On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:46:37 +0000 (UTC), Niel A. Farrow wrote:

In article , John wrote:
Is it me or have the prices in certains sheds for building materials become
extremely competitive against the builders merchants?

As an example, I priced up some materials for a job (plasterboard, cls
timber for studding, plywood sheets etc). The whole lot came to approx £192
at B&Q when an equivalent price from a local merchant was £258 (ok it did
include delivery but they are just round the corner).

Have merchants become more expensive or is there some hidden discount I`m
not tapping into ?!

I've found exactly the same thing and it can take ages to get stuff from
bm's.
Last time I was buying wood at a bm's they quouted 1.17 + vat per m. I
got them to price match a quote of 0.88 incl vat, which I got from a wood
merchants.

I reckon generally that the quality of timber from a BM is far superior
to the sheds, but there is something of an urban myth about BM's being
cheaper than the sheds. As with all things, you have to be prepared to
do your homework and haggle a bit to get a decent price.