Profit Margin of Big Box Store Custom Cabinets?
9 years ago
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- 9 years ago
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My big box store has blueberries, grapes, ect.
Comments (11)I understand the temptations of the "spring itch" - we have had people come into the store after a few warm days in January wondering if they could get some tomato plants - you know, just a few to put on the windowsill until it's really spring! We take them out to look at the houseplants... You will have no problems with those blueberries if you can keep them dormant. I do suggest you check to see if they are appropriate selections for your area - when the box stores buy plants, they buy for 200 stores spread over 10 different states. Your local extension agent, or a local garden center, should be able to give you some useful information regarding the blueberries. brian...See MoreBig Box Stores?
Comments (28)The primary appeal of the big box retailer, for me, is that I can buy things there at 7am, 9pm, on Saturday evening, or on Sunday. Otherwise I'd prefer to have nothing to do with them unless I have to. There are times when, whether for reasons of necessity or impulse, that I want to buy *something* now. Home Depot has gotten some business from me for that reason. However, I prefer dealing with the local shop that knows what it is doing. I spend thousands per year at my saw shop, and a fair bit at the lawnmower/snowblower/generator shop, too. It took a number of years to find shops I was comfortable dealing with, though. Reasons follow: 1. I want a shop to actually have stuff in stock when I show up to buy. New units, parts, etc., should be ready to go. 1a. If you have to order something, let me place my "order" over the phone. I will NOT drive to you to tell you to order something that I have to drive back to pick up later, because that adds no value for me. It is, instead, a waste of my time. 2. Have hours beyond 5pm. Even 5:30 can help, but a night or two per week of 7pm would be appreciated. 3. Make sure your sales staff really knows their stuff and recognizes that some customers actually know more than they do. Quoting brochures is useless, and if you've never put any time in on the machines you're selling, well, maybe you should. 4. Service machines brought to you promptly. Nothing should sit in the shop for more than a week. My saw shop in particular is good about getting stuff back up and running within a day or two, since their commercial clients require it. 5. Stay abreast of what "enthusiasts" are doing with the equipment you are selling. I once purchased a lawnmower from a shop that also sells Stihl. The owner was nice enough to bring the mower out to my car, and he started checking out my Stihl 066 and turned critical as he launched into a critique of my improper chain filing technique, carrying on about how nobody knows how to sharpen chain anymore, how my cutters were all beat up, etc. In point of fact the chain was square-filed race chain with the back of the cutter removed, the top of the tie straps relieved for chip flow, etc. His ignorance was excusable, but his attitude was not. I don't shop there anymore....See MoreHave you ever wanted to counsel someone at a big box store?
Comments (35)Gary, One thing to keep in mind with orchids at the big boxes is many are, for the money, a better deal than buying cut flowers because they last so much longer. I do that, knowing that I know very little about keeping it alive or getting it to rebloom after it finally peters out. I just stick them in the boot of the palm tree out back and once in a blue moon fertilize them. And several have died out there, but one rebloomed for me recently. I felt like I doubled my money on that little very common purple and white dendrobium. I do the same thing with the little broms with the spectacular flowers (or whatever brom's non-flower flowers are called.) After several weeks, the flowers die and I plant them in the ground. I've had several of those rebloom too, and I'm even bringing pups and big divisions to the swap. They're not fancy, but for the $8 I paid, I got a lovely flower in the kitchen window for weeks, and if I get more, wow, yippee! I also think the orchids make much nicer hostess gifts than showing up with a bunch of cut flowers. If the hostess can't keep it alive to rebloom, he or she will at least get to enjoy the nice spray of flowers for much longer than cut flowers will last. (so when you see me at HD, don't bother to counsel me on my brom and orchid buys... just all the other stuff I might buy and potentially kill or hate!) As for the in-store kills, I saw a massacre in the making yesterday. Someone should go to the K-Mart in Miami Shores and convince the manager to sell them all the broms and orchids for cheap. They lost the shade covering in Fay and everything there is burned looking and won't last much longer. I thought about talking to him or her, but I don't know enough about orchids to think that even if they were heavily discounted, I could keep enough of them alive and get them to rebloom to make it worth it. susannah...See MoreWhat commission do Big Box stores take on granite or cabinets?
Comments (13)Markup is a part of life desert dance ! Why are you so averse to paying it? What you should focus on is are you getting fair value for the price you are being charged on the product or service you are buying. BTW - all retail IS NOT marked up 3 times. Sometimes its only once depending on the distribution channel, and if you are talking about percentages , some things are only marked up 10-20% like appliances ! Also consider that " markup"allows you to walk into the Depot and browse their selection on tile, cabinet doors, countertops, and appliances for free. All those displays , lighting, brochures, rent, costs $$$. Now , you can easily find an outfit with lower overhead which might translate into lower markup, and it might not. You'll drive yourself crazy trying sort out all the costs that go into a renovation budget on top of the design decisions that need to be made. Do you question your mechanic's markup on oil or bolts when you get an oil change? You could save a lot of money if he bought all his oil when it was on closeout or March Madness sale at walmart instead of his regular supplier. How about the fees your broker/ IRA/ 401k charge to administer your retirement plan. And other accounts? Ever hire an attorney and seen what you are charged for a copy or a postage stamp? It's easy to nitpick pricing - there IS ALWAYS someone/where with a lower price. Why dont you tell us what business / industry company you or your spouse work in and let us compared its pricing with the rest of the market....See More- 9 years ago
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