On Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:21:57 -0400, clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada
wrote:



--Winston
THEORETICALLY there is a lot of stuff you, as a consumer can NOT buy.
Also, THEORETICALLY there are a lot of places you, as a consumer,
cannot buy ANYTHING, in stock or not, UNLESS you are in "the
business".
Not just have a business licence.
Here in Ontario, try to buy a part for a gas appliance without a gas
fitter's licence. Aint going to happen.
Many electrical and plumbing WHOLESALERS will not sell anything to you
if you do not have the appropriate licence. PERIOD. Not just won't
sell it to you at trade - they don't sell retail AT ALL.

Really, that's the way it should be in many cases.
In the automotive trade we used to have "jobbers" or "wholesalers"
that sold just to the trade. Now any Tom Dick or Harry can walk into
most of these places and buy parts for the same price the small
shop-owner buys it for. Makes it pretty hard to make a living in that
business when your suppliers are your competition.
You say the parts cost for a job is $700 and the customer says you are
a crook because he can buy it for $625. A profit of 10% (and that's
not all profit, because you need to handle it, track it in inventory,
invoice it etc) is certainly not unfairly high! - But now you are a
crook.

In the computer business, I as a reseller/consultant can not buy half
the stuff being sold in the big box stores for even 2 or 3% LESS than
they are selling it for - and I buy from the same warehouse they do.
Needless to say, I don't sell much hardware any more.


Works both ways. I get extremely irate when I am forced to pay more per hour
than my company charges for me as a senior engineer to have some ignorant oaf
do a worse job than I would do on a car, household appliance etc.

The trade licensing systems are nothing more than legalised closed shops. We
have the situation that I, an Electrical engineer, our site's chief electrical
engineer and our main cabling contractor are all qualified, as is, to work on
electrical installations in industrial plants any current, any voltage. But we
are not legally allowed to do wiring in our own houses without paying $900/yr
registration fees.



Mark Rand
RTFM