What I always suspected of Bunnings

[Exfso]

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2016/05/11/bunnings-turns-screws-home-renovators/

[Nikolas]

Agree on the screws especially.
They are in tiny packets all in different sizes and are unbelievably expensive for what you get.
Gone are the days of a big box of different sized screws.

[w0mbat]

Agree on the screws. A blister pack of less than 10 cost more than a box of 100 at a nearby engineering supplies.
I also understand they eliminate the possibility of you finding a cheaper price by importing items that cannot be found elsewhere with the exact same product number.
Ian

[PCH]

That "We'll beat it by 10%" gimmick is a load of balls too. I went in for a Rheem valve that I could get elsewhere for $60. Bunnings is much closer so I went in there and they had it for $119. So I asked for the deal and gave them the details of the other supplier.

They kept me waiting half an hour while they messed about finding someone in plumbing etc etc and in the end opted not to beat it or even match it... wtf??

I went to the other place only to find they'd quoted incorrectly over the phone. It was actually cheaper than they'd told me earlier and I paid just $52 (v $119 at Bunnings).

It beats me how they can advertise that 'beat it' deal when they may have no intentions of actually doing it though.

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

That's called "misleading the consumer". It is one of a range of tricks to get you in there, and maybe, say "I can't be bothered arguing".

If you have the urge, report this to Fair Trading, as it is just as illegal as the "bait-and-switch" trick.

Cheers

[janoskiss]

Local little man (occasionally woman) is always best for bits and bobs. For timber, go to a lumber yard, for aluminium go to ATC or similar, for tiles, paint, lighting etc, go to someone who specialises in what you're after (and that includes telescopes).

Cheap Chinese power tools and emergencies is what Bunnings is for.

Bunnings is to hardware what the major supermarkets are to food. Baker, fishmonger, butcher, deli, greengrocer, all in one. It's crap but it's convenient and has the marketing power of a monopoly behind it. The stale food people.

[el_draco]

Yep, but didn't think it was that extreme until I did a comparison between bolts I bought at Bunnings and a local "Nuts and Bolts" business. Bunning cost almost 300% more. Frigging theft and they are now last on my shopping list.

[spiezzy]

I have been going to Masters much cheaper and better service I would not give Bunnings the steam of my $&%t .
I also try to support my local small Hardware shop as much as I can I do a lot of building and get all my timber and fasteners of them get free delivery and super fast ordering and trade off that and they beat Bunnings hands down .
I think that now Bunnings has squeezed the little guy out they have no other hardwares to compete with so up goes the prices and I bet they are squeezing there suppliers too .
cheers Pete

[clive milne]

I can get 316 SS 12mm bolts delivered to my door via courier for a little bit over half of "Sausage Masters' price for low grade galv,... Even the Zinc plated high tensile bolts work out to about a quarter and that includes the shipping (via courier) from Brisbane to Perth.

Their range is spectacular
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Fasteners-Galore

Highly recommended.

[el_draco]

Geezus! :thumbsup:

[DJT]

Thank you.

[multiweb]

Always noticed their stainless steel fasteners were very expensive yes, and the LED lighting prices have gone through the roof as well. It's like everything. You need to shop around. Costco is the same. Great for some items but don't even think about buying some brands of breakfast cereals there, or even fresh produce such as veggies or fruits. You'll get slashed.

[AussieTrooper]

That claim is a scam.
The Checkout on ABC did a segment on them, and less than 20% of the product codes actually exist in any other store. Most are supplied exclusively to Bunnings, with near zero difference to those wholesaled to other retailers.
Those near identical products tended to be more expensive at Bunnings too.

[Allan_L]

In my price comparisons, Bunnings have (almost) always come out cheaper on items I want.
And they happily refund or exchange if you find you bought the wrong size, style, colour etc..
AND They are AUSTRALIAN owned.
That's just my experience, at the moment, so I support them. :scared3:

[PCH]

Being Aussie owned is certainly a plus these days Allan. And despite my earlier grievance (which was for the identical product elsewhere), generally speaking I do place a lot of weight on being able to go to the one place for just abut anything I want for a diy project.

[mswhin63]

As much as it is true that Bunnings is more expensive, there is no Baiting in Common law in this situation. Two area of Law are:

Mere Puff -> Yes it is a terminology in law for advertising. Meaning Bunnings is not going to say to consumers they are the most expensive or we are the worst hardware store. So the term Mere Puff sounds just like it is (Rubbish talk)

Invitation to Treat -> All advertising and promotion apart from mere puff in most cases are Invitation to Treat and not a binding contract. Only when the cash register dings (so to speak) then it become binding.

Baiting is only when an advertised product is said to be limited and if you find out the product was never in the store then it is Bait Advertising.

I must admit, nowadays as I live close to an industrial area, I tend to shop around. Seemed in most cases I can get cheaper items elsewhere and most of the time a much higher quality product. Wood is one item, and threaded rods are another item that are cheaper (A lot) elsewhere
Bunnings is mostly a rip off but can't touch them easily.

[issdaol]

I have found best thing with Bunnings is to be well informed prior to going there and very selective on what you purchase there.

They have had some great bargains which were not available elsewhere on the other side of the coin they also have a lot of overpriced items to catch out the uninformed buyer or impulse buyer which you can get much better deals at other specialty shops.

As for the 10% guarantee In my experience I have found that they have honoured that on every instance I have found that they sell the same Item. All I have done is take in my iPad shown them the web special of the cheapest competitor to prove my claim and they do it without fuss or argument.