Hi,

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa they
buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be that's typical,
hence this posting.

Thanks!

Pete

Peter Boulton wrote:
Hi,

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa
they buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be that's typical,
hence this posting.

Thanks!

Pete

Are you sure he didn't need to purchase extra cabling?
junction boxes?
connectors?
or maybe he used some of his own stuff which he already had in the van

Peter Boulton wrote:

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa they
buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

100% sounds quite a lot, but, what price were you charged?
I know typical pendant fittings can be had for £1 or so, yet a customer
woudlnt complain if they were charged £5.
I tend to supply parts at cost price or just a little over myself, if
people charge me a lot more than the true value then I wouldnt be too
happy, especially if they are already making a decent wage on the labour
charge.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

Peter Boulton wrote:
Hi,

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa they
buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles down
the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be that's typical,
hence this posting.

Do you have a contract with your builder? Was it prepared according to
some standard form such as RICS or similar sell? If so, it might well
contain a clause covering the issue.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

Peter Boulton wrote:
Hi,

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa
they buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

You could of course have tied up your money, time & transport in buying them
yourself.

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be that's typical,
hence this posting.

I suppose it depends on the item & what you can buy it for. I buy flexible
tap connectors & service valves from Screwfix at £1.29 & £0.75 each. I
charge them out at £3.99 & £2.99 each, because thats less than they charge
in B&Q or Homebase. More than 100%, but not a large amount of money.

I tend to use Homebase prices as my selling price because they are easily
the most expensive.

If the amount was £20 & the builder charged £40 thats entirely different
from £200 & £400 IMO.

In days of yore a 'trade' buyer got around 40% off & sold at list price.
Thats 66% mark up.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Hi
You say you know the wholesaler but many wholesalers stock 5 or more brands
of the same thing ,take a ceiling rose in white a foreign import may sell
for £1.00 each as a box of 10 whilst MK can be as much as £3.00 per unit
again sold in 10's .
If you were sold the identical unit with a 100% mark up it is a bit extreme
unless as TMH points out the item costs a few pounds and may cost £5 or £6
to source and collect.

CJ

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
Peter Boulton wrote:
Hi,

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa
they buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

You could of course have tied up your money, time & transport in buying
them yourself.

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be that's typical,
hence this posting.

I suppose it depends on the item & what you can buy it for. I buy
flexible tap connectors & service valves from Screwfix at £1.29 & £0.75
each. I charge them out at £3.99 & £2.99 each, because thats less than
they charge in B&Q or Homebase. More than 100%, but not a large amount of
money.

I tend to use Homebase prices as my selling price because they are easily
the most expensive.

If the amount was £20 & the builder charged £40 thats entirely different
from £200 & £400 IMO.

In days of yore a 'trade' buyer got around 40% off & sold at list price.

Oh, doesn't that happen anymore?

Which bit's missing I wonder? The discount, the mark(back)-up or the
tradesman :-)

tim

tim..... wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message om...
Peter Boulton wrote:
Hi,

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa
they buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost
I could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of
miles down the road and which I know the builder got them from,
would you be shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

You could of course have tied up your money, time & transport in
buying them yourself.

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be
that's typical, hence this posting.

I suppose it depends on the item & what you can buy it for. I buy
flexible tap connectors & service valves from Screwfix at £1.29 &
£0.75 each. I charge them out at £3.99 & £2.99 each, because thats
less than they charge in B&Q or Homebase. More than 100%, but not a
large amount of money.

I tend to use Homebase prices as my selling price because they are
easily the most expensive.

If the amount was £20 & the builder charged £40 thats entirely
different from £200 & £400 IMO.

In days of yore a 'trade' buyer got around 40% off & sold at list
price.

Oh, doesn't that happen anymore?

Which bit's missing I wonder? The discount, the mark(back)-up or the
tradesman :-)

Its yer changing retail market innit.

Howdens still operate a 'trade only' system and give discounts off list, but
their net prices are no cheaper than B&Q or Wickes really.

Its hard to mark up some products nowadays, clients can go online or instore
to look at how much fence panels, bathroom suites, sinks, taps etc are. In
fact I get many calls from people who have bought them & simply want them
fitted.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In article o.uk,
Peter Boulton wrote:
Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa they
buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

I don't mind paying extra, by the way, for the convenience of
single-sourcing and I understand that builders have to live! However,
100% maybe seems a little excessive, but it could be that's typical,
hence this posting.

What was the agreement you entered into with the builder?

--
*If a thing is worth doing, wouldn't it have been done already?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Peter Boulton wrote:

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa they
buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles down
the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

Much depends on the circumstance I would say. Its also a little unfair
to compare the price with a wholesaler - you ought to compare against
retail - especially if you are only talking about small quantities.

Generally speaking if I am selling on small quantities of basic fittings
I will sell them at something approaching "normal" retail price[1]. My
logic being that the customer is getting a deal no worse than if they
went out to a typical shop to buy the stuff. That may well mean that on
some things which I have sourced from more trade focussed suppliers
(even if not exclusively trade (e.g. screwfix, tlc, cpc etc)) I am
making several hundred percent. However as a proportion of the whole
bill its probably a small amount, and it seems justifiable to
compensating for the time and resources used procuring it.

For a larger job (house rewire, or a structured cableling system or
something like that), then I would be more inclined to apply a lower
blanket markup to the total value.

[1] Although I don't have the heart to take it to the PC world extreme
of flogging USB leads or patch leads at £15 - £25 a pop!

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"A.Lee" wrote in message
...
Peter Boulton wrote:

Does anyone have a feel for the typical profit margin a builder /
electrician would add for, say, light fittings?

I'm not talking cost of fitting - just the actual physical doo-daa they
buy from the electrical wholesalers.

If I said I've discovered I've been charged 100% on top of the cost I
could buy they from off the electrical wholesaler a couple of miles
down the road and which I know the builder got them from, would you be
shocked, or is this kind of margin typical?

100% sounds quite a lot, but, what price were you charged?
I know typical pendant fittings can be had for £1 or so, yet a customer
woudlnt complain if they were charged £5.
I tend to supply parts at cost price or just a little over myself, if
people charge me a lot more than the true value then I wouldnt be too
happy, especially if they are already making a decent wage on the labour
charge.
Alan.

You need to stick a margin of 20-25% on your basic parts. This should cover
your time and costs in buying them and is your insuance if the part is
faulty.

Adam