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what stock for the new van

This is the old Locksmith business info area and will be broken down to fill in the new sections below.

Postby Magic » 25 Aug 2006 17:50

I'm looking to buy several £000,s of equipment as I'm just setting up. I've made 3 phone calls to Aldridges requesting catalogues and to date have received nothing - if they can treat this kind of potential purchase with such contempt then I guess they are just too busy to want the business of such a small fry as myself. :evil:
Now, thats magic !
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Postby Shrub » 25 Aug 2006 17:56

I ont know what it is with them, they can be cohearsed to give out catalogues if you see them in person but otherwise you need to open an account with them to get one,
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Postby pinky » 25 Aug 2006 18:29

Unless you are to spend £10k a month with them, then its small fry im afraid.
it takes a little while to get an account open with them, but once up and running, by far the best and most comprehensive stock range, and reliable.
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Postby Magic » 25 Aug 2006 18:44

I hear what you are saying, Pinky, but it's not my idea of good business practice and I won't deal with companies that can have such disregard for their customer's needs. I may be small fry in their eyes but it's sink or swim to me.
Now, thats magic !
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Postby pinky » 25 Aug 2006 18:58

Its the old " dont cut your nose off to spite the face" thing .
Aldridge can be a bit anal , but for locking products and fittings they really are second to none, to not trade with them loses you a big edge and not just in price.

i fully understand where you are comming from, but to blank them hurts only you, its a git but in the end its worth the wait.

alot depends upon what you intend buying, if picks etc , then specialist tools from manufacturers such as safe ventures is the way to go, some nice toys also at keyprint, for cb tools then its only duffels, but all sell souber tools at exactly same price.
If after key machines and blanks then SKS , Keyprint or davenport burgess and NW Keys are best options by far.
if after diagnostic equipment then advanced diagnostics or OBD are your best option direct.

but for locking products, sadly aldridge shine head and shoulders above the rest, on price and quality, though duffels have some very good locks too.
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Postby SteveW » 25 Aug 2006 20:05

the wholesale business is a funny old game really. What i have learnt is that a little loyalty can go along way.

I stopped using Aldridge a few months back, and now use Duffells and Citysafe. Between them they can cover the same range of products that Aldridge have and because they are more conscientious of the smaller customer i now enjoy the kind of discounts it would take me years to build up with Aldridge. With the discounts i now have at Duffells they are by far the cheapest place for me to get most of my general everyday stock, even though they are considered to be the most expensive of all of the major wholesalers.

If you spend two or three grand at Aldridge evey month they wont even notice you. The smaller wholesalers will and they will look after you. So a bit of loyalty can pay off.

Ive used SKS and Keyprint a few times and so far SKS haven't managed to get a single order right, so i just dont bother anymore and Keyprint are great for tools but everything else always seems to be out of stock :(
Image
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Postby Magic » 26 Aug 2006 3:10

I'd like to propose that a 'review' section is added to the forum so that our experiences of suppliers/tools/training/equipment, etc, can be shared.
How about it, mods?
Now, thats magic !
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Postby Chris B » 26 Aug 2006 4:13

Morning all,

From my own experiences along the years, I would make these comments –

All Locksmith Wholesalers work a Discount Band, if you spend X amount per month or per purchase you will get X discount. They do not all have the same pricing structure for every item, some favour various areas more than others, so what you are looking for is consistancy in pricing, you may decide to buy all your multi-points from Duffells, buy all your key blanks from NW Keys, your tools from Nigel Rose etc etc, and vary your supplier for the products that you want, but at the end of the day your own profit margin is dependant upon what you sell the product for, gaining 1 or 2 pence when purchasing a product is pointless when you can charge almost anything that you wish keeping as close as possible to the RRP for the product. [remember that you can loose more than 1 or 2 pence in the cost of fuel in a traffic jam]

When starting out you may wish to give all your customers a 17.5% discount equaling the vat, this will still give you a profit and give a valued discount to your customer. On the other hand, if you are not of that mind, you may not offer a discount ever , this is your decision.

You are more likely to get a personal service with a better understanding of your requirements with smaller vendors. Is this not true with your local shop? They know your face and they welcome you into their shop whether you buy a cabbage or a weekly shop? But will the giants like Tesco treat you in the same way? Only on the surface.

If, by getting a personal service, you feel that your £ is well spent, then stand by your preferences. Why? Because your £ not only buys the product, it also buys the service, and if the service that you get makes you feel that your £ was well spent, then good, but if you feel as if they are indifferent towards you, and it matters to you, then look elsewhere for service. Yes, it is an old fashioned attitude, and yes, you may ‘possibly’ pay an extra .0045% more on something, but how you feel at the end of the day when you purchase anything is what matters, whether it’s for 5 key blanks or a key machine. Building up a relationship with your supplier will be important, having trust in him to understand what you are asking for when you yourself may not know the part number or the ‘proper technical widget by it’s proper name’, his years of knowledge are of immense value and he knows his stock better than we will ever know, that’s his business.

How you see your dealing with your wholesaler is up to you, what is right for you may not be right for another locksmith. We are all different and have different values.

I may be old fashioned in some of my points of view, however it matters to me how and where I spend my £, I would like to say that in business we have a very good communication level with our suppliers and those that I use offer very good discounts and extremely good personal services, so take from that what you will.

But remember that we are all different, and what pleases one person may not please another. When you take out a customer account with any of the suppliers they will be pleased to communicate with you. As you are in London or thereabouts, why not drop in and introduce yourself to many of them? This will tell you what you want to know, and if you cannot visit them - then ask for the Reps to visit you. If you like their attitude – then go with them.

As for getting help for jobs with other experienced safe engineers you could do well to put up a post on a forum called: http://www.safe-engineers.net - as a guest - asking for assistance from a safe engineer to do a job for you, or look on the SAVTA listing for a member in your area: http://www.savta.org , just ideas to investigate, contact them and see how you get on with them.

Wishing you all the best with your new business.

regards
Chris B
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Postby blade2174 » 26 Aug 2006 15:05

Once again a big thank you from one chris b to another and all other members .
i sense that this subject is one of varied debate amongest the forum members , i am in the process of contacting all the other suppliers that i have details for and will let you all know how i get on
if anyone has details for any one other than duffells,alldridges,sks, souber,i would be gratefull for them as i could get an all round view of the suppliers , thanks again . chris b 2
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Postby Chris B » 26 Aug 2006 15:35

Here is the MLA Affiliates list:
http://www.locksmiths.co.uk/contact/affiliates.asp
If you do a search on the names in yell.com or surf the internet, you'll find them all.

Good luck
Chris b
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