Couldn't believe my eyes!

[Ashley Burton]

Was outside a Wickes store parked up when I saw staff members smashing up ex display model power tools!

Now my only thoughts are they did this due to not being able to resell them due to liability reasons possibly?

But surely they could be better ways of moving these items on? I.e. Getting them safety checked before selling them as ex display?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Are you sure they were fully working tools, many display items have the expensive internal components missing, I know one maker of drills used to put small sand bags inside to ensure the weight felt right.

 

[Ashley Burton]

Are you sure they were fully working tools, many display items have the expensive internal components missing, I know one maker of drills used to put small sand bags inside to ensure the weight felt right.

They had the power cable chopped off with a couple of inch's shown, So can only assume they were a fully working model. But could be wrong!

 

[cumbriasteve]

You could well be correct, considering the production cost of a drill that retails at £40 is probably less the a fiver even if complete units it's not costing them much for advertising use.

 

[Ashley Burton]

You could well be correct, considering the production cost of a drill that retails at £40 is probably less the a fiver even if complete units it's not costing them much for advertising use.

I just thought it was a poor way of dealing with disposal. There's people out there that can't afford some power tools examples being a Router or a Belt Sander.

 

[frank horton]

bloody criminal, could give them to a charity shop...........frank.........

 

[Ashley Burton]

bloody criminal, could give them to a charity shop...........frank.........

If they do this at every store, Then that is a lot of wasted tools.

 

[cumbriasteve]

If they were complete units then their destruction is all down to liability, when on display they have no idea what some idiot could push into the cooling slots or other daft trick to make them dangerous, a few quid lost is a lot cheaper than bad publicity or a claim.

 

[Ashley Burton]

If they were complete units then their destruction is all down to liability, when on display they have no idea what some idiot could push into the cooling slots or other daft trick to make them dangerous, a few quid lost is a lot cheaper than bad publicity or a claim.

But surely they could safety test them before reselling them to cover themselves?

 

[colnerov]

Hi, It's probably being done on head offices orders to dispose of them rather than sell them because of possible liability reasons, they were smashed to stop skip divers getting them.

Colin

 

[cumbriasteve]

To get them returned, tested, scuffed or marked areas replaced, repackaged and restock, nope... would cost a lot more than the cost of destruction.

 

[Ashley Burton]

To get them returned, tested, scuffed or marked areas replaced, repackaged and restock, nope... would cost a lot more than the cost of destruction.

I understand what your saying Steve, But the world has gone mad if you ask me!

 

[angellonewolf]

did they say they are exdisplay mate of mine used to work at b&q and all the faulty stuff never went back for repaire as the transport cost out wayed the time to fix and then resend out to sell as seconds they used to smash them

or if they are changing stock the new seller eg they did stock black and decker and moved over to dewalt if they got a mix of 30 drills grinders inpact drivers b&q would ask for them to cover the costs of the units or they would have to wait before the new stock got put on the shelves eg send them the same items for free and the companys would do it as the contract they get is for 1 year as soon as they are on the shelves they will be selling

they are then told to brake the old stuff as the new company dont want anyone buying a 1/3 price of a drill new or they might not buy the new one instore

 

[Bryan Williams]

Remember the post on tool libraries...

 

[Olderisbetter]

I have seen a few ex display power tools with no internals but last time i was looking at power tools in B&Q i noticed they just had the power leads cut off, They used to have a sin bin with discount tools but that seems to have gione now .. Maybe the retail industry has learned something form when i was young working in a shop and sold a display KitKat meant for the shop window to man who was a bit drunk and on his way to the football match, We never saw him again but it was West brom Vs Wolves so maybe he lost teeth for another reason...

 

[Robotstar5]

Had the same at Rover, cars that failed inspection on cosmetic faults that weren't economical to rectify would be road registered to use as pool cars until they reached 3 years old then they were crushed or the works fire service had a bit of practice cutting them up.

 

[Dieselman 63]

A mate used to work at a hardware store here (chain), said the amount of chainsaws that came back because people didn't remember to lube them, or filled the tank with bar oil and the oil with petrol was amazing. He said bins of motors were just leaving the shop to scrapyards. Reckoned that some must find their way out because there's virtually nothing wrong with a lot of them.

 

[armalites]

Sadly in this modern world companies are so paranoid about liability this isn't uncommon.

My Dad worked for a hire firm supplying kit for Railtrack, he had the certificates to allow to access the network to drop/collect kit. The whole process shows the why some things are so expensive.
Everything from chainsaws to generators were hired out, in most case they were paid for inside a few months due to the hire costs. Railtrack were spending more than buying them but as they were hired they weren't an asset. At the end of a set period these items were disposed of, they had paid for themselves and made profits. My Dad used to have to watch while someone ran a disc cutter through the side of engine casings so they couldn't be used again before they were scrapped. We aren't talking mickey mouse stuff either, Stihl strimmers/disc cutters/chansaws, Honda generators.

It's absolutely crazy but with the laws we have to protect us in this country it happens.

In my late teens I worked at a kart track and we had a firm of lawyers in for a race meeting. They all signed the waiver that basically said anything that happened to them was their own fault. One of them told us that the statement made no difference, if someone could prove the track had been negligent then that would overide the waiver.

 

[Dieselman 63]

IIRC Railtrack did hardly anything about weeding the railway, parts almost became a jungle! NR managed to rein things in with the waterblaster trains for the leaves and the weedkiller trains. A privatised railway is a shambolic idea, but that's a different argument!

 

[pedrobedro]

Probably all the stuff that didn't sell in the black friday sale