# B&Q Massive price increase ...



## eggflan (1 Feb 2010)

I buy and use a certain size of PAR timber from b&q 70mmx18mm in packs of 4 , i have been using this timber in a product i make on a daily basis , i spend around £300- £350 per week on that size timber alone :shock: 

So i nip down to my local store to pick some more up today only to find that the price has gone up by a huge amount , i quizzed the increase with the staff who i know very well from my frequent visits and they had no explanation (all the other sizes of timbers had stayed the same price) .

Im a little disturbed by this 60 odd % increase in price so i call them when i get home and speak to the manager , he tells me prices go up all the time and he has no control , when i pointed out that all the other timber packs were the same price as normal and i can now buy the much wider boards at less money he just said "oh well cant you just get the wider boards then and rip them down to the size you need" , i asked if he could check the price again to make sure it was not a mistake and his reply was "sir i dont want to loose your custom but we dont make mistakes when pricing" so i ask him if he could double check with head office , the answer was "no sir i cant do that , the prices are set by a computer so must be right" :shock: :shock: 

Im sure my customers would not be pleased if i told them i was putting things up by over 60% , so its bye bye B&Q and back to my old supplier .

Rant over :roll:


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## Jake (1 Feb 2010)

Surely you can get a better deal elsewhere on that sort of volume anyway, pre-increase? With delivery thrown in and probably a semblance of quality as well.


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## eggflan (1 Feb 2010)

Jake , yes i could but only by a small degree and belive it or not the timber from b&q was easyer for me to use straight from the pack , the timber yard stuff nedds running through a planner to smarten it up ready for use and this takes time  

Im off to speak to the yard tomorrow to see what they can do for me , last time i bought from them i was not needing so much volume :wink:


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## the_g_ster (1 Feb 2010)

Crumbs, a good part of your margin is going in that crappy timber before the price increase let alone after.

Try going round some local and further afield places and I am sure you will get some good deals. B&Q is very pricey and not great product or care over it sometimes so you will save some real money. 

Where are you in the uk?


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## Mike.C (1 Feb 2010)

Forget the manager phoning head office, you want to phone them and complain. I know that if I worked in head office and a customer who spends £300+ per week was going to walk just because one of my managers would not check on a price, I would have his guts for garters.

It seems clear to me that a mistake has been made, so even if you do not want to shop with them anymore I would still contact them.

Cheers

Mike


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## eggflan (1 Feb 2010)

Mike , i just tried to do the very same thing as you say by phoneing them directly but i can only get an email address not a phone number , we have 2 B&Q stores in out town so im just about to shoot over to the other one and see whats happened with there prices , i use the smaller store because it is literally round the corner from my workshop and i let them carry the stock rather than me having to store it .

Im sure it is just a mistake and will be rectified at some point , none of the other timbers in the range they do has gone up in price :roll:


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## billybuntus (1 Feb 2010)

eggflan":1p4zhv8p said:


> Jake , yes i could but only by a small degree and belive it or not the timber from b&q was easyer for me to use straight from the pack , the timber yard stuff nedds running through a planner to smarten it up ready for use and this takes time
> 
> Im off to speak to the yard tomorrow to see what they can do for me , last time i bought from them i was not needing so much volume :wink:



I would find a new timber yard.

My local yard has a machine shop and will size and thickness to your requirements for free.


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## SNight (1 Feb 2010)

There must be a timber yard near you that will machne timber up to size. And if you are purchasing that much and on a regular basis then im sure they would be able to at least match the prices that B&Q are charging. 

I think everybody should avoid B&Q as they charge rip off prices on a lot of things. Even if you pay slightly more for your timber from you local supplier, you will be recieving a better service from someone who your custom is important too, so they will look after you.


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## speed (1 Feb 2010)

my local timberyard is £1.20 mtr to diy ppl, trade will get 10-15% off that and prob more if you are running £300 a week, set up a trade acc


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## kasandrich (1 Feb 2010)

I have recently found B&Q very good on timber prices, 3x2 cls studding, 8x4 sheets 18mm sterling board and 8x4 sheets of mdf, especially if buying 10 or more sheets from a B&Q warehouse .....and if you get a 15% discount voucher, then even better.

I have just bought 10 sheets of 18mm mdf for some projects and my local timber yard want £18.50 a sheet an will not haggle. With the 15% discount voucher I got it at £9.96, thats a saving of over £85 and amost half price.

I made similar savings when I bought sterling board and CLS studding to build my workshop recently.......and whats more, I can spend as much time as I wish going through the timber and rejecting items I don't like the look of.

I have saved hundreds of pounds buying timber at B&Q in the last few months.


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## mailee (1 Feb 2010)

What are you making with the timber, propellors? As this seems to be the only thing B&Screw timber is good for! I use my local timber merchant and get a good discount with them for using them so much. You MUST be able to get a similar deal with one of your local ones. :shock:


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## jimi43 (1 Feb 2010)

You must spend HOURS just standing there looking down the packs to find one that isn't horrendously warped!

Any time I have to nip down to B&Q for a quick piece of softwood I regret it almost before I get home.

I resist the temptation now.

My local timberyard is far better in quality and price and they deliver.

Jim


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## Mike.C (1 Feb 2010)

eggflan":3siabyf8 said:


> Mike , i just tried to do the very same thing as you say by phoneing them directly but i can only get an email address not a phone number , we have 2 B&Q stores in out town so im just about to shoot over to the other one and see whats happened with there prices , i use the smaller store because it is literally round the corner from my workshop and i let them carry the stock rather than me having to store it .
> 
> Im sure it is just a mistake and will be rectified at some point , none of the other timbers in the range they do has gone up in price :roll:



I'd send them an email then.

On the other hand as the others have said you should be able to get a great deal from a local timber merchant (including machining) if you are spending that sort of money each week.

Good luck with what ever avenue you take.

Cheers

Mike


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## BradNaylor (1 Feb 2010)

SNight":2qgcced1 said:


> I think everybody should avoid B&Q as they charge rip off prices on a lot of things.



What a ridiculous statement.

B&Q may not offer the cheapest prices on everything, nor do they necessarily offer the best quality or level of personal service, but they do not rip anybody off.

All their products are marked up with the price. It is up to the customer either to accept this price or to go elsewhere. Caveat Emptor. The fact is that an awful lot of people do accept B&Q's prices - that is why they are by far the biggest player in the DIY market.

I go to B&Q now and again for various bit and bobs - they are not the cheapest but they usually have in stock what you want, they are convenient, and they open at 7.00 in the morning. All in all I think they do a pretty good job.

I wouldn't buy timber there though. Any branch of Travis Perkins will stock a far better grade of timber than B&Q at a lower price. A proper timber yard will be better still.

The only timber I buy at B&Q is their CLS for stud walls. At less than £2.00 a piece it is good value.


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## would not (1 Feb 2010)

I bought a jigsaw cutter from my local B&Q, they'd priced it up incorrectly so I managed to get a £75 jigsaw cutter for £15. 
The checkout girl says £75 please so I told her I only have to pay the price indicated on the shelf - which I did but there were 3 of them in the tool isle 2 mins later ripping the sticker from the shelf and checking all the other prices.

This has happened to me 3 times now and saved me a fortune....


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## Eddie (1 Feb 2010)

Hi, excuse my Ignorance please but what does CLS stand for.
Eddie :?: :?:


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## jpt (1 Feb 2010)

Just a thought have you checked their web site to see what the price is on there?

john


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## BradNaylor (1 Feb 2010)

Eddie":oacm38j7 said:


> Hi, excuse my Ignorance please but what does CLS stand for?



It stands for Canadian Lumber Standard and refers to planed softwood with slightly rounded corners. In B&Q it is a tad less than 3" x 2" and normally pretty straight decent quality cheap utility timber.


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## Mr Ed (1 Feb 2010)

Provided it suits the size you want, CLS is normally a cost effective way of buying 'utility' wood. Wickes is my outlet of choice for this sort of thing, but that may be a throwback to my Saturday job sweeping the floor there 20 years ago.

Ed


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## SNight (1 Feb 2010)

BradNaylor":3cz2umh1 said:


> SNight":3cz2umh1 said:
> 
> 
> > I think everybody should avoid B&Q as they charge rip off prices on a lot of things.
> ...


So what were they doing by uping the price 60% on that one type of timber only? That sounds like a rip off to me. It is up to the customer I agree, so if people avoided them, they may well have to think about there pricing. As you have said they are the biggest player in the DIY market, spending £350 on timber every other week or so isnt DIY.


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## brianhr (1 Feb 2010)

Beware - a retailer does not have to sell at the marked price. Legally this is only an invitation to buy/sell and any retailer can refuse to sell at the marked price if they choose to do so. The consequences of not doing so are, of course a different matter.


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## Mattty (1 Feb 2010)

I would expect to pay around £.45-60p per metre for that section in a redwood PAR. I personally wouldn't get the b&q stuff as i suspect it is probably whitewood (you possible want whitewood?).

Like a few others i find b&q very handy. I often get my sheet material from there and get lots of the cutting done for free as my workshop isn't set up for 8x4's.

I've done a few jobs up your way and have an account with
http://www.jamesburrell.com/Branch%20Locator.htm They will certainly give you a good price and deliver. Ask the rep to call in and see you. It is a buyers market in the timber game, tell them what you want to pay.

HTH.


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## eggflan (1 Feb 2010)

The plot thickens , never mind about the timber being warped , whitewood, twisted or expensive or cheap , i just took a trip over to the superstore at the other side of town and spoke to the duty manager who happens to be a friend of a friend , i dragged him to the timber isle to see what he had to say on the matter , the price had also gone up there  after we discussed this for a few minutes with him making excuses about why and what for etc he then pointed out the 2.7mtr packs stacked next to the 2.1 that i normally buy , low and behold the price of this had not changed at all , so 2.1 mtr in packs of 4 are £13.80 , 2.7 mtr packs of 4 are £13.50 :lol: :lol: :lol: 

I never thought to check because the smaller branch dont do the longer lenghts , i will be taking a trip to my local timber yard in the morning to see what they can offer me (i alreay have a trade account with them for but i usually just use it for decking and fencing as its very cheap from them anyway .

I now have a number to contact the head office of B&Q but i may not bother as they could increase the price of the longer timbers :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## eggflan (1 Feb 2010)

Mattty":3q37pn18 said:


> I would expect to pay around £.45-60p per metre for that section in a redwood PAR.
> HTH.



Matty that is a very good price , last stuff i bought from North Yorkshire Timber was around 90p a mtr and that was with my trade account :shock: 

Thanks for the heads up on James Burrell i will give them a call in the morning ..


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## billybuntus (1 Feb 2010)

Try looking up the price of MDF in b&q, a 4x2 sheet is around 11 quid and an 8x4 is around 13 quid!

I'd rather pay the extra 2 quid and give the waste away.


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## jlawrence (1 Feb 2010)

The B&Q pricing will (should) be fed from a central computer somewhere so if the computer is generating the prices then it should create the same mess everywhere. Why a manager won't contact head office to check is beyond me - but then I never understand big shop pricing.
I've seen it in the likes of Tesco as well - a price increase on a smaller box of cereals takes it above the cost for a bigger box, personally I just buy the bigger box.
However, the problem with doing this for timber would mean that you're now having to spend time machining the bigger bits. Which is costing you money in a business sense.


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## toolsntat (2 Feb 2010)

eggflan":3vdpcdae said:


> I buy and use a certain size of PAR timber from b&q 70mmx18mm in packs of 4 , i have been using this timber in a product i make on a daily basis , i spend around £300- £350 per week on that size timber alone :shock:
> 
> Rant over :roll:



Hope you had the discount card that gives you cheques back while you were spending that amount on a regular basis :shock: :wink: 

Andy


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## 2tone (2 Feb 2010)

would not":2o3otwjc said:


> I bought a jigsaw cutter from my local B&Q, they'd priced it up incorrectly so I managed to get a £75 jigsaw cutter for £15.
> The checkout girl says £75 please so I told her I only have to pay the price indicated on the shelf - which I did but there were 3 of them in the tool isle 2 mins later ripping the sticker from the shelf and checking all the other prices.
> 
> This has happened to me 3 times now and saved me a fortune....



I once got a £450 fire place from b&q for £150 because they had marked the price wrong, When i went to get the item they said it wasn't in stock and sent me to another store. The other store never had any in stock either but if i waited 1 day and ordered it i would get 20% off the summer clearance price..... i did so and went back to pay for it they said £410 pounds please!!!!

eek! its a good job i took a photo of it with the price tag because they let me have it for the wrongly marked price but was not aloud the 20% off.

Bargain!


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## aesmith (2 Feb 2010)

billybuntus":3si5i4c8 said:


> Try looking up the price of MDF in b&q, a 4x2 sheet is around 11 quid and an 8x4 is around 13 quid!


For some sheet materials the price for a smaller sheet is actually higher than the price of the larger sizes !! That seems like a systematic policy, maybe based on the idea that domestic customer won't be buying 8 x4 so don't even make that price comparison.


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## big soft moose (2 Feb 2010)

aesmith":28exsdy0 said:


> billybuntus":28exsdy0 said:
> 
> 
> > Try looking up the price of MDF in b&q, a 4x2 sheet is around 11 quid and an 8x4 is around 13 quid!
> ...



I asked about that in our local store and they said that it was to do with the labour to cut it down from larger sheets - which doesnt really stack up, especially when you consider that if you buy an 8x4 sheet and have it cut down it only costs 50p a cut

it therefore should follow that if an 8x4 is 13 notes , then a 4x4 sheet ought to cost £6.75, and a 4x2 £3.50 (but you cant do it like thast if you only want one 4x2 because they still charge you for the whole 8x4 sheet)

in things like this they are rip off merchants because they are taking advantage of the public's inability to cut it down themselves - I just take my rechargeable dewalt rail saw with me and cut the sheets down in the car park ( tho i have been told not too by their security - on those ocassions i balanced the 8x4 on the roof rack and drove out to the public road and cut the sheet down there instead)


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## eggflan (2 Feb 2010)

big soft moose":llo9ft9a said:


> aesmith":llo9ft9a said:
> 
> 
> > billybuntus":llo9ft9a said:
> ...




Well in that case you are getting ripped off , all the superstores round here with a saw cut the first 4 cuts for free , then its 50p a cut after that ..


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## wizer (2 Feb 2010)

The cost of sheet materials in B&Poo are extoriate! Which is a shame because the cutting service is really useful. I'm not too bothered if it did cost 50p per cut. But around here it's normally either 4 cuts free or generally you get them all for free.


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## jlawrence (2 Feb 2010)

The cutting surface is handy. But only if they happen to have someone working who is trained to use the saw - round here that never seems to be when I go in .


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## lurker (2 Feb 2010)

wizer":3d64bwde said:


> The cost of sheet materials in B&Poo are extoriate! Which is a shame because the cutting service is really useful. I'm not too bothered if it did cost 50p per cut. But around here it's normally either 4 cuts free or generally you get them all for free.



I find B&Q quite reasonable for common sized sheet - I never buy other wood from them though.

As you say 4 cuts free & if you time your visit to quiet time they wll do more for nowt.

Last time I was there ( I bought one 8X4 18mm MDF), the bloke let me have a pile (a trolley full) of off cuts for free. Some 9mm melamine faced MDF has been very useful for making cutting jigs for my TS & router table.


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## petermillard (2 Feb 2010)

Guys, if the prices are clearly marked, then nobody's getting 'ripped off' - you either pay the asking price or you don't. If you only need half a sheet of something, you pay what's asked and accept the price as part of the convenience of being able to pick up an 8x2 of WBP and taking it to the tills.

Or you can get it cheaper by taking an 8x4 to 'board cutting' and cooling your heels while they try and find the panel-saw monkey to turnip it up for you. And then try to fit it in your car...

Time's money, even if you're not doing this for a living - pretty much the only time I'm buying at the sheds is because I need to e.g. I've had something sprung on me and urgently need say, a small sheet of 9mm MDF; in those situations it really doesn't bother me if it's 80% of the price of a full sheet - I understand that I'm paying for the convenience.

Cheers, Pete.


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## studders (2 Feb 2010)

petermillard":2rjpiptn said:


> Guys, if the prices are clearly marked, then nobody's getting 'ripped off' .......
> 
> Cheers, Pete.



Well... yes and no I reckon. If my sister, say, wanted me to make or repair something and I tell her I'll need 'whatever' and can she pop into 'whoever' and get it, how is she to know, unless I've remembered to tell her, roughly how much it should be? She'd only know that she's been ripped off, assuming she had, when I got there and she told me what she paid.


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## big soft moose (2 Feb 2010)

petermillard":3r2j8td3 said:


> Guys, if the prices are clearly marked, then nobody's getting 'ripped off' - you either pay the asking price or you don't.



I understand the point you are making pete, but imo if you charge a lot more than a product demonstrably is worth then you are ripping off the customer.

also we woodworkers with our railsaws and tablesaws etc (not to mention estate cars, pick up trucks, or vans) often forget that mr joe public diy often doest have the capability to rip down a 8x4 sheet himself or even to transport it home, and is therefore forced by circumstances to buy the ready cut smaller sheets

and as per my calculation they are charging £11 for a board that ought to cost arround £3.50 even allowing for 50p per cut (and theres no way it actually costs that much to do) to people who have no real choice if they want to do somnething that requires sheet materials - and thats a rip off in my book.


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## petermillard (2 Feb 2010)

And I see the points you're making too, I just think you're missing what I'm getting at. It's not about what things _ought_ to cost - who are we to say how much a half sheet of board at B&Q _ought_ to cost based on what a full sheet costs? It's like someone telling me my rates for a half-day _ought_ to be half of my day-rate :shock: 

Let's not forget either that buying things in small quantities is always more expensive than buying in bulk, whether it's tins of beans or timber, a small pack costs more for the same quantity as the large pack, sometimes two or three times as much.

I personally don't see this as a rip-off; the prices are clearly marked and the customers have a choice whether to buy or not. In the case of B&Q, they even offer an alternative (board cutting) that allows customers who know what they need to buy 'in bulk' but take home in a convenient size. Or they can just buy the convenient size in the first place, naturally at a higher price.

Is this a more expensive way of buying sheet goods? Yes! But you won't convince me it's a rip-off, as everybody involved in the whole transaction knows what they're getting, and for how much.

Cheers, Pete.

p.s. I'll bet if you had one of their panel saws sitting in your workshop you'd be looking to charge a lot more than 50p per cut


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## wizer (2 Feb 2010)

Strange way of looking at things Peter. Doesn't make sense to me tho.


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## jimi43 (2 Feb 2010)

A famous Swiss internet company sells 24 hour WiFi cards for £10 and 1 hour ones for £5....

AND...their cheese has bits missing in it when you cut it open too!

I think we should blockade their ports with the Navy RIGHT NOW!!

 

Jim


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## Dave S (2 Feb 2010)

I agree entirely, Peter. As far as I am concerned, a rip-off involves dishonesty or fraud. 

For example, if I commissioned a piece of furniture from solid timber and was quoted for solid timber, but was supplied with veneered mdf, then I have been ripped off.

If, on the other hand, I got the piece from solid timber but the quote price was 3x the going rate, thenI have not been ripped off. I know what I am getting for my money so it's my choice. 

However, I've had this debate on here before and I seemed to be in the minority.

Dave


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## big soft moose (2 Feb 2010)

Dave S":1yp8eyj7 said:


> If, on the other hand, I got the piece from solid timber but the quote price was 3x the going rate, thenI have not been ripped off. I know what I am getting for my money so it's my choice.



in those circumstances i'd agree - but if you had been compelled to go to that vendor despite their being really expensive because you had no other option ... that would be a rip off

likewise with peters example i agree that his half day rate shouldnt be simply half his whole day rate - but i would expect a craftsman to charge a reasonable and transparent half day rate (like for example half his whole day rate plus his travelling time/call out fee) - if he charged damn nearly the same as his day rate because he was the only craftsman in town and thus had a captive audience i might have to pay it but i would feel ripped off in consequence.


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## billybuntus (3 Feb 2010)

jlawrence":smrqbrr2 said:


> The cutting surface is handy. But only if they happen to have someone working who is trained to use the saw - round here that never seems to be when I go in .



Last time I wanted some 12mm mdf ripping down I thought I'd give him the finished sizes I wanted. Big mistake, I asked for a 8x4 sheet to be ripped into 7 inch strips of varying proportions. Not one of them measured 7 inches across and none of them were equal in size.

Fortunatley it was for rough work and didn't need to be spot on.


Its a shame though as the panel saw looks like an excellent piece of kit if not a little complex (measurement wise) for the average worker to suss out.


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