The thing over trade prices is I am paying you to do the service …say fit the part to my car, plaster my wall whatever. You are charging me more for the part than you pay and that is not a “service” to me.
I may end up paying the same if you charge more for labour but then at least I am paying you for what you do rather than overpaying you for things you have purchased.
DS when i rang places for parts when in the trade no one ever asked for proof and it still works these days…just make sure you collect, pay cash and ask for a VAT receipt or you kind of give it away.
A few motor factors near me did not do trade tbh and were the same for me as for anyone else…they were only slightly dearer than trade.
Exhausts and tyres were funny though for example we could not get them as parts for cheaper than places could fit them hence why the likes of kwik fit exist…well we could if we bought thousands.

…say fit the part to my car, plaster my wall whatever. You are charging me more for the part than you pay and that is not a “service” to me.

It is in the sense that the customer rarely has to order it, pick it up, stock it, pay up front etc

Might I suggest then JY, that you source and pick up the part/materials yourself then.

What you’re saying is that you should have the save level of discount, for your ocassional purchase, as a tradesman who will put thousans of pounds month in, month out? You don’t want to pay for the delivery service that the tradesman is giving you either?
No wonder businesses are going to the wall when folks have such a selfish and limited view of how the economy works.
Much like the LBS v CRC argument, innit?

DS when i rang places for parts when in the trade no one ever asked for proof and it still works these days…just make sure you collect, pay cash and ask for a VAT receipt or you kind of give it away.
A few motor factors near me did not do trade tbh and were the same for me as for anyone else…they were only slightly dearer than trade.

Saturday morning trade days, loved them. But some of the punters were hard work and could negotiate themselves up to 50% off reatail prices. 😀

It costs a bleedin fortune to dispose of left-over plasterboard and other materials.

Legally, that is.

Mind you there are a couple of places on Cannock Chase where the local tradesmen seem to have a self-imposed zone system. Fridges by Stile Cop, Mattresses by Tackeroo, plasterboard & rubble by Kingsley Wood Road.

we charge a little bit extra for materials to cover the cost of phoning round to make sure they are in stock, and the time and the petrol to go and get them, the same as anybody would, in any business. its not often you come across a client who even understands what building materials are, let alone has the big enough transport to get them, or the time, which is why they’ve employed you in the first place. as for waiting for wickes/b&q to deliver, forget it! ” oh sorry, the driver has brought them back, he couldn’t find the address/there was no one in!” oh no worries, we’ll just sit here all day waiting then.
anyway, don’t pay it, until he can prove it. if he’s made a mistake he should be upfront, communication is key and a good reputation is priceless. alternatively tell him to appeal his parking ticket

Might I suggest then JY, that you source and pick up the part/materials yourself then

WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF THAT
For me it just depends what it is.
Sometimes I lack the technical expertise to know what is best buy and defer to someone skill and knowledge and pay for it.
Other times I dont have to.
I accept DD can advise me on floors and help me and i am happy tp pay for this if needed
I think it reasonable to charge for your time etc whilst doing this but without the materials you cannot do the job so they are part of the price but overcharging me for them is not.

DS no it is obviously much fairer they charge a different rate based on how many time you visit and spend SOMEONE ELSES MONEY on stuff that you will then charge them more for.

I so hope supermarkets, petrol stations and all other purveyors of goods do the same, price based on total spend…i am sure customers would understand and the business would thrive

deadlydarcy – Member

Might I suggest then JY, that you source and pick up the part/materials yourself then.

And find a tradesman who is prepared to deal with a situation where there is the wrong/insufficient materials and all the associated waste of time. They would probably be wise to allow for that in their price and charge more.

DS no it is obviously much fairer they charge a different rate based on how many time you visit and spend SOMEONE ELSES MONEY on stuff that you will then charge them more for.

I so hope supermarkets, petrol stations and all other purveyors of goods do the same, price based on total spend…i am sure customers would understand and the business would thrive
WTF?
I would have thought you’d have understood the buying power supermarket have. You could buy cheaper if you go to a wholesaler with your trade card and buy bog rolls in the thousand. But don’t let reality stop you in your quest to demonstrate how smart you are. You more contrived your arguments, the more stupid you look… 🙁

Well I pay day rate to the builder I use [he is a mate].
i dont get it any cheaper as it is what he does with all people
I get receipts for all stuff and pay him for them separately- sometimes in advance if it is a few hundred quid but I trust him so no issue.
Customers like him as he seems honest and trustworthy and his business model works for him etc

I look fwd to you all defending supermarkets and petrol stations doing this rather than just you tradesfolk doing it.

NO DS I peaking about the shoppers in a supermarket/petrol station not their buying power. I m also taking your argument and applying it to other areas and suggesting that they charge based on how often you go and how much you spend – which is what you suggested as the reason why it was ok.
I realise you dont want to try and defend such a scenario applied to thee area so it is easier to just attack me than defend your view or explain why it would be good/fair/just. i think you can see my point and dont really want to defend your principle if applied to these situations hence the barbs

So you don’t understand how different markets work then? I’m sure that Tesco, Asda or Lidl would be open to negotiate prices depending on how much you spend. I used to negotaite prices in the High Street.
I’m sure that if you have the purchasing power to negotiate with supermarkets, you’d have your own trade card, wouldn’t you?
But of course you already knew that.

I realise you dont want to try and defend

Defended, it’s called buying power.
I don’t expect you to understand or accept this without having to resort to being all hurt when someone disagrees with you. All a bit sad. 🙁

I don’t expect you to understand or accept this without having to resort to being all hurt when someone disagrees with you. All a bit sad

I am stupid, dont understand and I get upset? 🙄
Can we not just disagree/debate like adult and share our opinions without this playground shit?

He has also said that the he’s used some expensive glue to stick the shelves up, the nozzles alone cost £9…
Spoke to family who’ve used him and they say he’s got previous for this, they’ve just paid up.
Wife is going to pay the original amount plus a tip and tell him if he wants more he’ll have to speak to me.

Can we not just disagree/debate like adult and share our opinions without this playground shit?

I’m not the one who thinks they have to challenge everything anyone says, neither do I expect explanations to the nth degree which to justify my own position. Where is the childishness?

plus a tip

eh? behaviour doesn’t suggest tip to me!

I’m not the one who thinks they have to challenge everything anyone says, neither do I expect explanations to the nth degree which to justify my own position. Where is the childishness?

I hope the challenge [ question]was an intentional piece of irony.

eh? behaviour doesn’t suggest tip to me!

the standard of work was good, and it’s a kind of ‘go away and don’t bother us again’ payment.
lets see if it works.

sounds like a stupid idea to me.

thanks for a good job, here’s the XXX you originally quoted us. now **** off and don’t bother us again you bloody chancer

would probably be my response.

If I was feeling brave, I might say that, but it’s my wife who’s a pleasant young lady who has to deal with him – I don’t want her to have to argue with an irate joiner with a nail gun.

had similar round here in the past.

pick up the phone and deal direct.

as you say, i wouldn’t leave the mrs to sort it out. but likewise i wouldn’t want her paying him off just to save ‘trouble’…

well, in the end, he accepted the ‘offer’ and left after completing the job.
chancer.
apparently he turned up this morning and acted all surprised that the plastering he had done yesterday wasn’t dry enough to paint today.
total chancer.