Independant or big name store ?

[Gazzer]

Independent tile shops....Who uses them ? How often do you use them compared with bigger outlets or dont you use them at all ??

Do they try to get your business , are they helpful? knowledgeable ?

Would you prefer to give them your money or not ??

Debate !

 

[doug boardley]

independents for me Neale, don't have any any of the nationals up here. Are we having a poll?

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

cheapest & on -line for me .........

 

[Gazzer]

Not really for a poll Doug. Just interested to know who would deal with the small guys in the game against the bigger names.
I would imagine though it would depend as in your case...who is most local.

I have a decent Indie shop here but CTD is not too far of needed as are some other big names but the prices seem to be a lot higher and they are harder to deal with. I have started to get good deals for certain items off the internet.

 

[doug boardley]

a lot of retailers, indies or nationals, could do with coming onto forum for a while and actually learn a bit more about the stuff they sell imho.

 

[Gazzer]

Very true Doug but have you seen the money they pay the staff in places such as Topps ? I saw an Advert for staff wanted and when I worked out the wages I can understand why they wouldn't be bothered and why they are always advertising for staff...no one stays long !....but thats a different topic.

 

[Olz]

I don't go near tops, the starting offer of discount was about 2% which would increase over time. Bearing in mind a Ctd trade account I have is much higher and topps were trying to get me to switch I questioned why I would take the hits for a few months and declined. Tile giant is very competitive IMO but not close enough to make it worth while.


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[Olz]

I have an Indy on the doorstep but he only did some cheap stuff and a very limited range.


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[kilty55]

i use bigger company,there is a localish independant shop near me but the prices are horrific

 

[hutchinsons]

CTD for me im afraid.. the independents are doing cheap, get them out stuff. I deal with original style and olde english too and have no probs..

 

[Ian]

Tend to use the bigger shops, I only have one local and we haven't seen eye to eye for a couple of years, shame really as I like to support the local businesses where I can.

 

[John Benton]

I have a really good relationship with the indie that I use, although it's not the one I get most discount from. The directors are top blokes and the staff are very knowlegable. I get quite a lot of work through them as they only recommend 2 of us in the shop for fixing. By the same token I send my customers there to choose their tiles and most buy from them. On the other hand I also use a large Spanish quality outlet and they give me very good discounts but they seem to have a high turnover of staff and its difficult to build a relationship with them. So both work for me but in different ways.

 

[Andy Allen]

within a 10 mile radious i have........tileflare, tile giant, collinsons, topps, tile choice, candy, tile sence, trade tiler...

the 2 independants are tile sence and trade tiler, they have there own fixers, so pass no work on, and there trade discount are pointless, as are topps, tile choice and candy, tile giant has just opened so haven't been in yet, so i mainly use tileflare and collinsons, i get good trade prices, they pass on work, staff know what there on about and have been there for years..

 

[richie b]

i get the best deal out of tile giant and the guys in there are really good, know what there doing, topps is 100 yards from it went in once never again, our small local shop seems to depend on the guys mood weather he wants to help you out or not so tile giant for me

 

[andy8758]

I have always favoured Tileflair - not really one of the "big" retailers, but they do have 8 stores in the south of England. Like Andy Allen, I find the independants generally have their own fixers, and wont give you a decent trade discount.

I am not a fan of Topps - but the difference in their trade prices between stores is astonishing - I still find myself getting robbed if I buy from Frome, yet I get extremely competitive (and often price matched) deals at Hengrove in Bristol.

Tile Giant doesn't really hit the mark for me (most of my customers fail to find the tile they want there) except when I want to use Mapei products - and even then I often have to make special orders (e.g. slc's and epoxy's) that take up to a week to arrive.

 

[Mike Mike]

I buy from independent builder's merchants but not boutique tile shops as their prices are absurd.

 

[MTiler]

Usually Indies for me or internet, unfortunately one near me I used alot is closing (a shame as I got a good discount off them) but one of the guys is moving to a new Tile Giant in the area, so will have to check them out. Ive started using Building Depot alot as their prices arent bad.
I only go to Topps if Im really, really, really desperate.

missyT

 

[Andy Allen]

i think the likes of topps tiles could learn a lot if they paid a visit to this forum, i once had a customer that told me topps tried to charge her £20 for just recommending a topps approved fixer...

 

[Dan]

They used to at least read it. Not sure if they do know though.

 

[jonnyc]

i get recommended as a stone fixer by independent stone shops like Stoneage,artisans of devizes, martin moore stone , and was paris ceramics mian installer for 15 years ,but dont buy from them that much.
Instead I try and bring them clients of mine for them to sell stone to. this way we both get something out of it.
I only really buy if a big order and then buy french stone through agents and miss out the retail shops completely. so client saves some and i can make some. youve got to be looking at least 150sq mts plus to amke it work well.

 

[prceramics]

I don't go near tops, the starting offer of discount was about 2% which would increase over time. Bearing in mind a Ctd trade account I have is much higher and topps were trying to get me to switch I questioned why I would take the hits for a few months and declined. Tile giant is very competitive IMO but not close enough to make it worth while.


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they gave me 70% to start and said it will go down if i don't use them mutch

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

I use CTD, but I have five independent's very nearby, so I send people to them all.

 

[dave l and l]

i use tops as its the nearest and easiest to get to
to be honest i get decent prices of them and there tile selection is not bad most of all though is the guys in there are decent to deal with

 

[doddy41]

On the net for me cracking pallet deals if you shop around

 

[charlie1]

Mostly TG or CTD. Would like to find a good online supplier for tiles and materials. Diesel is killing us all, the thought of having everything delivered is really appealing!

 

[AliGage]

In Peterborough we have a few small outlets but we also have the advantage of having two topps tiles, CTD and porcelanosa. I generally point my customer in the direction of these, and a few of the smaller outfits that provide a better service and helpful advice. I like to help the smaller business where i can so those that make the effort with me and my customers gets my recommendation when the next customer asks me where to go for tiles.

 

[EverDon Tiling]

I tend to go for the cheapest got a choice round here. But must say finding topps cheap on some things at the mo i took me ages to even go through the door pleased i did not to keen on tile giant but do use them. all my trim comes from our al murad store cheapest i can find.

 

[Peter]

We don't really get any 'national' tile shops over here as such. The only one that had a branch throughout most of the country was Tile Market, which went into administration. Their prices werent that good but they were handy to have an account with as you could pick stuff up anywhere. Tile wise, it sold bottom end Spanish stuff.

Use a local tile shop Huttons which is about 5 minutes from me, noone locally can touch their prices for materials and their tiles are mostly good quality Italian. Would rather deal with the same people day in day out so you know the exact prices of things for costing a job.