Rip-off supermarkets

[PTvor]

That guy with the resistors sounds like he came from the same school as the ones from Halfords that my mother got a few years ago... she asked my dad what he wanted for xmas and he replied 'a left-hand thread screwdriver'.
It took four of Halfords staff to work out there was no such thing, she was bloody livid with the old fella...

At least she came back with a long weight.

 

[Chipper]

I've had a couple of lucky strikes at B&Q, same £14 grinder as others, it's now 2-3 yrs old and fine. Also got my Evo chopsaw for as cheap as anywhere on the interhighweb, and no postage needed.
Other stuff's amazingly expensive.

Few yrs ago we bought a kitchen off them, after a few months the doors started peeling. Guaranteed but they gave us a 'not got that line any more, sorry, nothing we can do.' After a right palaver involving us taking them to court, at the last minute they coughed up just before the date.

 

[Robotstar5]

Bought a Homebase "performance" circular saw about 5 years ago for £35 (with spare blade) to board out loft, thought if it lasts this job I'll be happy.
Used it fairly regularly since, last couple of days cutting 8 x 4 sheets of 18mm OSB no problem, AND i've still got the spare blade!

 

[matt1978]

I dropped on with a nice BBQ from there couple of months back, was well over £300 in the summer, then they dropped it to about £240 then I went in when they was down to the last 3 and they was £140.

But I know you pay thru the nose for most things in there, especially the small Plumbing fittings etc. Mind you, Focus is even more expensive.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Nice BBQ Matt,
And a good price. when I see this sort of deal I always think they will still be making a good profit, And at the original price it would be a right royal rip-off

 

[matt1978]

Nice BBQ Matt,
And a good price. when I see this sort of deal I always think they will still be making a good profit, And at the original price it would be a right royal rip-off

Yeah, they would of still been making a good profit on the price I paid, if you consider their huge buying power, the deals they must be able to strike with the Chinese manufacturers is frightening.

Its the same thing as buying Scart and HDMI cables etc from Currys. They have a huge mark up on small items like that.

But on the other hand, I guess they have to make huge profits because if you consider the overheads they must have. I only know the running costs of a small 3000 Sq Ft office/warehouse and its frightening, when you look at Rent, Rates, Gas, Electric etc before you have even taken a salery. So god knows what even just the business rates is on something like a B & Q Superstore or that massive Currys at Junction 9 on the M6!

 

[NigelAylesbury]

I only go to B&Q when everything is shut and I definitely do need it. Most of the time it’s the usual hardware shop and Screwfix, although the quality of the non-branded stuff and the service has plummeted recently. Otherwise its ebay and online nearly all the time now.

 

[tigler]

The comments made above about physical store overheads is one of the factors I considered when making a prediction 10 years ago that the high street would all but disappear in about 15-20 years. Another was the sheer inconvenience of shopping for anything, traffic congestion, lack of time, cost, parking nazi's etc, etc.
With the likes of Amazon, Ebay to name but a few I think my prediction is fairly safe !
In about another 5 or 10 years I reckon the high street won't be there, just Mega-Markets and Vast online warehouses up and down the motorway network.
I now loath the experience of physical shopping.

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

People will always want touchy /feely things and some will always want the microwave speed of argos .. there will always be the high street shops but not as we currently know it. I suspect that there will be Argos type shops with all the goods displayed .... you buy , but the goods will be delivered with in say 4 hrs to your home at a prescribed time from a massive industrial estate stock warehouse that will also do the internet end of the business as well.

Think of a big name group that has all of their hundreds of thousands products displayed in a high street branch ... one in every town and then a milk run circuit to distribute from the warehouse using electric vehicles.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Stange mat should mention HDMI leads, When I was on the look out for a 37" Panasonic flat screen TV,I called into Curry's, Not only was their price far above a local dealer but the said, " Oh you will need one of these HDMI leads" Wait for it,,,,£42-00;
Bought the TV from the local man and got 2 HDMI leads from Ebay.gold plated pins £2=99
and the picture is PERFECT,