Saturday afternoon rant

[dm65]

Needed some 8 x 1/2 panhead screws for my drawer runners today

Went to B&Q - £4.98 for 25 !!!! (and would have needed 2 packs)

Went to Screwfix - £4.31 for 100

Someone needs a slap with a bag of screws

 

[AndyT]

It's called market segmentation. Both stores are owned by the same group. Screwfix is promoted as good value for the trade and to be attractive to people who avoid B&Q. B&Q is for people who don't know any better!

The owners sell at a profit to both categories of customer.

 

[dm65]

It's called market segmentation. Both stores are owned by the same group. Screwfix is promoted as good value for the trade and to be attractive to people who avoid B&Q. B&Q is for people who don't know any better!

The owners sell at a profit to both categories of customer.

You won't sway me with your sensible reponses, I'm having a rant

And to be fair (and qualify your response) I did recently buy a pair of Irwin clamps from B&Q recently and they were 2 or 3 pound cheaper than Screwfix

If they are owned by the same group, perhaps a name change might be in order - ScrewQ perhaps ?

 

[Baldhead]

It's called market segmentation. Both stores are owned by the same group. Screwfix is promoted as good value for the trade and to be attractive to people who avoid B&Q. B&Q is for people who don't know any better!

The owners sell at a profit to both categories of customer.

You won't sway me with your sensible reponses, I'm having a rant

And to be fair (and qualify your response) I did recently buy a pair of Irwin clamps from B&Q recently and they were 2 or 3 pound cheaper than Screwfix

If they are owned by the same group, perhaps a name change might be in order - ScrewQ perhaps ?

Or perhaps ScrewU?

I needed 5 hammer fixings, didnt even try the big orange shed, screwfix £1.95 for 10, my local corner diy shop were selling the same for 10p each.

BH

 

[dm65]

Or perhaps ScrewU?

Haha - they certainly tried to

 

[Graham Orm]

The only thing B&Q is good for is choice. They have pretty much everything. Convenience at a silly cost. Emergencies only for me.

 

[ColeyS1]

I don't think b and q are that bad. Using the trade card also surprises me at the till when they knock more money off

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Graham Orm]

I don't think b and q are that bad. Using the trade card also surprises me at the till when they knock more money off

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Trade card gets a bit off, certainly doesn't warrant going there just for the discount. Also doesn't work on all items, nor does it work on the ordinary tills. They take it off you and go through the motions but I've never had any discount unless I've gone and queued at the 'trade' till with all the members of the public who have the nouse to take out the card. I can get much better prices from national building suppliers such as Jewsons or Selco.
Plus they know what they are talking about when you ask a question.

The Wickes 'Red Pencil' prices make me giggle, they're still much more expensive than proper trade suppliers.

 

[dm65]

Cheers guys, I'm slowly getting wise to these big diy boys and only like to buy bargains or in desperation but I will admit to spending an hour or so walking round and looking at/touching things, then leaving with nothing (not unlike swmbo in a clothes shop but don't tell her I said that)

Last weekend, on one such 'shop', I found a nice Bahco hand fret saw for £7 so I had some of that and some spare blades

 

[AndyT]

I'm with Bald Head. If I can get it from one of our brilliant local trad hardware shops, I will. Not only do they specialise in suitable fittings for the period of houses round here, they are well-informed on techniques and they are always cheaper than B&Q.

And it's much quicker!

If you've got one, please support it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

We're lucky, we have a few good local outlets that are for the most part cheaper than Screwfix, and 99% of time cheaper than the sheds. The thing that annoys me with the sheds is the total lack of knowledge and interest among the staff - my wife goes to the local suppliers knowing that she can ask for " a thingummy to fit a what's it's name, about 8" long", and know that the guy (or lady, in a couple of cases) will know exactly what she means, whereas in the sheds a grunt will just say "looked down there, have you? If it's not there we haven't got it"
I remember Screwfix long before it was owned by Kingfisher - I found it better then. Most of the sheds deserve bankruptcy.

 

[dm65]

We're lucky, we have a few good local outlets that are for the most part cheaper than Screwfix, and 99% of time cheaper than the sheds. The thing that annoys me with the sheds is the total lack of knowledge and interest among the staff - my wife goes to the local suppliers knowing that she can ask for " a thingummy to fit a what's it's name, about 8" long", and know that the guy (or lady, in a couple of cases) will know exactly what she means, whereas in the sheds a grunt will just say "looked down there, have you? If it's not there we haven't got it".

Lucky you - I can't think of any in or around Bradford but this may prompt a suggestion or two

 

[Sheptonphil]

We too are really fortunate in having Right Price DIY in town. A family firm of some 20 years standing and winner of the independent hardware retailer of the year last year. In the last 8 years they have seen Focus open, flounder and fail and Screwfix Express and full blown Screwfix open, and still they are cheaper, better stocked and more knowledgable about everything they sell than all the competition put together. SWMBO can go with a list, hand it over and the guys know exactly what is required and add the odd item if they feel something is missed that might stop the job being done that night, with the proviso that anything unused can be returned for a full refund. Try that in In Screwfix/Express.

Phil

 

[doctor Bob]

Needed some 8 x 1/2 panhead screws for my drawer runners today

Went to B&Q - £4.98 for 25 !!!! (and would have needed 2 packs)

Went to Screwfix - £4.31 for 100

Someone needs a slap with a bag of screws

I could annoy you and say I pay about £2 for 1000.... all these stores are crazy money against proper trade prices

 

[Reggie]

B&Q just makes me feel ill when I look at their website or go in the store. Got to be the worst implementation of a website to sell stuff I think I've ever seen for comparable company size.

The information supplied on the site is shockingly poor, they'll tell you what finish an adjustable spanner is but won't give you it's max jaw size, their ranges seem to be just a bit weird and if you don't have reasonable transport, some of us are locked into their junk, they're not even very good for 'window shopping' to find decent products.