screwfix discount

[bp122]

I too find Toolstation ever so slightly cheaper than SF on most (identical) products. Recently I compared prices for all three sizes of Triton routers, they were all between£10 and £20 cheaper at TS than SF.

Big bonus for me with Toolstation is they accept Amex credit cards but SF don't. But due to covid when SF were doing online orders only, one could pay via amex through PayPal.

 

[R1chard]

Nice to see expressed justification for what’s been going on in my head for some time.
My single greatest frustration with SF is their driving inventory cost down so they never have sufficient stock.
Further if you buy some high value items they are supplied directly by the SF supplier so any returns don’t go back to the branch you paid at but it’s up to you to go back to the manufacturer. (Mapp gas torch).
I think, although TS don’t have the selection, their quality seems better And they have a practical level of stock so after your visit, you can rely on being able to carry on with the job.

 

[robgul]

Quite simple - the owner of SF sold it, then a few years later started TS!! You're right about the ranges they carry though so not always easy to compare the two unless buying an identical (branded) item.

... and, as with Wickes, Tool Station is now owned by Travis Perkins - not sure how TP's buying power compares with Kingfisher's Screwfix/B&Q and its French outfits (Kingfisher has/did have an alliance with Hornbach in Germany and few other countries)

 

[bjm]

I'd forgotten about the TP connection - it's hard to keep up sometimes

 

[Richard_C]

For my limited needs I find Screwfix and Toolstation both OK, I've given up worrying about delivery charges because it costs me £3 in fuel and and almost an hour of tedious traffic to go collect, having them deliver it for £5 seems like a bargain. If you go to the toolstation website and look at reviews they are default sorted "most recent first", so you get a fair picture. Screwfix default is "highest rated first" which I think is tendentious - if the product has lots of reviews you see pages of good ones. You can change the sort to "most recent first" which to my mind gives a more honest picture.

I don't rely on reviews that much, some are just rants or plain stupid "..... delivered fast nice box not used it yet 5*..." but if a product has consistently poor reviews I tend to move on. Screwfix marketing department might think they are being smart with the way the present reviews online, but they are eroding trust.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I did once see a very good chainsaw get one star ............. because it was delivered without petrol.

 

[Rorschach]

I placed an order with Toolstation at 8pm yesterday, the items were with me before lunchtime, no delivery charge.