B+Q bathrooms - again.

While what much of what you say is true, you also have to accept that the segment of the market that you are in daily contact with is a self selecting group who match that demographic very closely.

The ones who would prefer a "one stop shop" buying from the fitters photos and glossy brochures are also the ones more likely to go to the bespoke "kitchen fitter" or "bathroom installer" etc, rather than looking for general handyman.

Well you can... Say to the customer, yes I can fit that, if you want me to supply it then I will add a 10% surcharge to the price to cover the possibility of problems. If you buy it directly - then no surcharge, but either you will need to resolve the problems, or have me do so for you at my normal charge rate.

They have a Trade door & checkout, but thats about it, no discounts as such. They have a B&Q Trade Credit Card and have just introduced a trade discount card, which only works like a Tesc Clubcard.

Very true.

And they get a better product and a quicker and less stressful outcome.

Sounds like everyone wins.

Hope you made a good margin :-)

They might get a better product.

Cost price 50p, mark up 100%, materials £1.00 - margin bugger all.

So how would you figure a markup of 100% to be a margin of "bugger all" ? I'm glad I've never enganged you to do any work for me. If I marked everything up by 100%, I wouldn't have any customers ... d;~}

Arfa

Your'e confusing markup and margin.

If I buy something for 50p and mark it up 100% it will be priced at £1.

For this case, the margin is 50%.

Had the cost of goods been £1, then the margin would have been zero, bugger all, or in Welsh, Llareggub.

I'm not confusing anything. I know the difference between %age markup and 'margin'. The cost of the goods in the example wasn't £1, it was 50p. If you marked it up by 100% to £1 your margin is, as you say, 50%. To progress this in a logical manner, if you bought a bath for £200, and applied your 100% markup to your customer, it's then gonna set them back £400. Still a 50% margin, but an extortionate price to the customer ... I wouldn't call that margin of £200, "bugger all".

Arfa

Read it again What he was saying was that if the materials cost had been £1, the margin would have been zero.

That depends on context. If the fitter was simply sourcing a bath and having it delivered and doing nothing more, then a 50% margin in the context of £200 for a £200 would be unreasonable. 50% would be reasonable for a £50 tap because it's likely to cost that much in time to go and source it. For the £200 bath, in the context of a £2k bathroom project, the customer may feel that it's reasonable to accept £200 for sourcing of materials in order that ownership of any problems is with the fitter.

Assumption of risk has a cost. The customer can also choose to source the materials himself and then he assumes the risk. He has to decide whether the saving is worth it and there needs to be a clear understanding of what happens if things go wrong.

The problems arise when the customer has wanted to attempt to save money by sourcing goods for himself but then expects the tradesman to fix the problems if the goods are faulty. There is a cost associated with that, just as there is a cost associated with the return of any faulty goods by any purchaser.

You misunderstand Arfa. I was making the point that the precentage mark up relates to the cost of the item. A 100% mark up on 50p is bugger all (50P) wheras, as you say a 100% mark up on a £200 item is a lot of money.

Ah. Now we're getting to it ! That was what I understood you to be saying, but you never said that you would apply a sliding scale of markup so that more expensive items did not become extortionately so, after markup. The point that I was of course making, that others seem to have misunderstood, is that a 50% margin per se, is not "bugger all" ...

Arfa