Thread: Bunnings trade prices..Some Q's..

this only what l think !
when you start a trade acount with bunnings you have to nomanate witch trade ie biulder pumber ect and you get a greater dicount from that area
you will get bugger all off power tools not much mark up from cost with them
l think its the same discount for everybody and you have to use it so many time a year or loose it
well thats as much as l know

Originally Posted by SPIRIT

this only what l think !
when you start a trade acount with bunnings you have to nomanate witch trade ie biulder pumber ect and you get a greater dicount from that area
you will get bugger all off power tools not much mark up from cost with them
l think its the same discount for everybody and you have to use it so many time a year or loose it
well thats as much as l know

So which area gives you the largest coverage? (builder?)
Also given that initially the powertools are going to be my largest expense in the startup is there any other place in Sydney which offers better trade discounts on powertools or are bunnings retail prices on powertools so close to trade (which I find hard to believe but I'm a newb).

If anyone can give me an example of Bunnings retail vs trade price of the bosch GSR12v I've been eyeing as a base it'd be great.

Need to buy a few items, compound mitre saw, jigsaw, drill, sander etc etc.

To tell you the truth its hardly worth the time to fill in the forms. As Spirit suggests you nominate your trade and they issue a trade card and when you present the card you MAY get ever so small a discount just to make you feel good. I usually get a couple of dollars knocked of a bill of say $100.

And don't even think about going for an account. The paperwork is so time consuming its just not worth it.

Personally if you have an alternative - trade tool supplies (try Total Tools) or even Mitre 10 for hardware. I would use them not so much because of price...more getting reliable fast service.

Remember your time is worth money and the time you waste trying to get served will cost more than any discount you get.

hiya - if you have a few tools to buy, put together a list with specific model numbers you are after, and ring up the tool suppliers for quotes - a few thousand dollar sale, is worth doing a quote for for many. VEK tools in smithfield have a sale on apparently, so i'd give them a call plus a few others. I've never found bunnings worth dealing with for quotes personally for materials - Bunnings have buggar all delivery vehicles, so they arent chasing trade supplies, just small top up trade purchasers, who just want to go to one place and get what they need (especially if you can just poass the cost on....)

Originally Posted by Bleedin Thumb

Remember your time is worth money and the time you waste trying to get served will cost more than any discount you get.

Yeh normally I agree but since this is a new business and I've got some time now before mid Jan when I'll start trading then I have a bit of free time (currently spending holidays doing the prep work and finding out all the tax stuff) so more saving in cash > time.

Once I'm up and running and need better service (assuming I'm not happy with Bunnings) I can always go and ditch them and open another account but at the moment I've got plenty of time and not enough cash so to speak so like any business I'm prioritizing costs atm.


Now assuming Bunnings bad wrt discounts is mitre10 in the same boat and their attraction is better service ? My local mitre10 looks like a hole with a staff of 2 and shelves half empty.

And unless it has changed in the last 18 months, Bunnies you have a credit limit that you "have to use". Its a rort. Just get individual ones from the real trade suppliers and if you need a basic one for bits here and there, get a M10 account. With M10 you can go months with out spending any money and they have the "urgent" little bits you need on the odd occasion.

Scooter is the man who can fill you in on Bunnies stuff

It's all about volume no matter what you're buying. If you're a big building company doing big volume then you'll get the biggest discount, or you may go straight to the supplier if you're going through enough of a particular product.
If you're a small sole trader and you want a couple of grands worth of kit, or materials for a job, then shop around with your full list and ask for a volume discount. Play suppliers against each other and take the cheapest price if your regular hardware won't match or beat it.

Trade counts for nothing if you're buying enough and you know where to shop. If they won't sell you a garden tap for a few bucks then go to a plumbing supply joint unless it's too far out of your way.

edit: A good example is a member here (can't remember exactly who) who does decks, recommended Miami Steel for stainless cable and fittings. He's in the game and he knows where to shop, and apparently they're heaps cheaper than Bunnings could hope to be.

Another example is that a while back, I used to fit ducted metal skirtings and we went through quite a few nylon anchors which we bought from Ramset. That is until we found out that a manufacturer was making them for Ramset and packaging them in 100 packs. We went direct to the manufacturer and started purchasing boxes of a thousand for a lot less than half of what we were paying Ramset.

Originally Posted by pawnhead

Trade counts for nothing if you're buying enough and you know where to shop. If they won't sell you a garden tap for a few bucks then go to a plumbing supply joint unless it's too far out of your way.

Disappointing I guess being a sole trader that the volumes aren't really there just yet. From a normal consumer perspective I know that ringing around can often get you places which will offer trade prices (close to) to make a sale anyway since a sale is a sale but it requires a bit of effort to find. I was hoping I would be able to avoid "haggling" and just cut to the chase but it seems what everyone is telling me that because of my size I'm not really going to get much discount compared to a normal consumer..hmm

With that in mind anyone mind letting me know (pm or otherwise) which stores offer really good competitive prices in Sydney on powertools. I know service is important but at this point in the business costs are more of a factor and I'm willing to sacrifice service. Once the business is up and running and I've got a feel and more of a positive cashflow I'll consider paying a bit more for better service but the business has got to survive it's initial startup period and cash is king. I dont' want to burn through my reserves paying for superior service when I'm building my client base and income in thin and I don't need superior response from my suppliers.

Originally Posted by pawnhead

edit: A good example is a member here (can't remember exactly who) who does decks, recommended Miami Steel for stainless cable and fittings. He's in the game and he knows where to shop, and apparently they're heaps cheaper than Bunnings could hope to be.

Yep fully agree. Trick is to know and find these places. With me just starting in the game I'm sure I'll eventually find these things out but the trouble is that I don't want to find these things after my initial tool purchases and look back and think how much money I could of saved so I'm hoping I can leverage some knowledge from here. Ii guess I want to cheat without putting the hard yards in so to speak .

On my list of powertools I looking at the moment for
[*] GMC LMS250 mitre saw - Yes GMC but with 2 years trade I can just chuck it out and I don't need superior precision so seems to fit the bill
[*] Cordless drill reasonable compact but with torque - Bosch GSR 12-14V series seems to fit the bill
[*] An electric sander (still trying to decide which one)
[*] Potentially a saw/router table though can defer. It'd be a nice to have
for convenience but might leave it till I actually need it.
[*] A bunch of network tools but that's not really a hardware woodworking discussion

Originally Posted by ReP0

it seems what everyone is telling me that because of my size I'm not really going to get much discount from a normal retailer..hmm

You shouldnt be looking at a normal retailer, you should be looking at the larger trade outlets. Their prices are 10-25% less than the normal outlets anyway. The hardest part when getting your first account is comming up with 3 references, if you can manage that your on the way.

Originally Posted by Lignum

You shouldnt be looking at a normal retailer, you should be looking at the larger trade outlets. Their prices are 10-25% less than the normal outlets anyway. The hardest part when getting your first account is comming up with 3 references, if you can manage that your on the way.

Serious? Reference ? References from whom, other tradies or your customers?

Didn't know about that and an obvious problem for me since I'm not really close to any tradies. This is more of a career change for me, well an extension of what I used to do inhouse for a large multinational company I used to work for....hmm

Originally Posted by ReP0

Serious? Reference ? References from whom, other tradies or your customers?

The only accounts you will get without references are "cash" accounts at places like Bunnies and M10. With those you get a trade discount but have to pay cash upfront.

Trade accounts where you get 30 days require other trade references and some even ask for a next to kin just in case.

I had a problem about a year or so ago when I started contracting again after about a 4 year spell where I only did contract project management. To re-ignite my trade accounts I had to supply the ubiquitous 3 trade references but a couple of the firms required them to have been actively trading in the last 12 months.

I was telling these people "I have had an account with you for 20 odd years" only to get the officious response " yes but we need 3 current trade references"

Buggered if I know how you would fare starting up these days?

BTW be careful of signing Director Guarantee's if your a Pty Ltd Co.

Originally Posted by Lignum

The only accounts you will get without references are "cash" accounts at places like Bunnies and M10. With those you get a trade discount but have to pay cash upfront.

Oh ok so as long as I pay cash upfront I'll be ok with most trade places right?, not just bunnigs and M10.

I don't mind doing this initially to start off. In a way I perfer it because I can see and feel the money leaving so it's more real. Credit would be nice but I can live without it for the initial period.

So whats the point of the references? Surely they aren't going to be considered guarantor's (sp?) for your credit should you default.? Who would be crazy enough to do that?

My son in law wanted to start an account with Bunnings and had to provide 3 trade references along with a trade card. And when it came to the crunch, only certain things were discounted. There are many things apparently at Bunnings that doesn't come under the classification of "Trade" items so they are not discounted.