B&Q Pricing??

[John]

Went to Been & Queued today for some tile adhesive and remembered that SWMBO asked me to fix an extension lead that had a broken core in the middle. I goes to the cable aisle and finds 5m of 1.5mm 3 core flex for £7.98!! "Stuff that" says I and turned away only to see a 4m two gang extension lead for £5.98, "That'll do" says I and picked one off the shelf. In the aisle was one of the bargain baskets containing two extension leads 1 @ 1M x 4 gang and 1 @ 4M x 2 gang (exactly the same one as I had in my hand) for £4.98!! How can this be right?

;-)

Cheers

John

[Andrew Gabriel]

I occasionally want lengths of 1.25mm flex for things I make. I find it's cheaper to buy 5m premade leads (with molded plug) than it is to buy 5m of the cable alone.

[Tim S]

I noticed a similar price for 1.5 flex in my local Bodgit-Qwik. Then I noticed a 25 m reel of the same for around 12 quid, so I had that. Their pricing is pulled from the arse of a crack smoking monkey. They also sell MasterPlug socket strips for nearly 40% more than Halfords (though the same as Homebase to be fair).

But no-one takes the biscuit as much a PC World trying to charge over 12 quid give or take for a short Cat5e patch cable.

Tim

[Huge]

In the same way that it is cheaper to buy a CD case with a blank CD in it than it is to buy an empty case in Currys.

[Bob Martin]

I'm amazed that anyone shops at PC World. They seem to charge double what others charge. Novatech is one of the best.

[Mathew Newton]

You're not comparing like with like - Novatech is an online/mail-order outfit with no walk-in stores (as far as I am aware).

I'm sure people shop in PC World because they can walk in off the street to purchase - not everyone is happy to buy sight-unseen online etc, particular when it comes to 'technical' goods.

Mathew

[Huge]

It's Sunday afternoon. Your printer has run out of toner and you need to print something for a meeting in the morning. PC World beckons...

[Andy Burns]

if you do have to make a distress purchase from PCW, it pays to "order" it online from their website and then chose the collect from store option

a) you can check they have stock to avoid wasted journey (though I have heard from someone else that they managed to sell an item rather than reserve it before he got there)

b) you pay their web price and no delivery charge (ok so you spend on petrol and eat up time getting there and back)

[Ian White]

Exactly - most people will only go there for "distress purchases". They know that, and price accordingly.

[Tony Bryer]

I will confess to going into PC World last night and buying a Vista box (for testing our software). They're not my favourite firm (I worked in Dixons as a teenager!) but you do at least have the goods in your hand.

[Tim S]

Yebbut... I agree completely - real stores have higher overhead and many people use them , including me. But 12 quid vs 1 quid!!???

Tim

[Mathew Newton]

They simply charge what they can get away with - just like everyone else!

That 3:55pm-on-a-Sunday purchase could well be worth far more than =A312 for some...

(bloody annoying I know, but these are the reasons!)

Mathew

[Bob Martin]

It has one, and it's a couple of miles away from me ;-)

But I stand by what I said : there are at least 3 small computer shops within

3 miles of me and all charge the same sort of prices as Novatech.

[Tim S]

I can buy japanned woodscrews for 3p each in Sevenoaks from a proper "Arkwrite-esque" shop (for No 8 x 1 1/4"). Can't remmeber the B&Q price but for a pack of 10 it's many times 30p more expensive and they don't have the weird sizes.

It seems that the supermarket pricing principle doesn;t apply to the sheds, even though, in Tunbridge Wells there are 3 sheds (B&Q, Wickes and Homebase) more or less next to each other, plus Jewsons plus odd smaller builders merchants. Odd how competition fails to drive the prices down. Perhaps blokes are just not as adept as women at bargain hunting?

Cheers Tim

[Mathew Newton]

It's likely also the 'friendly' retail supercentre aspect to it all - feels just like every other large electrical retailer and that's what many people like.

It's certainly not for the prices which is the only thing you seem to be comparing them on.

Mathew

[Dave Plowman (News)]

PC World had the best deal I could find on Tomtom - admittedly their online price but you pick it up from the store.

Their computer leads etc prices are a joke, though.

[Tim S]

Yep - it's weird. Just seen a Samsung 205BW LCD monitor in PC World (I only went to guage dimensions) on at 199.99, the best froogle price is 194 (plus delivery I expect). Very weird how they can sell some decent gear at base price and silly things are marked up probably 2000%

Cheers

Tim

[Tim S]

I forgot to mention crack-monkeys' arses didn't I...

Yes, I am now pissed.

But not as pissed as the average shed manager.

[Owain]

It's not fair to compare their prices with other places because PC World's computer leads are special gold-plated ones that make your computer work faster.

Owain

[Andy Hall]

What an admission. I'm glad to hear that you're going straight now :-)