shop soiled, ex-demo, etc though.
So long as you’re polite, worst case is you pay full price but have a chat with someone who knows about their products and gives you some good advice about how to get the best from them.
I personally don't think £500-£600 is that much. It's only two clifton planes. A company the size of workshop heaven, I would only ask for a discount if I was ordering £1000s
I should think if you bought a full set of the Hotley planes he would knock you the postage off.
Just throwing out some thoughts....
Small specialist shops - not necessarily woodworking - used to aim for 50% margin = 100% mark up, in order to make a living out of modest sales of niche products.
Out of this they have to pay their costs, wages, etc so the final profit is much less, and I bet most have a tougher environment than this.
Asking for too big a discount could be like asking a seller to give up all of their profit. Why should they be a busy fool ?
In many parts of the world haggling's absolutely normal. A lot of us Brits are just not used to it so we're uncomfortable. Our loss. Watch almost anyone raised or who lived in Asia and learn. Watch professional buyers at work and learn. If you don't ask you don't get. You get taken advantage of. Especially when you buy broadband or insurance !
Understanding of costs and market prices is vital to successful haggling. You need to take an interest and watch prices over time and try to find out what margins the sellers are working on. Big box internet sellers will be setting the market price for commodity tools. Where WH, Dictum, Classic Hand Tools, etc provide something that you can't get anywhere else, then they get to set the price. But fancy planes and chisels are mostly bought by amateurs yes ? Too dear and we'll spend our money on a competing product - not necessarily Lie Nielsen vs Veritas vs Quangsheng but maybe vs a Bose audio system or a service for the Harley Davidson....
I'd be shameless. If I wanted, I'd ask and expect to get. If I didn't get I'd walk away and buy somewhere else or something else. But I would try to be reasonable. I'd expect a discount if I was placing a large order by the seller's standards (not my standards). I wouldn't frankly waste my time for less than 10% and I wouldn't expect to get 20% unless I was buying a lot ! And when supply chain is tight, it's a seller's market and don't expect anything much.
I doubt that £600 is a very big order by WH standards so if I were them, I wouldn't offer you more than a token discount. Maybe they would throw in a free saw blade if asked just before you agree the order, like asking for a set of mats to be thrown in was a classic signal that you were ready to buy at the car showroom...
When you do that, the whole deal becomes the sellers to lose for the sake of some item that only cost them half (ish) of it's value to you. They give a small discount, you get a little extra that's worth more to you, both save face.
Small specialist shops - not necessarily woodworking - used to aim for 50% margin = 100% mark up, in order to make a living out of modest sales of niche products.
Out of this they have to pay their costs, wages, etc so the final profit is much less, and I bet most have a tougher environment than this.
Asking for too big a discount could be like asking a seller to give up all of their profit. Why should they be a busy fool ?
In many parts of the world haggling's absolutely normal. A lot of us Brits are just not used to it so we're uncomfortable. Our loss. Watch almost anyone raised or who lived in Asia and learn. Watch professional buyers at work and learn. If you don't ask you don't get. You get taken advantage of. Especially when you buy broadband or insurance !
Understanding of costs and market prices is vital to successful haggling. You need to take an interest and watch prices over time and try to find out what margins the sellers are working on. Big box internet sellers will be setting the market price for commodity tools. Where WH, Dictum, Classic Hand Tools, etc provide something that you can't get anywhere else, then they get to set the price. But fancy planes and chisels are mostly bought by amateurs yes ? Too dear and we'll spend our money on a competing product - not necessarily Lie Nielsen vs Veritas vs Quangsheng but maybe vs a Bose audio system or a service for the Harley Davidson....
I'd be shameless. If I wanted, I'd ask and expect to get. If I didn't get I'd walk away and buy somewhere else or something else. But I would try to be reasonable. I'd expect a discount if I was placing a large order by the seller's standards (not my standards). I wouldn't frankly waste my time for less than 10% and I wouldn't expect to get 20% unless I was buying a lot ! And when supply chain is tight, it's a seller's market and don't expect anything much.
I doubt that £600 is a very big order by WH standards so if I were them, I wouldn't offer you more than a token discount. Maybe they would throw in a free saw blade if asked just before you agree the order, like asking for a set of mats to be thrown in was a classic signal that you were ready to buy at the car showroom...
When you do that, the whole deal becomes the sellers to lose for the sake of some item that only cost them half (ish) of it's value to you. They give a small discount, you get a little extra that's worth more to you, both save face.
Blackswanwood
Still Learning
As long as you are not going to be offended if the answer is no I don’t see any harm in politely asking for a best price.
An alternative may be to ask whether there are any sales or special offers coming up as Workshop Heaven do have them from time to time.
An alternative may be to ask whether there are any sales or special offers coming up as Workshop Heaven do have them from time to time.
Are they Chinese copies, though?
rafezetter
Troll Hunter
I've had more than a few discounts by doing my due diligence, pitting retailers against each other for a large item sale like a £1000 TV.
"Dont ask, don't get" my Nan always said and if they say no and it's just a big chain retailer and the sales person has been particularly disinterested, I might do the whole "your company is here to make money and a sale with £100 off is better than no sale at all and your wages depend on making sales".
However if they say no but have at least asked the manager and tried, then I'll usually still give them the sale for the effort.
Dalboy
Established Member
Last year I placed an order for some metal working machines to add to the workshop a phone call I found was a better way to order than over the internet a little friendly banter and a polite request to see if there was any discount and yes I was lucky and got over £200.00 of extras free so it is worth asking, but do not be offended if they say "sorry but no"
This is maybe more common in the US, but not usually when ordering retail.
I don't usually do it unless I'm at something like a dealer's market and someone has prices that are out of line but something I'd like. How can you be ashamed of asking if someone will sell for a reasonable price?
My mother's line works well, it's not tacky and you're not being rude.
"Are you firm on price?"
or "Are you firm on price on "X", just checking because I may be interested in more if you're not".
If someone tells her "yes, I'm firm on price", she never pushes it further - it's quick, and often the person you're talking to expects it and likes the interaction to build a relationship with a customer or find out what you're looking for.
At fleas here, I've bought tools from flippers (genuinely good folks in some cases, you can tell after a few times around) and bought for full price, and they give you a funny look if you ask for a couple of things from their stand and tell them "I'm fine with the price".
....
"well, it's less than I'd pay anywhere else already"
I don't usually do it unless I'm at something like a dealer's market and someone has prices that are out of line but something I'd like. How can you be ashamed of asking if someone will sell for a reasonable price?
My mother's line works well, it's not tacky and you're not being rude.
"Are you firm on price?"
or "Are you firm on price on "X", just checking because I may be interested in more if you're not".
If someone tells her "yes, I'm firm on price", she never pushes it further - it's quick, and often the person you're talking to expects it and likes the interaction to build a relationship with a customer or find out what you're looking for.
At fleas here, I've bought tools from flippers (genuinely good folks in some cases, you can tell after a few times around) and bought for full price, and they give you a funny look if you ask for a couple of things from their stand and tell them "I'm fine with the price".
....
"well, it's less than I'd pay anywhere else already"
rogxwhit
Established Member
At the counters of electrical wholesalers or plumbers' merchants, I've seen novices go in with their shopping list and just ask for it to be fulfilled - and they'd be charged full retail. Those of us a bit more cautious would say what was wanted & ask not for the items, but for a price ... the door back to the street's right behind us, and we can choose to just leave without buying, after all ...
Builders' merchants vary, and you have to divine the company (or branch) culture as to how to play it. Some have an automatic price structure if you have an account (often related to your annual spend). But I had a Jewson monthly account for years, it was where I got sawn 'joinery red' along with other stuff - and still had to ask for a price on every item. But I knew that a price was available, so if I was collecting I used to choose the stuff & load it in the yard, then take the yard ticket into the shop to book it - and walk straight through the counter into the back office, see who was free, put the ticket on their desk and sit down whilst they did their sums.
But it doesn't have to be for work ... in a large & very well organised secondhand bookshop on 2 floors up in the good old north country lately, I found a couple of collectable cds that I was keen on in a rack upstairs. At the till, I asked 'could you do me a deal on these?'. Together they were marked at £17 and I got 4 quid off.
So you never know till you ask. But corporate culture might be another matter - I doubt that you could do this in Screwfix or Wickes. Which is a shame, because it takes part of the fun out of life. :-((-:
Builders' merchants vary, and you have to divine the company (or branch) culture as to how to play it. Some have an automatic price structure if you have an account (often related to your annual spend). But I had a Jewson monthly account for years, it was where I got sawn 'joinery red' along with other stuff - and still had to ask for a price on every item. But I knew that a price was available, so if I was collecting I used to choose the stuff & load it in the yard, then take the yard ticket into the shop to book it - and walk straight through the counter into the back office, see who was free, put the ticket on their desk and sit down whilst they did their sums.
But it doesn't have to be for work ... in a large & very well organised secondhand bookshop on 2 floors up in the good old north country lately, I found a couple of collectable cds that I was keen on in a rack upstairs. At the till, I asked 'could you do me a deal on these?'. Together they were marked at £17 and I got 4 quid off.
So you never know till you ask. But corporate culture might be another matter - I doubt that you could do this in Screwfix or Wickes. Which is a shame, because it takes part of the fun out of life. :-((-:
it generally does not work at corporate stores here unless there is a store manager (good luck having them available when you're at the register). It doesn't work due to abuse in the past with buddies, so the computer system literally won't allow a sale unless it's what's in the system.
I walked into a car parts place a few years ago to get filters that were a little unusual and that they had on sale, and same for a special grade of oil. Took the bits to the counter, and the guy rung them up - huge price. I said "this is what your ad says, right here, and he said "I can't give you anything that's not in the computer. The flyer says it's on sale, but there is no way for us to ring it up at the sale price until they fix the computer" (days - never went back since, not because i have ire for them, but why make the trip if you can't count on being able to get what you went for?).
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