Markup on window cleaning equipment is getting silly.

[Deleted member 7446]

I get why that annoys you, it would be frustrating for me also but to be fair this is a pretty normal way of doing things. It's not practical to manually choose the optimum postage and create an bespoke postage label for every order when you have the volume of sales that Gardiner's likely have so they'll have it all automated with postage rules based on weight, location, number of items, amount spent etc.
The problem is that you fall into a slight crack in the system. Royal mail is the only company that has a set price for the whole UK, other delivery companies charge a premium for delivery to the Highlands or off the mainland - this means you have a much bigger difference in price between royal mail and fedex than other people in the country will have. But for most people it will work fine and choose the most appropriate postage.
The fact that you've said you're able to email them to change the postage and they're willing and able to do so shows pretty good customer service on their part.

As far as quality goes, I can only speak from my own experience, but I've found their products to be the most consistent, reliable and high quality that can be purchased for our industry. The backpack has been indestructible for me, the poles last for years of constant hard use and the prices are very reasonable in my opinion.

I wouldn't want royal fail handling, delivering a £450+ carbon fibre pole

 

[Pjj]

That's an interesting question??

As someone else has said if they are just selling tds meters then that’s legal if they are selling them as HM ones then that’s a different matter but ime suprised than any reputable window cleaning supplies firm would sell cheap copies as they are inaccurate and not worth using you don’t buy a new car and put cheap oil in the engine .

 

[Skxawng]

I wouldn't want royal fail handling, delivering a £450+ carbon fibre pole

They'd use FedEx for that for sure. Royal mail is only cheap(ish) for small parcels. There aren't really any delivery companies I'd trust with anything valuable or fragile really, I've had parcels disappear or get damaged or arrive with the contents missing with all the main delivery companies. The only one I refuse to use now is EVRI (MyHermes) but it's practically impossible to hold any of them to any kind of accountability for losing or breaking your package.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

They'd use FedEx for that for sure. Royal mail is only cheap(ish) for small parcels. There aren't really any delivery companies I'd trust with anything valuable or fragile really, I've had parcels disappear or get damaged or arrive with the contents missing with all the main delivery companies. The only one I refuse to use now is EVRI (MyHermes) but it's practically impossible to hold any of them to any kind of accountability for losing or breaking your package.

I'm waiting on an Evri parcel but yesterday one of the biggest Evri depots in Avonmouth Bristol burnt down

 

[Skxawng]

I'm waiting on an Evri parcel but yesterday one of the biggest Evri depots in Avonmouth Bristol burnt down

Sounds about right. Hope yours wasn't in it.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Sounds about right. Hope yours

Sounds about right. Hope yours wasn't in it.

I hope it isn't because you'd laugh if I told you what my parcel is

 

[Peter J]

I hope it isn't because you'd laugh if I told you what my parcel is

Is it a new JML pole?

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Is it a new JML pole?

Haha definitely not

 

[ched999uk]

I hope it isn't because you'd laugh if I told you what my parcel is

A fire extinguisher?

 

[Cleanco]

Surely the fake tds metres can’t be that far out that they are unusable. Mine doesn’t say hm on it and I bought it from pure freedom years ago. I do have another that goes down to decimals and so it deffo ain’t wrong anyway.

 

[Shinyboy]

Who was the supplier ?

The cleaning hub.

 

[Cleanco]

Is this one real? If so it’s steal compared the one further up the thread.

 

[Cleanco]

 

[Deleted member 7446]

A fire extinguisher?

Close, some instantaneous fittings for a Briggs and stratton Davey fire fighting pump

 

[Johnboi]

I’m sorry but if anyone on here needs to worry about delivery charges for spare parts or the price of genuine tds meter then aren’t doing the job right.

Reminded me of a conversation with a supplier many moons ago where they said
All the window cleaners want near military grade products at next to nothing prices while they bore you with how much they make a day.

 

[Stuart S]

As I keep saying, my gripe was about paying for fedex delivery on tiny, cheap parts when royal mail would easily deliver them. Not complaining about the price of delivery, complaining about paying £15ish unnecessary extra for something when it isn't even going to Gardiners anyway, just to FedEx.

Side point, spoken to Alex and sorted it for the future. Respect.

 

[lucas dennis]

OK so probably opening a can of worms here and will get some grief but after needing a few odds and sods it rammed home just how expensive equipment can be and just how little competition there is out there on a lot of stuff which keeps prices high.

This isn't directed at any one retailer and I wont mention names but it seems that to purchase anything now seems to be excruciatingly expensive unless you can buy the same from Amazon or Ebay, a lot of which you cant. Just now for example I went to buy a new TDS meter. £42 plus delivery charge. The same exact thing can be had for £4.99 including free delivery on Amazon. Its crazy. If I want a few rubber washers, a bit of pole hose and a couple of clips for my poles it turns into a £50+ purchase.

I can stomach it ( to a degree) when your buying large or long life items like new poles or gutter vacs etc but its the small everyday spares and repair stuff that seems so ridiculous. A single Univalve is between 40 and 50 quid depending on where you get it. Great items and I wouldn't use anything else but come on, for what it is!

Like I say, I don't like to criticize and I have dealt with every major supplier of kit and have nothing but positive experiences but there is little denying we are taken for a bit of a ride with the markup of some stuff.

It's understandable that you're feeling frustrated with the high costs of equipment, especially for everyday spare parts that are essential for your work. The price difference between specialized suppliers and larger platforms like Amazon can be disheartening when you see such a gap. It's even more challenging when you rely on quality products, and the lack of competition makes it hard to find better deals. Your frustration is valid, and it's important that suppliers remain fair in their pricing so that everyone has access to the gear they need without feeling taken advantage of.

 

[Patrickr]

One of the biggest problems we have is the vast majority of big window cleaning businesses, and suppliers, are from the same religion, that for obvious reasons aren't going to compete against each other.
Any new competitor isn't going to last long as the ranks will close. Currently we are fortunate, on the basis there's good money to be made, but when margins start to be squeezed the monopoly will be hard to justify

What do you mean same religion lol