Jaw dropping prices but where else to go?

[Alex H]

To return to the original post and show that it's not just France..........

Somehow one of the hubcaps on my trailer cracked and fell off. Its a bit of plastic that covers the nut that holds the wheel hub on.

I knew I stood no chance of getting one here, so phoned the manufacturer. they told me to phone their suppliers, which I did.

Yes, we have those they are 75p each. Fine I said, how much to send to France?

Ooh, thats our export department, let me put you through.

Fortunately for me they were out. I said to the first guy - How much to post to the UK then?

£5.99

[Alex H]

Double post................

[SC]

post deleted

[SC]

James wrote:

Basicallyrit is a French chain of DIY!
Yes and here are some links:

http://www.bricodepot.fr/selection_depots/
http://www.bricodepot.es/
http://www.bricodepot.com/en/accueil.php

Here's another one:

http://www.kingfisher.com/index.asp?pageid=35

Steve

[dave21478]

Mr Bricolage today....

As far as I am able to tell without opening both packets, their Premier Prix toilet flush mechanism is EXACTLY the same as the other one they sell at double the price. The plastics are a different colour, but they look identical right down to the mould marks on the plastic.

[:@]

[Chancer]

Did a round of the grand surfaces today to find some premier prix motor oil for topping up, as usual in most of them all you find is a price ticket on an empty shelf but plenty of the expensive stuff, as an aside I see the price of petrol/oil has been falling at the pumps for a few weeks but whenever motor oil or even huile de friture goes up it never goes down again.

Anyway at Intermarché aside from the expensive oils or the ones that look cheap but are in fact only 2 liters with a half depth container they had Top budget oil for €11 yet a non marque branded oil was only €8.90

[AnOther]

As this thread has been bumped here's my recent experience.

I needed some cold set tar to repair the potholes in my drive.

French price - €25 for a 25kg bag

UK price (Wickes) - £6.07 !

Fortunately I was going back to UK for my son's wedding so bought some to bring back.

[dave21478]

BricoDepot truly is a fucking miserable shop, but due to the lack of choice around here I find myself there a lot.

Spotted a nice little scam on the go today......the queues at the tills were hellish and as I waited I spotted that the security guard that lurks around the tills was earning himself a nice little bonus. You can choose to either have a normal till receipt of a facture, and those who chose a normal receipt and spent over about 40euros were his targets. Once they left the till, he was getting the till girl to print a duplicate receipt and he was filling out a facture himself, I assume so he can reclaim the TVA for himself!

[AnOther]

Reclaim TVA, on what basis and what is the significance of €40 ?

Actually I like BD, pile em high flog em cheap and a good selection of items too. If spending a significant amount it's usually well worth the hours trip down to Montauban as opposed to a visit to one of the local Brico sheds.

[dave21478]

You know what? I didn't take the time to stop and ask the security guard exactly what his reasons were for filling out factures after customers had left using duplicates of their receipts. Probably a 100% legitimate reason for him to do so and he was in no way trying to reclaim TVA through a business for himself.

:rolleyes:

[SC]

Do you suspect that he had a TVA liable trading business that he carried on at night and he used these receipts to reduce his liability? 

He could have been filling them out in his tva registered builder pals' names to flog them to them later at half price. Thats more viable - you need the right sort of mind........Was I a C&E inspector?

Steve

 

[HoneySuckleDreams]

10l Dulux paint = 17.99 in the UK - over 100€ in gedimat.

 

Another scam at brico depot: you need a stamped receipt to exit the builders yard from BD (as they have had loads of people walking out with stuff they haven't bought). I bought around 400€ worth of wood and stuff but couldn't find it in the yard. The fork lift guy said no problem, he would go and get some from round the back, so he took my receipt and drove of. He came back with the wood ok, but when I asked him for the receipt so I could get out, he said I must have had it as he didn't...we argued a bit as I pointed out that he took it to make sure which wood i wanted I had to go back into the store to get a copy made out before I could drive the car out of the yard. It seems such a simple thing to do. Keep the receipt from the idiot foreigner and then give it to his mate who can collect 400€ of free timber later in the day.

BD have a customer survey (i think it's on their web site) for making suggestions. Having just been back to the UK over christmas and visited B&Q (owned by the same parent company), the difference in customer service is immense...actually apples and pears springs to mind. I will be preparing a list of suggestions.

[dave21478]

Plywood. Jesus wept.

I needed 3 sheets of 18mm exterior grade ply and a single sheet of 5 or maybe 8mm also. Full size sheets....1.2m x 2.5m

Went to BricoDepot...prices were ok-ish - dear, but what I would expect for France, but its not stated whether its interior or exterior grade. I asked the dummy but he didnt know. Since its not stated as higher quality I have to assume its interior grade only.

Went to Mr Bricolage....there are wee samples on the counter of the wood cutting bit. 18mm exterior grade, full size sheet....76 euros or so. and the 8mm was about 34euros iirc. Damn, thats dear, but needs must. I asked for the 4 sheets. "Really? are you sure?" he said. Erm....yeah, thats why I asked for it!

So loaded onto a trolley and he gave me a ticket for the till. Went down and the girl rang up the ticket......"That will be Seven hundred and something something something...."

"WHAT???"

700+ euros.

I told her it should be a tad over 250. She called the chap down. Turns out that despite it not saying this anywhere and despite the price on the samples being clearly next to the dimensions of a full sheet, that price is actually the price per square meter.

So once again I walked out of a shop, abandoning my trolley at the till. This is not the first time I have done this in France and probably wont be the last.

In a fairly foul mood, I was driving through an industrial estate and spotted a branch of Reseau Pro. I swerved in on the off chance.

"certainly sir.... both sizes in stock.....that will be a total of 147 euros TTC".

Sold.

[Chancer]

Yes the barstewards operate that scam across the length and breadth of France, apparently they were printed with "au m2" but in invisible ink [:D]

What I still cant work out is the following, when I bought my place I was going travelling in 14 days time, in fact the sale would go through while I was away but I wanted it boarded up, its in a very dodgy area which has declined even further in the time I have been there (wonder why [I]) and there had been a failed attempt to torch it so security was uppermost in my mind.

Despite not speaking any French then and being very flush compared to now I would have had an inkling had I been shafted to that degree, we went to Bricomarché (across the road from Mr Bricolage) and we had 8mm plywood cut to our dimensions to do all the doors and windows of the ground floor. Now my French pal is a likeable chap and I think probably every cashier in the area is a satisfied ex or current lover of his, (certainly the notaires secretary was, that how I got the place before it went to auction or was advertised) so I can only assume that he must have exercised some influence as the price was only slightly higher than I would have paid at a UK builders merchant for uncut sheets, it certainly didnt cover the cutting charge.

I am still using these panels for woodwork and every time I am bemused as to how we got them for what is in France an unbelievable price as the price in Bricomarché is clearly shown per m2 whereas Mr Bricolage across the road continue with their invisible ink.

Have you seen the price of MDF [:-))] - they call it meddeeyum that will really make your eyes water, plus I have to travel 50km to even find someone that sells it, go through an initiation ceremony to get an invitation written in blood to come back another time just for the priveledge to even see some, took me another 3 weeks of constant pestering before they finally cracked and told me how much it would cost, they seem to consider it is the holy grail.

[dave21478]

The stop solenoid for an old peugeot 106 diesel.

Ebay from the uk - £14 including postage.

Local motor factors - €69. SIXTY NINE EUROS.

This is an integral part of the engine fitted to various models of car that sold in VAST quantities here in France. Its a cheap wee electrical gizmo that probably costs pennies to manufacture.

[dave21478]

Dulux monocouche paint. Satin white. 5 litres.

Mr Bricolage - 90-odd euros

BricoDepot - 70-odd euros

B&Q - 20-odd pounds.

[dave21478]

Branded, 32gb, class 10 micro SD cards.

Local shops - 35-50 euros.

Ebay.co.uk, including postage to France - 12 euros.

[YCCMB]

[quote user="dave21478"]The stop solenoid for an old peugeot 106 diesel.

Ebay from the uk - £14 including postage.

Local motor factors - €69. SIXTY NINE EUROS.

This is an integral part of the engine fitted to various models of car that sold in VAST quantities here in France. Its a cheap wee electrical gizmo that probably costs pennies to manufacture.[/quote]

After a French woman in a 4x4 flatbed with delusions of being an F1 driver overtook me on an empty road and amputated the offside wing mirror of my car, and after a 140Kph chase till she capitulated and stopped (ironically, outside the cemetery) and after the statutory 10 minute rant in which she blamed me for not driving my car into a ditch to let her pass, making her late for work, etc., the following day, her husband, after examining the damage, agreed to fix it off the insurance. He checked on the internet and proudly proclaimed he could acquire the necessary replacement for €50. I agreed.

Had his wife not been quite such a prize B***h, I would probably have mentioned that my own research had revealed that I could purchase the same part from the UK for £12. I understand that, whilst my car is a Ford, it's made in France.

[Théière]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]

After a French woman in a 4x4 flatbed with delusions of being an F1 driver overtook me on an empty road and amputated the offside wing mirror of my car,

[/quote] That sort of flatbed? [:)]

[YCCMB]

Snarf! Might as well have been. I think she was half asleep...

[vette]

Most on here will have heard of Screwfix, they deliver to France and free if you spend over £100.

However, there is now a company here called Screwpak, run by a Brit' and they sell just about everything one would need for DIY projects.

A quick Google will find them.  

[Spyder]

A replacement engine mount for my ancient Vdub, special offer price France 144€, UK (almost anywhere) £15. Even the more expensive eBay places that include postage to France £30. Rear exhaust box and pipe, garage price france (not fitted) 230€, UK/Germany £27 + £12 p&p.

[JandM]

On comparative prices, and in the other direction, besides houses and wine...

..in the UK I've been running my own personal boycott of coffee filter papers, which cost £2.00 plus for 80. For the last several years I've been using kitchen paper instead. The other week in Intermarche I found that they cost €0.65. Bought four boxes and brought them back to London, and they didn't take up much space or weight in my bag. Should last me a while.

[CSV]

[quote user="JandM"]On comparative prices, and in the other direction, besides houses and wine...

..in the UK I've been running my own personal boycott of coffee filter papers, which cost £2.00 plus for 80. For the last several years I've been using kitchen paper instead. The other week in Intermarche I found that they cost €0.65. Bought four boxes and brought them back to London, and they didn't take up much space or weight in my bag. Should last me a while.[/quote]

Again the other way - a simple gate latch (something which is impossible to find in France) for the grand sum of £1.68

Postage to 'europe Zone 2' - £33

[dave21478]

Makita power tools - Buying from ToolSave in UK was literally a third of the price of buying them in France, either in shops or online.

£6 postage for a large box which was delivered inside 4 days.

And the postie has just dumped another load of adverts in the letter box. As I removed them from the letter box and dumped them directly into the bin something caught my eye on the front page of one. A basic stainless steel deep fat fryer just like the one I bought from tesco for £25 was on promo at 99€ locally.