Jewsons - still bonkers
Discussion
Today I needed to buy two battens that would be too long to go in the car (3.9m). Hence a trip to B&Q was out, but there happens to be a branch of Jewsons near me. I thought I'd call to see what lengths they had, but it was no surprise when the phone wasn't answered after more than a minute.
Anyway, I take a gamble and set off on foot. I wander into the timber warehouse and to my delight see plenty of long stuff - hurrah! After a bit a chap comes in and helps me find the size I'm looking for. I ask him if he has any straight ones, and he opens a new pack for me, whilst adding that the way they're stored doesn't help. It's to do with management apparently. But he finds two nice straight bits and writes out a pink slip for me to take the cash desk next door.
On the way to the cash desk I realise I've fallen for it again - I'm buying something form Jewsons and haven't checked the price first. Indeed, a few years ago, nothing was priced and you were at the mercy of the bloke at the till.
Right, I have two bits of timber. 3.9m long but only about 40mmx10mm in section, so not much wood really. Bloke at till takes pink slip and starts tapping at the keyboard. After a while he says '£20.53 please'. Bloody hell! Have the Chinese bought all the wood? I ask him if there's any Thursday afternoon discount he could apply. 'That's already trade' he says. I can't remember what I said next but he goes back to the keyboard and starts tapping again. I suspect that the longer he taps, the better it will be for me, so I let him tap. Another bloke comes up to the other till and starts tapping away too. Time passes. Good job there are no other customers. I ponder the filth on the keyboards. Eventually his book is completed and he comes up with '£11.03'. I give him £15 and he asks me if I've got anything smaller.
Weird place, Jewsons.
Anyway, I take a gamble and set off on foot. I wander into the timber warehouse and to my delight see plenty of long stuff - hurrah! After a bit a chap comes in and helps me find the size I'm looking for. I ask him if he has any straight ones, and he opens a new pack for me, whilst adding that the way they're stored doesn't help. It's to do with management apparently. But he finds two nice straight bits and writes out a pink slip for me to take the cash desk next door.
On the way to the cash desk I realise I've fallen for it again - I'm buying something form Jewsons and haven't checked the price first. Indeed, a few years ago, nothing was priced and you were at the mercy of the bloke at the till.
Right, I have two bits of timber. 3.9m long but only about 40mmx10mm in section, so not much wood really. Bloke at till takes pink slip and starts tapping at the keyboard. After a while he says '£20.53 please'. Bloody hell! Have the Chinese bought all the wood? I ask him if there's any Thursday afternoon discount he could apply. 'That's already trade' he says. I can't remember what I said next but he goes back to the keyboard and starts tapping again. I suspect that the longer he taps, the better it will be for me, so I let him tap. Another bloke comes up to the other till and starts tapping away too. Time passes. Good job there are no other customers. I ponder the filth on the keyboards. Eventually his book is completed and he comes up with '£11.03'. I give him £15 and he asks me if I've got anything smaller.
Weird place, Jewsons.
Was it softwood or hardwood?
If it was prepared softwood, ex 12 x 50mm (9 x 44m finished size) then I would have sold it for about 50p mtr + vat = about four quid plus the dreaded for the lot!
If it was hardwood then about £1.50 mtr + vat.
Mind you, I dont sell to retail as they tend to make the staff open all the bundles just for two bits of wood
Nick
If it was prepared softwood, ex 12 x 50mm (9 x 44m finished size) then I would have sold it for about 50p mtr + vat = about four quid plus the dreaded for the lot!
If it was hardwood then about £1.50 mtr + vat.
Mind you, I dont sell to retail as they tend to make the staff open all the bundles just for two bits of wood
Nick
ncs said:
Was it softwood or hardwood? If it was prepared softwood, ex 12 x 50mm (9 x 44m finished size) then I would have sold it for about 50p mtr + vat = about four quid plus the dreaded for the lot!
Just planed pine. But how can Joe Public (ie me) buy timber at a sensible price?ncs said:
Mind you, I dont sell to retail as they tend to make the staff open all the bundles just for two bits of wood
Customers eh? But the loose bits were only good for boomerangs and firewood...NB: If Jewsons are so expensive and generally useless, how are they still in business?
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 28th May 23:20
Simpo Two said:
ncs said:
Was it softwood or hardwood? If it was prepared softwood, ex 12 x 50mm (9 x 44m finished size) then I would have sold it for about 50p mtr + vat = about four quid plus the dreaded for the lot!
Just planed pine. But how can Joe Public (ie me) buy timber at a sensible price?ncs said:
Mind you, I dont sell to retail as they tend to make the staff open all the bundles just for two bits of wood
Customers eh? But the loose bits were only good for boomerangs and firewood...NB: If Jewsons are so expensive and generally useless, how are they still in business?
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 28th May 23:20
Simpo Two said:
Just planed pine. But how can Joe Public (ie me) buy timber at a sensible price?
You can open an account with timber merchants without being a joiner. I've got 4 or 5 accounts with builders merchants and get teh same discount as my joiner does...Try Travis Perkins (although IME they're not the cheapest for sawn timber - very good for other things though). Best one near me is Grays but I don't know if they're a national company.
mrmaggit said:
Simpo Two said:
ncs said:
Was it softwood or hardwood? If it was prepared softwood, ex 12 x 50mm (9 x 44m finished size) then I would have sold it for about 50p mtr + vat = about four quid plus the dreaded for the lot!
Just planed pine. But how can Joe Public (ie me) buy timber at a sensible price?ncs said:
Mind you, I dont sell to retail as they tend to make the staff open all the bundles just for two bits of wood
Customers eh? But the loose bits were only good for boomerangs and firewood...NB: If Jewsons are so expensive and generally useless, how are they still in business?
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 28th May 23:20
They make a very healthy margin & due to their size buy very well...I should know, as we sold our business to them ten years ago & I had to stay with them for a while.
Working for them was a life changeing experience that I never want to repeat.
Simpo...The loose bits would be like boomerangs if they've been taken out of the bundle & left. The idea is you fix it as soon as you can after the bundle is open, which is why we tend not to do it with the smaller sections, or we re-tie the bundles when they're opened.
Its the little touches that count, but another reason we choose to go down the 'trade only' route to avoid such issues...sorry!
Nick
B&Q are no better, although a bit off the 'cost' topic.
I went in yesterday for six sawn 4 x 2 (shall we say 100mm x 47mm) in 2.4 meter lengths. Called before hand to be sure they would cut them as I would struggle in my saloon car and they only needed to be 1. and 1.4m. Yes, no problem.
Arrived after the 8 mile drive and found the wood after searching their racks to find it on the wrong rack. Heading for the cutting stand when a B&Q guy pointed out that they don't cut treated timber because the chemicals damage some copper bit of the saw. Ended up flattening both the car seats to slide it in through the back window, into the NS footwell with the door open, back into the parcel shelf and forward into the footwell proper. Reverse when I get home. Better news is it was under £6 a length, so about £2.50 a meter.
Overall the staff were entirely unhelpful. After three attempts to get someone help me find the splicing kits for the 4 x 2 he took me to the stand for cupboard bits where they had jointing plates for hardboard or something and nobody had any idea (even the guy on the trade counter) what a coach bolt was.
I suggest they employ a few out of work builders, who have a clue.
I went in yesterday for six sawn 4 x 2 (shall we say 100mm x 47mm) in 2.4 meter lengths. Called before hand to be sure they would cut them as I would struggle in my saloon car and they only needed to be 1. and 1.4m. Yes, no problem.
Arrived after the 8 mile drive and found the wood after searching their racks to find it on the wrong rack. Heading for the cutting stand when a B&Q guy pointed out that they don't cut treated timber because the chemicals damage some copper bit of the saw. Ended up flattening both the car seats to slide it in through the back window, into the NS footwell with the door open, back into the parcel shelf and forward into the footwell proper. Reverse when I get home. Better news is it was under £6 a length, so about £2.50 a meter.
Overall the staff were entirely unhelpful. After three attempts to get someone help me find the splicing kits for the 4 x 2 he took me to the stand for cupboard bits where they had jointing plates for hardboard or something and nobody had any idea (even the guy on the trade counter) what a coach bolt was.
I suggest they employ a few out of work builders, who have a clue.
Brown and Boris said:
Better news is it was under £6 a length, so about £2.50 a meter.
Furrrrrrrrrrk me!I hate to ruin your day but you can buy that at a decent merchant for under £1.00mtr + VAT
The likes of B&Q have massif advertising budgets & manage to convince people they are the best thing since sliced bread. Take Wickes (owned by Travis Perkins) new advert for 'slow grown' decking. Slow grown my arse...look at the growth rings on the stuff, you must have been able to stand back & watch the trees get taller!
The one good thing about the sheds is they keep the retail customers away (no offence meant) from trade only depots like ours, this allows us to give a proper service to people who are doing this for a living...& I dont have to provied a car park the size of Surrey & baby changeing facilities at all of our depots.
Nick
ncs said:
Simpo...The loose bits would be like boomerangs if they've been taken out of the bundle & left. The idea is you fix it as soon as you can after the bundle is open
They could market them as 'pre-warped'... 
Brown and Boris said:
Heading for the cutting stand when a B&Q guy pointed out that they don't cut treated timber because the chemicals damage some copper bit of the saw.
I went to B&Q yesterday because I needed some chunks of MDF. I could get what I needed from a 2240 x 1220 sheet, but of course that wasn't going in the car. Cutting Service! The good news was that the store had two qualified cutters. The bad news was that they were both 'at lunch'. Great planning 
so I had to wait for 20 minutes. What b
kbrain plans the rotas?And another thing. I also needed an orbital sander, as my old one was getting so orbital it was shaking my hands to pieces. The Screwfix website only had two models, and the B&Q website had the same two (I know they're the same company but I thought they'd differentiate them a bit). Anyway, in the store I found loads to choose from - and 15% off Bosch, so not all bad
Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 30th May 23:23
ncs said:
Brown and Boris said:
Better news is it was under £6 a length, so about £2.50 a meter.
Furrrrrrrrrrk me!I hate to ruin your day but you can buy that at a decent merchant for under £1.00mtr + VAT
The likes of B&Q have massif advertising budgets & manage to convince people they are the best thing since sliced bread. Take Wickes (owned by Travis Perkins) new advert for 'slow grown' decking. Slow grown my arse...look at the growth rings on the stuff, you must have been able to stand back & watch the trees get taller!
The one good thing about the sheds is they keep the retail customers away (no offence meant) from trade only depots like ours, this allows us to give a proper service to people who are doing this for a living...& I dont have to provied a car park the size of Surrey & baby changeing facilities at all of our depots.
Nick
A few years ago when I building a large extension I priced up all the materials and then took it arounmd the merchants for the best discount if I bought it all from them and the prices, as you say, were a fraction of the retail. Service was also spot on; one call and stuff was there in a few hours.
Brown and Boris said:
Heading for the cutting stand when a B&Q guy pointed out that they don't cut treated timber because the chemicals damage some copper bit of the saw.
I've got a Striebig vertical panel saw in the workshop,(same as B&Q use) and I can tell you the only copper bits on mine are in the box containing the electrical connectors. They were on their way to a tea break by the sound of it. wkersexcel789 said:
Brown and Boris said:
Heading for the cutting stand when a B&Q guy pointed out that they don't cut treated timber because the chemicals damage some copper bit of the saw.
I've got a Striebig vertical panel saw in the workshop,(same as B&Q use) and I can tell you the only copper bits on mine are in the box containing the electrical connectors. They were on their way to a tea break by the sound of it. wkersBrown and Boris said:
ncs said:
Brown and Boris said:
Better news is it was under £6 a length, so about £2.50 a meter.
Furrrrrrrrrrk me!I hate to ruin your day but you can buy that at a decent merchant for under £1.00mtr + VAT
The likes of B&Q have massif advertising budgets & manage to convince people they are the best thing since sliced bread. Take Wickes (owned by Travis Perkins) new advert for 'slow grown' decking. Slow grown my arse...look at the growth rings on the stuff, you must have been able to stand back & watch the trees get taller!
The one good thing about the sheds is they keep the retail customers away (no offence meant) from trade only depots like ours, this allows us to give a proper service to people who are doing this for a living...& I dont have to provied a car park the size of Surrey & baby changeing facilities at all of our depots.
Nick
A few years ago when I building a large extension I priced up all the materials and then took it arounmd the merchants for the best discount if I bought it all from them and the prices, as you say, were a fraction of the retail. Service was also spot on; one call and stuff was there in a few hours.
I had a chap ring up last thursday from a Builders in Derby who'd be directed to us from Marshalls. He really couldn't get his head around us splitting packs for him, and delivering to his site (about thirty miles away from us) the next morning. I just told him that that's what we as Merchants do. Apparently his current suppliers don't, so that looks like another added to the accounts list.
I rang round a few places last week to get prices on some timber rounds (essentially cylindrical fence posts) for my plan of moving the shed 
Given that I'll use them twice (moving it across the garden, then moving it back once the new garage is built) I thought £60 or so was a bit excessive...
Reckon I could buy a new shed for not much more.
Given that I'll use them twice (moving it across the garden, then moving it back once the new garage is built) I thought £60 or so was a bit excessive...
Reckon I could buy a new shed for not much more.Simpo Two said:
I went to B&Q yesterday because I needed some chunks of MDF. I could get what I needed from a 2240 x 1220 sheet, but of course that wasn't going in the car. Cutting Service! The good news was that the store had two qualified cutters. The bad news was that they were both 'at lunch'. Great planning so I had to wait for 20 minutes. What bkbrain plans the rotas?
Did they really cut MDF? Our local B&Q has a big sign up saying they won't cut MDF and they turned someone away while I was there, as it's allegedly carcinogenic. so I had to wait for 20 minutes. What bkbrain plans the rotas?Their machine did impressively chop up a worktop that I'm using for a shelving project in an alcove - although they had to throw the first one away as the guy had no concept of which was the correct way to cut through laminate.
NiceCupOfTea said:
I rang round a few places last week to get prices on some timber rounds (essentially cylindrical fence posts) for my plan of moving the shed
Given that I'll use them twice (moving it across the garden, then moving it back once the new garage is built) I thought £60 or so was a bit excessive... Reckon I could buy a new shed for not much more.
Call me!!Given that I'll use them twice (moving it across the garden, then moving it back once the new garage is built) I thought £60 or so was a bit excessive...
Reckon I could buy a new shed for not much more.Rather than sell them to you myself & have to cover my costs I can put you in touch with a local stockist & save you a few £££'s
Chat soon
Nick
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff