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Post by MartinT on Jul 17, 2018 16:10:10 GMT
Hozelock really are better quality and worth paying for. They don't wear the connection out or crack in the sun like cheaper brands.
I use Amazon and Richer when I know exactly what I want and don't need support - just the warranty.
For shop purchases, John Lewis are one of the best.
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Post by The Brookmeister on Jul 17, 2018 22:50:31 GMT
There is a British problem in that people are not prepared to pay for quality. I don't see this as evident in other countries like Germany. Spot on. The UK in my experience of 10+ years selling hifi associated parts is a special case un-like anywhere else in the world. |
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Post by dsjr on Jul 18, 2018 17:10:43 GMT
Thirty years ago, my pal (also a Dave) and I discussed this topic. if 'we' had made a charge for the dem, refundable on the sale being completed, we'd get nobody through the doors. Thing is (and I was never a good salesman back then), I enjoyed demming regardless, comparing this and that as I felt with some justification that it increased my knowledge (why i spout all this shit today on things I've learned by trial and error most times). A bit later, I was more aware of those just 'tyre kicking' and was also happy to dem to them, but obviously with a different mutual end. I hoped I could sow seeds that later, might have come to some germination 'our way,' and often, it worked. If the client was honest in just fact-finding, then that was fine... there were though, a few serial dem-bookers who went round all the local dealers having dem after dem - and then buying something second hand from 'Dynamics' in Welwyn (we knew who you were  ). These people didn't realise that most dealers around us all knew each other and compared notes..... I'm naive here obviously, but i distinctly remember a B&O slogan for us dealers when things were tight - DEMONSTRATE OR DIE!!! Kinda stuck with me that one and even after a proper sales course in 1995 or so, I was still happy to compare gear I thought would meet the client's needs, but maybe with greater awareness of 'why' the client was in the shop in the first place and hopefully a sale at the end of it - I was never on commission - EVER!!! |
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Post by dsjr on Jul 18, 2018 17:17:23 GMT
There is a British problem in that people are not prepared to pay for quality. I don't see this as evident in other countries like Germany. My take today, is that UK people don't have high disposable incomes generally as maybe you do and they're more cost conscious because of this. How do you perceive quality anyway? There's talk elsewhere in another thread about phono stages. I'm thinking here of two established valve models, one costing £600 (via a dealer) and the other starting at £2k! One is hand made point to point and profit per item is low, the other neatly assembled on circuit boards. This one (I was told by the maker), has less components inside if anything, but the price is bumped up deliberately to inspire cachet and owner status in the far eastern market it's aimed at!!! Sold at more normal margins, it'd be profitable at half the current UK selling price (it has some wanky components on the board which may cost a little more).
Sorry Martin, you have to look behind the pretty clothes to please the eye here. Germany always had a thriving Top End market even forty years ago and there was a huge amount of audio gear, especially from the far east, that never came our way sadly, but I digress... I was told that in the Hong Kong market, PRICE has a direct relationship to perceived quality and people have joked to me that if gold price tags came with the gear, they'd be proudly displayed on show...
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Post by MartinT on Jul 19, 2018 9:59:13 GMT
No idea where you get this from? I work in education now and no-one has high disposable income in that sector! I wasn't just referring to hi-fi, I perceive the British as skinflints always looking for a bargain and buying cheap rubbish twice over rather than the quality product just once. This applies to cars and other products, too. I detest that mentality as I will always pay for quality and damn well expect it to last a long time. Having been to Germany and lived there for a while, I can tell you that they do not have the same outlook. It probably explains why some products get to Germany and not the UK as there would be precious little market for it here. On the other hand, the Hong Kong mentality of perceiving quality as associated with price smells of one-upmanship and keeping up appearances. It's also known that they will not buy even high quality used items for the same reasons. More fool them. |
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Post by savvypaul on Jul 19, 2018 10:14:09 GMT
Best quality at a fair price is always good value. I have some Miele household appliances that have performed faultlessly for over 15 years, some for over 20 years and replacement parts are available today for all of them. Some friends have replaced their washing machines 3 times in that period.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 19, 2018 11:12:53 GMT
Exactly my point: our kitchen has 12 year old Miele units and they are excellent and designed to last. Very much worth paying for.
If you buy no-name white goods at cheap prices then you deserve what you get.
EDIT: geeks call these things WYGIWYD (What You Get Is What You Deserve)
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Post by dsjr on Jul 19, 2018 11:23:52 GMT
Hmm. Meile washing machines still have rubber bearing seals which rot the same as any Hotpoint can and they leak the same too, as a friend found when his Miele flooded his bungalow overnight. Just 'cos it has flash trims and casework isn't an immediate guarantee of reliability. Our Bosch washer needed new motor brushes every four years or so (at least they were accessible and not sealed in), but again, the seal between drum and bearing failed, leaked bit didn't flood and the main bearing began howling louder and louder until our neighbours complained with the racket we'd put up with for a few months. Friends with cheap Indesits never had issues at all - so there!
Martin, I mean no disrespect but look at where you live, the car you said you'd changed to and the posh looking stereo you own and use in its own separate room with thousands of pounds worth of add-ons for mains, cabling and so on. I'd honestly say you're a step up from many UK residents in fairness. Not a criticism I swear.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 19, 2018 11:32:52 GMT
Martin, I mean no disrespect but look at where you live, the car you said you'd changed to and the posh looking stereo you own and use in its own separate room with thousands of pounds worth of add-ons for mains, cabling and so on. I'd honestly say you're a step up from many UK residents in fairness. Not a criticism I swear.
It's all about how you apportion your dispensable income, Dave. I built a lot of value into my system when I worked for Xerox and was on a decent salary. Since those days, my income halved and then grew much more modestly. My passions are music and cars and that's where my money goes. I don't waste it on boring stuff! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 11:39:29 GMT
The UK has a certain mentality (which is why Ebay does so well) when it comes to quality and higher priced goods what ever they maybe, Germany does not, Sweden does not etc.
It is a British thing, like having a downer on anyone that wants to make a difference for themselves but getting off their behinds and trying out something new in business.
Conversely, a few people I know have expensive stereo's like many on here, but do not drink, smoke, spend four nights a week at the pub or have takeaways five nights a week, have a modest car, but still live in a nice part of the country priorities.
Even have a few customers who lived in the south east in modest house banked over six figures when they moved to nice area in the north west midlands, house is twice the size, large stereo, decent car, good neighborhood and no need to work other than a delivery driver for three days a week to cover the basics, not bad for a 45 year old.
Why worry about other people, why not just wish to improve your own lot?
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Post by Rexton on Jul 22, 2018 15:09:33 GMT
This thread made me laugh. Its not a BRITISH thing, it's called ignorance. Most people have short term (and sighted) mentality. Short term gains for long term losses. Buy cheap, but twice. Investing in quality should (in theory) work out better over the long term. This is easily explained if you consider cost per year rather than the initial cost which will be a short sharp shock on your wallet (or purse)! As an example, I have a foot complaint which means I need two new pairs of shoes a year. I used to spend £50-100 per pair, so yearly spend used to £100-200. I now only buy Trickers shoes at ~£350 per pair, I purchased my last pair 3 years ago. So, my old spending habits would have cost me £300-600 over those 3 years. The Trickers are now just about worn in and still have many years of wear ahead. I've saved hundreds and saved the boredom of having to buy many pairs of shoes. The same analogy can be used with hifi kit. I make VERY selective hihi purchases and as such have had my main systems for approaching 2 decades.
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Post by savvypaul on Jul 23, 2018 9:02:44 GMT
I buy from the Trickers outlet - very slight seconds and customer returns for around 33% off.
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Post by julesd68 on Jul 23, 2018 11:16:44 GMT
So that's why you are called savvypaul??
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Post by savvypaul on Jul 23, 2018 11:23:42 GMT
I was born in Essex...Can't help it 
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Post by julesd68 on Jul 23, 2018 11:31:32 GMT
Whilst we are on this subject I got a fabulous pair of handmade shoes from Herring Shoes last year - excellent value and service ...
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Post by Slinger on Jul 23, 2018 11:57:40 GMT
It's not all "ignorance," Rexton. In a lot of cases, it's people not being able to afford a one-off payment of £350.00, but perhaps they can scrape together £50.00 to £100. The only way they could get £350.00 is to borrow it, which with today's instant loan interest rates is fairly self-defeating. You often need to have the money before you can save it.
In a slight departure from that, I wanted a vegetable steamer. I've got a nice set of Le Creuset pots and pans (long story, got them for nothing) and the steamer to "sit" in them costs £49.00. I looked at cheaper alternatives but without exception, every one of them had at least one reviewer on Amazon mentioning rust or just generally poor construction. I ordered the Le Creuset for the self-same reasons given above. I'll only need to buy it once.
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 23, 2018 13:34:13 GMT
Whilst we are on this subject I got a fabulous pair of handmade shoes from Herring Shoes last year - excellent value and service ... Time for a fish gag: How would you rate them on a scale of 1 to 10? |
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Post by julesd68 on Jul 23, 2018 16:21:49 GMT
Whilst we are on this subject I got a fabulous pair of handmade shoes from Herring Shoes last year - excellent value and service ... Time for a fish gag: How would you rate them on a scale of 1 to 10? Not sure, but I didn't think much of the sole ... |
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Post by MartinT on Jul 23, 2018 16:54:20 GMT
Oh cod don't you start...
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Post by Rexton on Jul 23, 2018 18:10:03 GMT
Oh cod don't you start... Oh well, I suppose a could carp on a whale longer, don't you just hake jokes this this, I suppose I could Skate over to another thread and discuss something else, I've haddock a lot of puns! |
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). These people didn't realise that most dealers around us all knew each other and compared notes.....
