The proverbial bargain

[Poly Hive]

for those of you lucky enough to have money burning in your pockets a wee thought to ponder.........

A bargain is only a bargain rarely.

Is it possible that some badly made material might be discounted at an event?

The "Oops boss I screwed up the machine settings" materials?

There is no such thing as a free lunch is still so very true.

Enjoy your queue.

PH

 

[roche]

The best is always the cheapest...

 

[simonforeman]

Bee equipment have a big sale on while the show is ongoing... looks like free delivery also....

 

[BMH]

Absolute nonsense!

People are are becoming more and more aware of the ability to snag bargains and it has no reflection on the quality of the product.

For example.

I bought a new TV last year. £1899 RRP.

I got it for £925

Exactly the same TV that others were peddling for £1400 as a bargain.

How you might ask.

RRP was £1899 but Currys had it for sale at £1499.

Currys had £200 off plus an extra 10% code taking it to £1170.

I get 8% off at work through our benefits taking it to £1076.

Quidco were also running a promotion that gave £100 back on any samsung TV taking it down to £976.

And my amex card was giving 5% back on any currys purchase taking it down to roughly £925

So to say, a bargain is only a bargain rarely is nonsense. Sure, it takes hard work and most of all TIMING. But there are bargains to be had all the time.

Most suppliers have to conform to EU/trading standards to so imply quality will dip when the price is low is rubbish and illegal in most circumstances.

Sure, there are tonnes and tonnes of FAKE bargains out there as all the studies around Black Friday have proven, so always be sure to compare like for like on camelcamelcamel or pricespy to ensure the savings are real, but in the day and age of cashback site, cashback cards, employee benefits and stackable discount codes, there are super bargains to be had across the board.

Youre clearly the one with money burning in your pockets as you beleive that high price = high quality.

Its simply not the case!

 

[BMH]

Another example.

BT broadband stacks reward cards and quidco transfer.

Last year I paid £29.99 a month for phone line and 52MB broadband.

I received a £200 reward card and £180 cashback.

Basically had free broadband for the year and they paid me £20!

Was the quality any lower, did they cap my speeds. Did they heck! They want my custom and think ill be too lazy to switch come the end of the 12 month contract.

 

[drex]

I have only ever bought "seconds" from the major bee suppliers. Usually at least less than half the price of the first quality. Never been disappointed yet. All parts serviceable. Occasional wood filler needed for knot holes.

 

[Popparand]

It depends what you're buying surely? New boxed branded goods can be a real bargain, especially if you buy surplus stock of an item that has been replaced with a newer version stacked full of features you don't need.

I buy "bees on a budget" from Thornes. The boxes and frames are fine, come from a reliable source and the complete pack is cheaper than Chinese sourced softwood hives on the Internet.

At the end of the day hives are just wooden boxes left outside in the rain, etc, so do you really need Chippendale joinery?

 

[madasafish]

I always buy branded goods as cheaply as possible to subject to service of course.

Why buy Kellogs Rice Krispies at £3.75 a box when you can pay £3? Or Andrex toilet rolls at £6 for 18 in Asda vs £7.50 in Sainsbury?

Ditto car tyres, Tea bags, fondant, QEs, etc. I have used seconds frames for 5 years - and in that time I might have had to scrap 10 frames - tops..

"Take care of the pennies etc"


For a time I ran a Purchasing Department in an Engineering Business. We made significant savings -10% plus pa - by being hard headed. In that business that amounted to £1million +pa...
(paid my salary for several decades... )

 

[sean-a]

Absolute nonsense!

People are are becoming more and more aware of the ability to snag bargains and it has no reflection on the quality of the product.

For example.

I bought a new TV last year. £1899 RRP.

I got it for £925

Exactly the same TV that others were peddling for £1400 as a bargain.

How you might ask.

RRP was £1899 but Currys had it for sale at £1499.

Currys had £200 off plus an extra 10% code taking it to £1170.

I get 8% off at work through our benefits taking it to £1076.

Quidco were also running a promotion that gave £100 back on any samsung TV taking it down to £976.

And my amex card was giving 5% back on any currys purchase taking it down to roughly £925

So to say, a bargain is only a bargain rarely is nonsense. Sure, it takes hard work and most of all TIMING. But there are bargains to be had all the time.

Most suppliers have to conform to EU/trading standards to so imply quality will dip when the price is low is rubbish and illegal in most circumstances.

Sure, there are tonnes and tonnes of FAKE bargains out there as all the studies around Black Friday have proven, so always be sure to compare like for like on camelcamelcamel or pricespy to ensure the savings are real, but in the day and age of cashback site, cashback cards, employee benefits and stackable discount codes, there are super bargains to be had across the board.

Youre clearly the one with money burning in your pockets as you beleive that high price = high quality.

Its simply not the case!

Yee Gods Mate!
I bought my Samsung TV on Ebay for £100
Collect only!
Works just as well as the ones that someone paid £££ for a year or two earlier.
It's switched of for 23 hours a day, so it should last me.

 

[BMH]

Yeah but is it 65 inches, 4k UHD with a 10bit HDR panel?

 

[sean-a]

Yeah but is it 65 inches, 4k UHD with a 10bit HDR panel?

Sounds fab.
My eyesight isn't that bad yet though. I can still make do with a normal sized one.

 

[BMH]

Have to get the big, high res TVs when you're young as when you are old enough to afford them, you're eyesight isnt good enough to appreciate it!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And the point of this thread?..........

 

[oliver90owner]

I do remember a new beekeeper buying the first two National hives very cheap at a beekeeping auction type sale. Unfortunately, there was no bee space at the sides of the frames. I loaned them a couple of deeps (transferred the bees for the lady, as they were propolised so tight that a couple frames were toast).

I never got my boxes back, but still get the very occasional cuppa, if I call in .....

 

[BMH]

And the point of this thread?..........

Er, its slightly sidetracked but to prove/disprove that everything cheap is crap or everything expensive is good quality.

 

[Anduril]

If we get back on track, it needs to be beekeeping related, not about televisions as this is not the off topic section. The cheap products are the slightly damaged or ill fitting items.

 

[BMH]

Oh right, I see.

So the Maisies Nucs that are for sale at the moment for £33.50 are better than the ones I bought 2 months ago in the sale for £25.20???

There was nothing wrong with the ones I bought in the sale.

Identical in every way to the ones that are selling now for 33% more!

 

[B+.]

Er, its slightly sidetracked but to prove/disprove that everything cheap is crap or everything expensive is good quality.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I have some expensive things that I use a couple of times a year. I have some cheap things I use all the time. If you replace the word "quality" for "value", the cheap things are used far more so their value is higher

 

[BMH]

I agree and I'd also say there is a lot to be said for buying good quality goods as cheap and poor quality is often a false economy.

You get better value from an expensive item thats lasts or a cheap item thats is often replaced. Not from an unreliable expensive item that you bought under the impression that the greater cost implied greater quality.

Im certainly not advocating finding the cheapest possible option for everything, but rather comparing like for like, haggling, timing purchases etc

I fundamentally disagree with the statement 'cheap means crap'.

 

[SDM]

Oh right, I see.

So the Maisies Nucs that are for sale at the moment for £33.50 are better than the ones I bought 2 months ago in the sale for £25.20???

There was nothing wrong with the ones I bought in the sale.

Identical in every way to the ones that are selling now for 33% more!

Slight exaggeration since you'd be paying £30,10 for them now.
It's 20% not 33%