How expensive do B & Q think they can get?

I've needed a bit of 6' X 2' lattice trellis for a rose which is climbing up the side of our "rabbit shed" for a while.
On Tuesday, walking past a local small independent hardware shop, I noticed they had a selection on display. So I decided to get it then. The assistant found the size I wanted in their stockroom. It was £9.95.

We were in B & Q this afternoon just looking at a few plants. I checked out the price of exactly the same size trellis. It was nearly fourteen pounds! Not only that the displays are open to the elements and it was wet through.

 

They're more expensive on most items compared to the corner hardware shop ( which is getting less and less common now).

The advantages of B & Q are firstly, their range and secondly, their opening hours.

 

Hi Doghouse yes you are correct , MUGGINS here, paid £13.69 and MUGGINS PURCHASED THREE :(
and the wood is now white, and that purchase was made in june this year :(
music .

 

Hi music!

They're the ones!

In my garden, if it's wood and "isn't moving" it gets covered in Dulux Woodsheen. I painted it as soon as I stuck it on the shed, it's now the same colour as the shed so doesn't look so obvious.

There must be degrees of "pressure treatment." A lot of stuff fades so quickly it probably "just got a coat of looking at."

I think B & Q screws must have a "gold content" the price they charge too.

 

They charge is because they can. They crush the competition because they are so big, then people have no choice but to go there.

My favourite is always bamboo. It's so fast growing and indestructible that it is almost a weed. Yet they charge £30 or £40 for a pot of it!

 

A lot of places charge that for Bamboo. Especially the 'posh and trendy' black stemmed stuff.

 

Hi Doghouse. i dont know the Process this wood goes through as a finished product, but i think it is a quick dip in a vat of DIRTY BROWN WATER :( music .

 

its all to do with clever marketing as far as i can see.
people just seem to automatically think b and q will be cheaper than everywhere else because of their sheer size , took me several peeshed off moments to realise this.
the quality of their stuff is rubbish as well and in all fairness the selection of each product section , such as their tool section isnt that great either , they seem to sell everything yet specialise in nothing.

 

Been so long since I have been in one I can't really comment on how expensive they have become.

I have to recommend B&Ms for trellis these days-I bought a 6ft by 4 ft trellis-expandable for 3.99. Can't sniff at that price.

 

With all my projects I've mostly avoided B & Q. I've bought my wood from a wood yard, sand cement & bricks from a builders yard, plumbing stuff from a plumbers merchant, paint from McDougall Rose and electrical gear from an electrical wholesaler. All gave me a discount. For example earlier this year I needed some 28" T12 fluorescent tubes for one of my jukeboxes. They worked out at around five quid each. I checked B & Q out of curiousity, they didn't do that size, but one of 30" was nearly ten quid.

But they can be good for plants, but you're best to shop on the delivery day, as they aren't good at looking after their stock.

 

I know nothing is cheap in B & Q now.

I look at their prices and think - WHAT!
But when I look elsewhere I can't find it cheaper.
I can find much better quality - but at a great big price.
I don't have shares in B & Q.

 

Best to check on-line first Alice, although the B & Q site is a bit pants.

Punch the make and model of whatever you want in and trawl through a few pages. Also phone these companies up and ask for a quote, it can be cheaper than an on line price.(same with insurance).
I find Amazon pretty good, they can often beat B & Q prices on branded goods including the OAPs discount and postage, but that is often free.

When we had a new kitchen I bought all the appliances "on-line" each was from a different company. The kitchen fitting company were a bit miffed, but no one in their right mind would buy a kitchen "with" appliances.

 

You're right about the kitchens, Doghouse.
When we had a new kitchen and bathroom I trawled the internet for prices and saved a small fortune against what the installation companies would have charged.
But I'm not trawling the internet to see if I can save £2 on a bit of trellis.
Time is money - or just precious to me.

 

sometimes its best to pay a bit extra for better quality however i have noticed a lot of big retailers are pricing their cheap rubbish to be as close to the better quality stuff as they can just to doup you into thinking ''its expensive so it must be good quality''.
almost bought a fridge a while back from currys , it had all the bells and whistles and wasn't cheap so i thought it must be a goon one but when i read the reviews it turned out that it was nothing more than a pile of garbage , bad compressor or something that only lasts a year or so.

 

Exactly!

B & Q are excellent!

(if you desperately need something at around 3.30pm on a Sunday!)