Sales irritations

[BBC]

Wow!
All this was created by a beek expecting an immediate discount from start up companies in a climate that is getting tighter and tougher by the week.
Understanding, loyalty and support now will pay dividends in the long run. Otherwise, pay the book price and take the discounts when they’re advertised.
We don’t have a given right to discounts!

 

[madasafish]

Wow!
All this was created by a beek expecting an immediate discount from start up companies in a climate that is getting tighter and tougher by the week.
Understanding, loyalty and support now will pay dividends in the long run. Otherwise, pay the book price and take the discounts when they’re advertised.
We don’t have a given right to discounts!

We may not have a god given right to discounts but I am often perfectly happy to make up a list of wants and needs and prioritise them so I only buy the needs when they are cheap and the wants when they are even cheaper.
(I was educated by Aberdonians in Aberdeen

 

[BBC]

We may not have a god given right to discounts but I am often perfectly happy to make up a list of wants and needs and prioritise them so I only buy the needs when they are cheap and the wants when they are even cheaper.
(I was educated by Aberdonians in Aberdeen

….and that is fair enough.
We all do it. The next step is to budget. Unless you have very deep pockets of course

 

[Bettenham]

This is actually a good thread, even though it started out in a sightlly controversial manner. There are some lessons here - particularly for new beekeepers:

1. Plan your seasons requirements well in advance and take advantage of the deals available when the sales and shows come along (and they do - every year).
2. Loyalty goes a long way - suppliers appreciate regular customers and if you get to know them and talk to them then you have the sort of relationship any business prefers - it's much easier to hang on to an existing, loyal customer than go out and find a new one.
3. Sign up to beekeeping supplies email news letters - they often do flash sales on isolated products at discounted prices and take advantage when they come along.
5. Shop around for major purchases and find the best price before you decide to purchase - if it's something you can buy from your usual supplier, demonstrate the other prices you have found and very often they will price match rather than lose the sale.
5. It's harder to get a deal when you are in peak season and desperately need something that your supplier will know that you are desperate for ... if you've got yourself in that position - pay up and smile.
6. Be understanding - businesses need to make a profit to stay in business. It's been a hard time for all small businesses over the last couple of years and beekeeping supplies is a competitive business. Competition is good but if it gets too hard we will lose some of the suppliers that provide the competition and we will have less choice and inevitably higher prices.
7. Try and put some of the profits from your honey sales away for the days when you come across a bargain - it's a lot less painful shelling out money you have in a jar than it is to dip into the family bank account and then have to justify to your significant other why you have just coughed up £200 to Simonthebeekeeper for some real bargains that will never be repeated ! All you have to do then is explain the delivery of large cardboard boxes when they arrive ...

No 7
That's funny, I had that very conversation last night and it was a large box!!!

 

[Swarm]

I've found sitting down enjoying the chat and exchanging stories often leads to a slight reduction in price. If not, it's been a pleasant way to spend a little time.

 

[blackcloud]

No 7
That's funny, I had that very conversation last night and it was a large box!!!

I think there are few plus points for still being on the treadmill but one is that I can have the stuff delivered to the workplace,stay in the van then go straight to the apiary.Impending retirement will be bittersweet.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I don’t think Redhatuk liked the feedback he got as he’s not been on since he got his first two lots!

 

[pargyle]

I don’t think Redhatuk liked the feedback he got as he’s not been on since he got his first two lots!

Sometimes you get 'tough love' - many of us have dished it out and some of us have been on the receiving end ... the reality is, if a few people, on a forum like this, tell you something - then it should provoke the grey matter into thinking a bit more. Whether or not you take comments on board is a matter of personal choice - thinking about the comments should be mandatory.

I hope Redhatuk has not left - and has taken the comments offered in the spirit they were made. This thread is a good one ... it should make us all conscious about how we deal with our suppliers and what we might expect as our side of the transaction.

The old adages - 'what goes around comes around' and 'you get back usually what you put in' come to mind.

 

[Somerford]

Considering the large discounts available from all the main suppliers at various times of the year, both on and off season, I am really struggling to ascertain why the OP felt aggrieved they weren’t offered a discount.

Full price first quality kit is priced accordingly because it is knot free and colouration is uniform as a rule.

2nd are then priced accordingly.

If you shop around and compare/contrast prices for comparable equipment like extractors it’s a case of ‘you get what you pay for’ and occasionally a good deal in a sale period.

Even the £20k+ ‘full line extraction equipment’ is sold with a small discount included as you’re buying the lot rather than piecemeal but it’s a cheeky to expect further really.

Every business is trying to cover its costs. And equipment manufacturers in the UK are not alone in having to juggle the balls….higher staff costs, energy costs (especially those making foundation) and other costs rising all the time.

Yes they could cut their prices and get everything made abroad but then there would be no home grown beekeeping suppliers and no traceability and to be honest, no knowledge passed down from generation to generation which is what you get in many of the family run manufacturing businesses we have in the sector.

Businesses have to make a profit else they cease to be. Falling over and marking price reductions every time a 1 hive owner (or 10/20/30 hive owner for that matter) demands it is the start of the rot.

Better the beekeeper focus on their beekeeping to make an excellent yield of honey to cover the input costs…

KR

S

 

[rolande]

I think it's reasonable to ask the question so long as we're happy to accept the answer.

The thing which most surprised me about the initial post was that these small businesses took the time (which they could surely have used more productively) to discuss beekeeping with someone who appears to have been totally disinterested in the conversation. Did they not realise that they were talking to someone who didn't want to be a part of the conversation? Maybe they felt a little upset that they weren't able to offer the requested discount but hoped to build an initial relationship with a potential future customer? Sounds like there was more than a touch of miscommunication going on.

 

[mbc]

My experience is certainly what Will suggests. I bought my first queen from Pete Little. I phoned him at 11pm on his instructions and finally managed to get off the phone at 12.30!
I subsequently dealt with Sandra via email if I was short of time.
Asking small companies for a discount is a little unreasonable don't you think?

I loved those late evening chats with Pete, he had unquenchable enthusiasm for all things bees

 

[mbc]

I've found sitting down enjoying the chat and exchanging stories often leads to a slight reduction in price. If not, it's been a pleasant way to spend a little time.

Rather than a reduction in price (which I've rarely achieved!) it has on a number of occasions been my good fortune to get thrown in a few extras after taking the time to chat with vendors.

 

[deemann1]

When you go to a service station and put 60 pounds of fuel in your car .
Do you go into the shop and ask for a discount ??

 

[JamezF]

When you go to a service station and put 60 pounds of fuel in your car .
Do you go into the shop and ask for a discount ??

By filling your car you're probably agreeing to pay the price displayed. You could however go into the shop and ask for a discount before you fill up. I suspect you'd get short shrift mind

On the other hand, I can buy red diesel by the litre for about £1.34/litre I think, but if I commit to having a thousand litres delivered I do get a discount.

James

 

[steve1958]

This is just another fun experience relating to the hobby of beekeeping.
Waiting for the sales, ordering more than we need because it's a bargain.
That nice warm feeling inside that comes with saving a pound or two off of the original price.

I wonder how many people that knock on my door asking to buy a jar of honey find my 5 minute Beekeeping lecture boring.

 

[JohnRB]

I think there are few plus points for still being on the treadmill but one is that I can have the stuff delivered to the workplace,stay in the van then go straight to the apiary.Impending retirement will be bittersweet.

Top tip - make sure your partner is also a beekeeper or, failing that, has an equally expensive hobby. You have no idea how expensive hand died crochet wool is - a few balls cost the same as a new brood box (and I'm not talking seconds)

 

[Erichalfbee]

I wonder how many people that knock on my door asking to buy a jar of honey find my 5 minute Beekeeping lecture boring.

Oh we get very good at talking through that glazed look and past protestations that the victim must get away

 

[Jules59]

SWMBO is delighted with my beekeeping - its the first hobby of mine which has the potential to make money or at least break even - and after the initial investment is heading in the right direction.

 

[blackcloud]

I have to say once the cookie jar began being stuffed with folding money there was a lot less smirking at the family Sunday lunches.

 

[madasafish]

SWMBO is delighted with my beekeeping - its the first hobby of mine which has the potential to make money or at least break even - and after the initial investment is heading in the right direction.

I have virtual licence to do as I pleased after last year's good financial results. I am , however, judged on an escalating scale of required returns year after year so I am on a treadmill.

(Yes dear, a new dashcam is essential for beekeeping )