Firstly, we all know B&Q can be a tad pricey sometimes however this is
often offset by the convenience of opening times, ability to thoroughly
inspect potential purchases without pressure, practically no-quibble
returns policy etc... Having said that whilst I may have 3 giant B&Q
warehouses here in Bristol to choose from I've also got Screwfix and
Toolstation trade counters on my doorstep offering similar benefits.

However, today I think I may have stumbled across the biggest price
difference yet... I popped in to a B&Q on my way home from work to pick up
a 10-pack of hammer fixings... Price £6.48. How much?! I've not used them
before and so at this price I thought it best to check what SF/TS sell
them for - half that possibly? I dug the Toolstation catalogue out of the
car and found they were 56p! (here they a
http://www.toolstation.com/search.html?searchstr=32413)

I asked a member of staff whether they'd price-match Toolstation and they
seemingly-reluctantly said they would... until they discovered the £6.48
vs 56p price differential! At that point the manager was called over who
tried to wriggle out of the 'price promise' by claiming that Toolstation
didn't sell to the public and that they were 56p *each*, and with VAT on
top. I got him to call them where he was set straight - he took the
opportunity to check stock levels... they had thousands.

He finally gave in and matched the price, along with knocking an extra 10%
off as per the promise.

Luckily I do have morals - otherwise I'd now be buying them by the dozen
at the low price and taking them back to other stores without a receipt
and claiming £6 odd in vouchers per pack... I wonder how many do this?

Bizarrely, whilst I'd got them at a lower price I still felt like I'd be
ripped off... it must've been the realisation that I very nearly had.

Mathew

"Mathew J. Newton" wrote in message
news
Firstly, we all know B&Q can be a tad pricey sometimes however this is
often offset by the convenience of opening times, ability to thoroughly
inspect potential purchases without pressure, practically no-quibble
returns policy etc... Having said that whilst I may have 3 giant B&Q
warehouses here in Bristol to choose from I've also got Screwfix and
Toolstation trade counters on my doorstep offering similar benefits.

However, today I think I may have stumbled across the biggest price
difference yet... I popped in to a B&Q on my way home from work to pick up
a 10-pack of hammer fixings... Price £6.48. How much?! I've not used them
before and so at this price I thought it best to check what SF/TS sell
them for - half that possibly? I dug the Toolstation catalogue out of the
car and found they were 56p! (here they a
http://www.toolstation.com/search.html?searchstr=32413)

I asked a member of staff whether they'd price-match Toolstation and they
seemingly-reluctantly said they would... until they discovered the £6.48
vs 56p price differential! At that point the manager was called over who
tried to wriggle out of the 'price promise' by claiming that Toolstation
didn't sell to the public and that they were 56p *each*, and with VAT on
top. I got him to call them where he was set straight - he took the
opportunity to check stock levels... they had thousands.

He finally gave in and matched the price, along with knocking an extra 10%
off as per the promise.

Luckily I do have morals - otherwise I'd now be buying them by the dozen
at the low price and taking them back to other stores without a receipt
and claiming £6 odd in vouchers per pack... I wonder how many do this?

Bizarrely, whilst I'd got them at a lower price I still felt like I'd be
ripped off... it must've been the realisation that I very nearly had.

Mathew

=============================
You're lucky enough to have local access to Toolstation and Screwfix. For
most people Mail order for the same item would be £6.67 (Screwfix) and £5.56
(Toolstation) unless you placed an order for more than £40-00. I agree that
the B&Q markup is a lot compared with the others but we do have to pay for
the service and convenience offered by B&Q etc. who offer service 7 days a
week.

Cic.


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"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
...
but we do have to pay for the service and convenience offered by B&Q
etc.
who offer service 7 days a week.

As do the Screwfix and Toolstation trade counters. I'm not fortunate
enough
to have a Toolstation Trade Counter near me, but I do have a Screwfix one
and Sunday opening is very useful.

Christian.


=========================
That's very useful if you're lucky enough to live close to either a
Screwfix or a Toolsation trade counter. Maybe they should open more outlets
to compete with the virtual monopoly enjoyed by B & Q. The fact is that
most of us who complain about B & Q prices are quite happy to be able to
use them in an emergency or for small orders.

Personally, I often buy more than my immediate needs from both Screwfix and
Toolstation just to get the benefit of their prices and free delivery, but B
& Q are always there for browsing and the occasional one-off item.

B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

Cic.


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"Cicero" wrote in message
...

B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK
whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

IMO B&Q could do worse than copying Tesco and open local B&Q Express selling
just the fast moving range of products. I don't really want to have to
treck across town to get to a 'Warehouse' just because I need a pack of
nails or something.

Roger

B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK
whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

Indeed. I imagine that they can keep costs low by expecting each counter to
cover a much larger geographic area. If they had a branch in every tiny
market town, then prices would have to rise.

However, I don't care. There's one near me, so I'm alright!

Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:
B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK
whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

B&Q and Screwfix are, however, the same company.

Cicero wrote:
[snip]
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It has removed 203 spam emails to date.
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This doesn't make sense, this isn't an E-mail. It doesn't give one
much faith in SPAMfighter whatever that is.

--
Chris Green

The message .com
from contains these words:

B&Q and Screwfix are, however, the same company.

No, they're both owned by Kingfisher.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

wrote in message
...
Cicero wrote:
[snip]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
----
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It has removed 203 spam emails to date.
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This doesn't make sense, this isn't an E-mail. It doesn't give one
much faith in SPAMfighter whatever that is.

--
Chris Green

==========================
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnun...65/spamfighter

Cic.


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On 2006-08-10 12:24:01 +0100, said:


Christian McArdle wrote:
B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK
whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

B&Q and Screwfix are, however, the same company.

Actually not - both are part of the Kingfisher Group.

This is not a reason why the same products or same prices should be
available from both - they have completely cost structures and business
models

"Guy King" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Roger R" contains these words:
snipped

I'd like a socking big DIY barn in Telford. We've got a midsized B&Q,
Focus, Homebase etc, and they're all expensive compared to B&Q Depot.
B&Q considered opening one here but couldn't get Telford and Wrekin
council to agree not to give permission to any competing stores (quite
rightly, too) so they took their ball away.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

======================
You're lucky to have those stores there. When I wanted to build a garage for
my new house in Telford about 30 years ago every builders' merchant in the
area refused to sell me anything without a 'trade card'. I finally found
one in Stafford Park which would only deliver on condition that the goods
(bricks etc.) appeared to be delivered as 'trade'.

We complain about B & Q and their various precursors but they helped
considerably in opening up the DIY market. And I doubt if you will find many
plumbers' / builders' merchants etc. today which have a 'trade only' policy.
They know which side their bread is buttered.

Cic.


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The message
from "Cicero" contains these words:

We complain about B & Q and their various precursors but they helped
considerably in opening up the DIY market. And I doubt if you will find many
plumbers' / builders' merchants etc. today which have a 'trade only' policy.
They know which side their bread is buttered.

True. However, I needed a gas control valve for my boiler a few years
ago and the bloked looked me up and down and said

"Trade?"
"Of course, what makes you think otherwise?"
"The baby under your arm".

Still let me have it, though.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

wrote:

Cicero wrote:
[snip]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 203 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Try SPAMfighter for free now!

This doesn't make sense, this isn't an E-mail. It doesn't give one
much faith in SPAMfighter whatever that is.

--
Chris Green

Digressing I know, but I use google-mail as a spam filter.
Just forward your spam-infested email to a google-mail account, let it
filter
out the spam and then set this google mail account to automatically
forward
the filtered stuff out to your real email address (wot is different
from your spam
infested address).
Not too tricky to setup, but it fairly filters the crap out.
If anyone needs a gmail address just drop me a line...

Mungo

"Guy King" wrote in message
...

True. However, I needed a gas control valve for my boiler a few years
ago and the bloked looked me up and down and said

"Trade?"
"Of course, what makes you think otherwise?"
"The baby under your arm".

Still let me have it, though.

I could start ranting about the joys of trying to get a spare part for my
hob - the spark generator thingy had died. I phoned up the parts people and
asked them for a new one. "sorry, can't sell you one, corgi rules, blah
blah". "But I've got the old one in front of me - I've already dismantled
the hob, that's why I could tell you what the part number was, and anyway
it's not on mains gas". (repeat discussion. I think I may have given up and
got through to a different guy who eventually decided he could sell me one).

cheers,
clive

On 2006-08-10 16:22:28 +0100, Guy King said:

The message
from "Cicero" contains these words:

We complain about B & Q and their various precursors but they helped
considerably in opening up the DIY market. And I doubt if you will find many
plumbers' / builders' merchants etc. today which have a 'trade only' policy.
They know which side their bread is buttered.

True. However, I needed a gas control valve for my boiler a few years
ago and the bloked looked me up and down and said

"Trade?"
"Of course, what makes you think otherwise?"
"The baby under your arm".

Still let me have it, though.

Getting out the platinum card is a dead give away as well.

The secret is to wear tatty jeans that are two sizes too loose in order
to reveal the ubiquitous "fundamental crack" at the rear. Then a roll
of 20s in the pocket, and finally change your name by deed poll to
"Mate" . Everybody in builders and plumbers merchants is called
Mate.

The message
from Andy Hall contains these words:

The secret is to wear tatty jeans that are two sizes too loose in order
to reveal the ubiquitous "fundamental crack" at the rear.

Wish I could find jeans two sizes too loose!

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

On 2006-08-10 21:10:26 +0100, Guy King said:

The message
from Andy Hall contains these words:

The secret is to wear tatty jeans that are two sizes too loose in order
to reveal the ubiquitous "fundamental crack" at the rear.

Wish I could find jeans two sizes too loose!

I know. They suffer terribly from shrinking....

Cicero wrote:

==========================
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnun...65/spamfighter

Cic.


http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I too used to use OE/SF, however, the above resolved all that admirably.

The secret is to wear tatty jeans that are two sizes too loose in order to
reveal the ubiquitous "fundamental crack" at the rear. Then a roll of
20s in the pocket, and finally change your name by deed poll to "Mate" .
Everybody in builders and plumbers merchants is called Mate.

not to mention the reflective jacket - mate.

It does work. I went into toolstation dressed in work clothes - took 15
mins to be served and
they were rather patronising.

Few days later went in in tatty jeans and reflective jacket - same time -
same no of customers in
store - got served in less than 5 mins by a guy that was very helpful and
informative person.
The same one that was patronising a few days earlier

In article ,
DMac wrote:

Few days later went in in tatty jeans and reflective jacket -
same time - same no of customers in store - got served in less
than 5 mins by a guy that was very helpful and informative
person. The same one that was patronising a few days earlier

I took the car into a Quikfit type place once,
still wearing my tatty old blue boilers. They
did the job, I went to pay..... "Trade?" he said,
"Yes" I said. Quite a discount.

--
Tony Williams.

The message
from Tony Williams contains these words:

I took the car into a Quikfit type place once,
still wearing my tatty old blue boilers. They
did the job, I went to pay..... "Trade?" he said,
"Yes" I said. Quite a discount.

I bought an exhaust pipe once from a "Free Fitting" place, only told
them I wanted to fit it myself. 40% off.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2006-08-10 12:24:01 +0100, said:


Christian McArdle wrote:
B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK
whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

B&Q and Screwfix are, however, the same company.

Actually not - both are part of the Kingfisher Group.

This is not a reason why the same products or same prices should be
available from both - they have completely cost structures and business
models

Even though they may be leagally separate companies (although
subsidiaries of the same parent company) they do not operate at arms
length.

There is a considerable overlap in product range indicating a common
stocking system. The true position is that the 2 are more like
divisions of 1 large company.

Further Kingfisher has made plenty of public indications that B&Q
stores are to be moved towards the more prissy end of the market (cf
Homebase) & Screwfix outlets are being established to cater for the
hard end ie mainly trade. B&Q has announced plans to upgrade around
300 of its stores.

On 2006-08-11 17:39:06 +0100, "jim_in_sussex" said:


Andy Hall wrote:
On 2006-08-10 12:24:01 +0100, said:


Christian McArdle wrote:
B & Q apparently have more than 300 outlets scattered across the UK
whereas
Screwfix and Toolstation have only about 20 between them so they're not
really competing in the same market.

B&Q and Screwfix are, however, the same company.

Actually not - both are part of the Kingfisher Group.

This is not a reason why the same products or same prices should be
available from both - they have completely cost structures and business
models

Even though they may be leagally separate companies (although
subsidiaries of the same parent company) they do not operate at arms
length.

The group companies actually have quite a complex ownership structure,
probably for accounting and tax reasons.


There is a considerable overlap in product range indicating a common
stocking system. The true position is that the 2 are more like
divisions of 1 large company.

Still not relevant. They have different business models and cost
structures. It's not reasonable to expect the prices to be the same.


Further Kingfisher has made plenty of public indications that B&Q
stores are to be moved towards the more prissy end of the market (cf
Homebase) & Screwfix outlets are being established to cater for the
hard end ie mainly trade. B&Q has announced plans to upgrade around
300 of its stores.

So there's your answer.

"Mike Dodd" wrote in message
...
Cicero wrote:

==========================
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnun...65/spamfighter

Cic.


http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/



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I too used to use OE/SF, however, the above resolved all that admirably.

==========================
I'll probably be joining you soon as I'm currently dual-booting with Ubuntu
Linux with a view to making a permanent switch to Linux. Ubuntu loads
'Firefox' as standard which is, I believe, a derivative of 'Mozilla'.

Cic.


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In message , Guy King
writes
The message
from Andy Hall contains these words:

The secret is to wear tatty jeans that are two sizes too loose in order
to reveal the ubiquitous "fundamental crack" at the rear.

Wish I could find jeans two sizes too loose!

Http://www.westcountrymarquees.co.uk/



--
geoff

In message , Owain
writes
raden wrote:
Guy King writes
Wish I could find jeans two sizes too loose!
Http://www.westcountrymarquees.co.uk/

Oh you're bad. I was expecting something like
http://www.bigaclothing.co.uk/prodty...ageHistory=cat

But some of them are ... "distressed"


--
geoff