Went to Screwfix for 4 items. 3 packets of jigsaw blades and 50 cross dowels. All of which can easily be held in one hand. The guy serving me wheeled them out on a basket trolley thing with duff wheels he had trouble pushing. He then had to bend right down to get the stuff out of the trolley. You'd think he might have caught on when he got the last thing out of the rack/bin. Dunno. Anyway. Turning from the counter on the way out there was a promotion bin featuring - Dewalt Socks
Screwfix Livingston - Sunday afternoon; now shut Sunday and Saturday afternoon. OK that might be necessary business wise, but why couldn't they be joined up and use their databases to send out en email to the regular customers ?
Or "going to Toolstation in the first place" as I prefer to term them. Our local Screwfix doesn't seem to stock anything now except 16th edition consumer units and NiCd batteries.
Where the trade buys, if it can, is at their masonic Plumbfix or Sparkfix counters where, apart from cheaper prices on everything in the relevant catalogues one can also buy regular screwfix stuff without the queues of plebs (i.e. uk.d-i-y types ;-))
So where are the plumbfix and sparkfix branches ? None round here as far as I know. Are they online only ? Also, I've heard you have to prove you are in the trade by having a gassafe number etc. But if you have a screwfix number, there is a loophole that lets you join. Anyone know any details about this, and what the special handshake is ? Thanks, Simon.
Dunno how common they are. Here in Reading we've got 2 Screwfixes (and a B&Q Trade-Pointless, less than a mile from the more -recently-opened SFX) with plumbfix/sparkfix at the newer one.
If you're gas registered I think you're automatically in with plumbfix, and I think the same is true of NICEIC and sparkfix. However I got in on the latter by quoting my NAPIT registration at them, so I guess you should be able to get in on plumbfix with suitable evidence of trade-ness (e.g. PL insurance as a 'plumber' or NVQ if you've got one)
I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you ;-)
I have a SF account to buy odds and ends for an amateur theatre; when Plumfix started I was sent numerous catalogues (these seem to have now subsided) and an account, even though I've no connection with gas stuff and have never even bought any gassy-type bits 'n' pieces for use as stage props, from SF.
I think most of these supposed 'trade-only' places are only too willing to sell to the general public - after all, most of my SF purchases are more or less just one-offs. Probably any issue is with the local authority not wanting the area to become a 'retail park'-type of place.
At work we had an RS account and I never had any trouble buying stuff for myself from their trade counter, just quoting my organisation's delivery point code and paying by my own debit card. In fact when I bought stuff for work I preferred to use my organisation's credit card rather than put it 'through the system'. In fact, since I retired a while ago, I'm a little wary of going back to RS in case the account has been closed and I'm embarrassingly turfed out of the place :-) Certainly the regional office to which the account was related has now gone...
I remember many years ago (1970s) not being able to buy anything at RS's Wust Mooodlands TC (somewhere in the arse-end of Brummagum, forget exactly where) unless you were brandishing something like the letterhead of a company with an account with them.
Agreed, with a small proviso that you know what you want. A "non-trades" persons money is just as good a "trades" persons money.
That could be a reason, most "trade" places are industrial estates with limited parking etc and do generally only deal with the trade.
The company could end up in a bit of mess if some one tried to use consumer law against them in a dispute. Business to business sales don't have all the consumer protection. But I think the only people to benefit from such a case would be the lawyers.
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