"Phil L" wrote in message
k...
Martin Wiseman wrote:
I went into our local builder's merchant to get a length of drainpipe
at the weekend and walked straight back out again when I discovered
they wanted £11 for a 2m length (and £5 for an outlet shoe). I bought
the 2m of pipe from Homebase in the end for £5.

So how much discount do tradesmen get at builder's merchants? At those
prices I would think it would have to be at least 60% for anyone to
even bother using them.

Martin.

Travis Perkins?
These shower of ****e have different 'discounts' for different areas, the
result is a bag of sand in the St Helens branch is £2.50 while in
Warrington it is close to £4....and in B & Q it's £1.20

Most tradesmen use B&Q for a lot of things unless they have accounts at
BM's, in which case it's about the same price as B&Q but usually less
hassle parking etc.

All the tradesman that I know go to those yards for the credit they get, and
sometimes the choice, but not the price. I do get tradesman discount from
all the local yards, and even with those they are never competitive compared
to what you can find with minimal effort. Any I also compared the prices
that I was given with those given to tradesman friends who buy in much
larger volume. ...and guess what, just as uncompetitive...

One reason the yards get away with it is because you never know the price
you pay until you are already in the queue with a few people behind you
waiting. Not the best time for haggling...

That's my experience anyway.