Trade supplies

[wonderb0y]

ok i started as a self employed plumber this year,

and was wondering how i can get trade memberships and where are the best places to go. so i can get things like sticks like s**t and get cheaper supplies for jobs.

anybody have any suggestions and what i need to take down to them to prove self employment, is a business bank card good enough?

 

[breezer]

anybody have any suggestions and what i need to take down to them to prove self employment, is a business bank card good enough?

ask them, since it will vary

 

[Thermo]

you normally need bank details, a letterhead and some references, however if you explain you are a new business most will open an account with a low credit rating that will build over time. try and stick to a few decent suppliers. look after them and they will look after you. its not worth running around all over town to diffrent suppliers to save a few pence. They look after loyal customers

 

[^woody^]

I don't know many trade only suppliers that are cheaper than Screwfix, Wickes (generally) or www.bes.ltd.uk (for plumbing stuff).

All you really need to do is find a local merchant who has most of the stuff you need, and after a few purchases, ask for a bigger discount as you are using them a lot more.

 

[seaangler]

wickes - cheap ???????????????

whatever you're drinking - i'll have a double

 

[wonderb0y]

i was going to say if thats cheap then theirs somthing wrong, and their stock is very limited.

thanks for the replys.

 

[Thermo]

if the rest of their stuff is anything to go by its pants as well!

 

[wonderb0y]

their corner baths are a pile of crap

 

[joe-90]

Didn't you work for a plumber while you got your qualifications? You surely KNOW the suppliers as you'd have been in there year in and year out.

 

[noseall]

wickes - cheap ???????????????

i prefer to use the words 'less expensive' myself.

Wickes are great for the diy'er, or mediocre, at best, if you are a pro builder. some of the stuff they sell is ok. 10% of the stuff i could find very useful, but they aren't very good with dealing with building materials that are not 'off the shelf'.

ask one of the assistants about anything vaguely 'builderesque', and they just glaze over and give you that blank look.

 

[Thermo]

still there timber is great if you need a skirting board to go around a corner. If youre building a timber structure underwater its even better as they pre soak it for you!

 

[^woody^]

I find that I can spend 1/2 hour sorting the timber racks for decent timber at local trade merchants, or 2 minutes getting it off the racks at Wickes.

All the other basics are normally at Wickes at cheaper prices too - typically the Wickes price is the ex-VAT price at the merchants.

Sheet materials are cheaper too. But other things arn't. And I would not ask a staff member anything about building - I'd get one of their leaflets instead. lol

A B&Q Warehouse has competitive prices for heavyside materials, but not plumbing stuff or screws and nails. You just learn what to buy from where as you go on

 

[FredFlintstone]

A B&Q Warehouse has competitive prices for heavyside materials, but not plumbing stuff or screws and nails. You just learn what to buy from where as you go on

True, although B&Q has a price promise. I was there buying a kitchen and then going on to Screwfix for a load of copper tube and fittings and a reel of 2.5mm T&E I had my trusty Screwfix book with me and noticed just how damn expensive B&Q was for this stuff. When I pointed this fact out they beat the price by 10%! I saved about £25 on what I thought was a good price at sf.

Don't know if they still do it but worth checking out.

 

[Scrit]

ask one of the assistants about anything vaguely 'builderesque', and they just glaze over and give you that blank look.

So a bit more intelligent than the staff at B&Q, then?

I find that I can spend 1/2 hour sorting the timber racks for decent timber at local trade merchants, or 2 minutes getting it off the racks at Wickes.

All the other basics are normally at Wickes at cheaper prices too - typically the Wickes price is the ex-VAT price at the merchants.

Sheet materials are cheaper too. But other things arn't. And I would not ask a staff member anything about building - I'd get one of their leaflets instead.

I'd suggest that you're using the wrong merchants, then, or that you don't have an account with agreed discounts. My sheet stock suppliers are consistently markedly cheaper than B&Q or Wickes, but then they don't sell timber, whilst my timber merchants are not only cheaper than either B&Q or Wickes but they sell decent timber and I don't have to pick through the stack - they know they'll get it back on the same wagon if they send a load of crap. Oh, and I wouldn't buy MDF, MFC or plywood off them as it's not their speciality. Even my local builders merchants are cheaper than B&Q on PAR redwoods, and this is a small town and these guys aren't what I'd call cheap.

I do have a problem with my softwood supplier, though. He can never match timber supplied by B&Q - apparently his importers don't handle knotty banana pine!

Scrit

 

[wonderb0y]

Didn't you work for a plumber while you got your qualifications? You surely KNOW the suppliers as you'd have been in there year in and year out.

most of the time he used B&Q, wickes and plumb centre