Amazon versus Screwfix

[billw]

Ah shops full of experts who could help you navigate the choices and advise you on features.......all from a time before we had websites and videos online of reviews, unboxings, comparisons, etc etc etc. Before you pressed a button and stuff got sent to your house. Before the widespread introduction of payment methods other than cheques and cash.

They're mostly shut now because we don't need them any more, although some people still *like* them but whereas they used to cater for 100% of buyers, now they probably only cater for 5% of all buyers - and that's not a business model.

I still shop around because with tools especially Amazon are not the cheapest by a stretch, but I still wouldn't consider an offline solution whatever happened.

 

[RobinBHM]

Amazon and EBay win because it's easy....all your address and card details are already logged.

However......so much traffic is driven towards them, small businesses get forced to use them and Amazon and eBay take a big cut of the profits.

I try and buy direct from suppliers websites where I can.

 

[Sandyn]

Despite the trend, there are some successful transitions from shop to shop and online retailer.
Bill's Tool Store in Glasgow have been trading since 1946 . They have an online shop, but also work with Toolbank (Dormole).
I haven't been in Bill's Tools Store for a while, but it is a real Aladdin's cave.

 

[Jos7000]

If you use screwfix, you should also check Toolstation, owned by the same group but Toolstation is often cheaper and has a lower minimum order price to get free delivery.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, but not the same group.

 

[Cirks]

Screwfix is Kingfisher and, until they sell it, Toolstation is owned by Wickes (as is Travis Perkins). Ie believe Toolstation was started though by same family who started Screwfix

 

[Marineboy]

I have mixed views - if you just buy without thinking from any source, then you may pay over the odds - but keeping an eye on pricing can find it cheaper at different times - I bought a router from Amazon which fluctuated in price but the price I bought it at was the cheapest in over 5 years and way below any other supplier - using websites such as camelcamelcamel.com can help understand pricing... there are a lot of clever algorithms sitting behind the pricing of a site like Amazon, but in fact that can work in the buyer's favour as well as against - if you learn how those algorithms work then you can play them to your advantage - the same can work on other sites where for example, putting an item in your basket (while logged in), but leaving it there can trigger an email offering you an incentive to buy...

I don't have a lot of time for the arguments about Amazon not paying taxes - they act completely legally and always have done - if the government wants more money in taxes then they perhaps need to be slightly more intelligent about how they frame the law! So, I don't have an issue buying from them. I do like supporting local businesses, but not all help themselves - we needed some garden supplies this weekend, and garden centres are allowed to be open, so we went down to our local one - no, they had chosen to close other than ordering and collecting - and you can only order by email or tel. - so no online shop, no idea as to what they have in stock or available - a complete amateur guessing game. The chap on the gate was very unhelpful - every question from us was met with 'oh no, you can't do that...' so we went to another garden centre which was open, covid safe in how they operated, and had answers to all our questions, plus the items for us to buy - yes I would like to support our local business, but they were making it very hard!

Exactly. If the government wants Amazon to pay more tax, they should change the tax laws.

Amazon’s customer service beats anything on the high street. My son recently had a vacuum cleaner which went up in a puff of smoke. He bought it 18 months ago. Contacted Amazon, refunded the purchase price no quibble, didn’t even ask for the old one back. I’ve had similar experiences.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Cirks ^^^ Yes, son of the founder. I remember buying from Screwfix when the catalogue was about four pages.

 

[robgul]

Cirks ^^^ Yes, son of the founder. I remember buying from Screwfix when the catalogue was about four pages.

Ditto - I can remember buying steel slotted screws when they went by imperial lengths and a number (as in 2" number 8s )- must have been about 1983 or so from the original address in Yeovil - IIRC they branched out into various things like wallplugs and other fixings.

 

[robgul]

Screwfix is Kingfisher and, until they sell it, Toolstation is owned by Wickes (as is Travis Perkins). Ie believe Toolstation was started though by same family who started Screwfix

The Toostation hierarchy is actually the other way round TP owns Wickes and Toolstation (and who remembers the paper catalogues from the early days of Wickes?)

 

[Selwyn]

I would very rarely by a tool off amazon. They are normally too dear.

Easily beaten by looking for the item you want on google shopping page and then spending a bit more time looking through the next 6 pages to see if you have missed anyone

 

[Lonsdale73]

Seems amazon are now in direct competition with amazon. No, that isn't a typo. I found three instances of the exact same item, all sold and fulfilled by amazon, with approx 28% variance in price. A fourth instance worked out at nearly 80% although contents of this one might not be exactly the same. And worth noting none of the items cost over £10 hence why percentages seem so high but even so, still a little bit bizarre.

 

[robgul]

Seems amazon are now in direct competition with amazon. No, that isn't a typo. I found three instances of the exact same item, all sold and fulfilled by amazon, with approx 28% variance in price. A fourth instance worked out at nearly 80% although contents of this one might not be exactly the same. And worth noting none of the items cost over £10 hence why percentages seem so high but even so, still a little bit bizarre.

Yep - I think it's simply the difference between Amazon selling the items themselves and the merchants that use Amazon as a front-end promoter (and possibly 3rd part fulfilment house) - all this just reinforces the need to spend a bit of time on research rather just clicking the BUY button.

 

[Dave Moore]

The Toostation hierarchy is actually the other way round TP owns Wickes and Toolstation (and who remembers the paper catalogues from the early days of Wickes?)

Yes and they are all part of a larger group within the the BSS (British steam specialists) group. If you go into a BSS depot they have some flyers showing all companies in the group and there’s quite a lot.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

BSS is owned by Travis Perkins.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Exactly. If the government wants Amazon to pay more tax, they should change the tax laws.

Amazon’s customer service beats anything on the high street. My son recently had a vacuum cleaner which went up in a puff of smoke. He bought it 18 months ago. Contacted Amazon, refunded the purchase price no quibble, didn’t even ask for the old one back. I’ve had similar experiences.

I've had similar good experience of Amazon customer services

 

[Doug71]

My friends new years resolution at the start of 2020 was to stop using Amazon and he managed it. He tries to buy from independents whenever possible, he says the hassle is filling out all your details every time, also the returns are never as easy.

I couldn't do it, I like the convenience of Amazon too much. Yesterday the battery went flat in my kitchen scales, took about a minute to order one from Amazon and it will be with me today, it's just too easy.

 

[billw]

I couldn't do it, I like the convenience of Amazon too much. Yesterday the battery went flat in my kitchen scales, took about a minute to order one from Amazon and it will be with me today, it's just too easy.

Yeah I agree. Broke my phone charger cable the other day, 7 hours after ordering a new one it turned up at my house. Textbooks for university arrive within 24 hours. I do shop around for larger purchases and usually check Ebay too, but most of the time the potential cost of my time versus the cost of the item means Amazon wins.