This trade seems reluctant to embrace merchandising from websites . I have not yet seen one that gives anythting other than very general info .Even the B+Q site at
Why is this .Do they still regard themselves as a TRADE outlet ..altho' I accept thats where most of their business comes from ...... For long enough I am sure they have come across to most people as a bit intimidating a place to go in to .
Stuart
The main problem is that most of what they sell has a very high size/weight:price ratio. This makes shipping it across the country totally out of the question.
For example, 10 sheets of plasterboard cost about £60. How much do you think it would cost to ship those cross country?
Almost any smaller item sold in a builders' merchant can be bought online from screwfix/toolstation/axminster.
I get what you are saying but I wasn't so much thinking of cross country shipping .I was meaning having a web presence where they could display all that they sell so that local people could see their stock on-line and order it for local delivery ....It was timber,sheet ,aterial and the like I was thinking of . I suppose if you know what you want tho' it's easier just to order by phone and pay by card or pay the driver .
Stuart
While this approach might be workable for the larger chains, it would be totally unworkable for smaller merchants. The cost of having a suitable website developed, and the subsequent cost of maintaining it would be too great given the relatively small area which it would be serving. It just wouldn't make financial sense to do it.
That's about the most dire site I've used.
That's because the vast bulk of their trade is with regular customers who generally know exactly what they want and don't waste 1/2 an hour of the staff's time for a tiny sale.
If you buy at a BM it really helps to be informed before you go, and to know the system a little.
I'd agree with that Know what you want and how to get it ...
Travis Perkins site is more informative tho' and it seems that you can order from it .
Stuart
Agreed, but Wickes is worse!
I'd find it very useful just to find out if they stocked an item and how much it was 24/7. An online stock/price list would be a major benefit - not hard to do or expensive.
And what about skip hire companies? They always ask what size you want and the general public have no idea - mini, 4 yd, 6 yd? How about a picture of each size next to say a Ford Escort or some other familiar object? Then you could gauge the size and whether it was big enough or not. Simple enough.
The message from Chris Bacon contains these words:
Having said that, if you find a small local independant and don't ask awkward questions when there's a queueue behind you then they can be very helpful.
I use
Not so. Even small firms would be using a small stock control/financial system. Plugging this through into a simple stock check search website would be a 2-3 day job, and would often be available anyway as part of the package they use.
(I used to look after the same systems for some small firms, including some timber merchants)
Steve
The message from Steve Peake contains these words:
Not my local firm. Still has everything hand written - still run by a doddery old bloke who drives an E-reg Montego. I think his son helps out now though.
Erm, ok, I'm not going to argue about it, but this is what I do for a living, and for most small merchants delivering to a small region it would never pay for itself.
|Steve Peake wrote: | |> Not so. Even small firms would be using a small stock control/financial |> system. Plugging this through into a simple stock check search website |> would be a 2-3 day job, and would often be available anyway as part of the |> package they use. |> |> (I used to look after the same systems for some small firms, including some |> timber merchants) | |Erm, ok, I'm not going to argue about it, but this is what I do for a |living, and for most small merchants delivering to a small region it |would never pay for itself.
It is also interesting to note that large timber merchants also appear to be regional. When Dahn Sarf I am amazed by the number of Jewsons outlets, which we do not have.
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