Halfords rip-off

I got a couple of pairs of those a few weeks ago, and they were doing a buy one get one free at the time. This wasn't marked on the shelf at the time though, so it could be worth asking.

Why do you think they are called Halfrauds in this group!!!

They rip people off because they basically have a monopoly. Loads of places sell a few bits and pieces and these are indeed cheaper (Wilkinsons is a good example) but there are no other national chains that carry a range of stuff and cater for the home mechanic.

Matt

if i read right in the papers they were doing these bulbs for £12.99 and only £7.99 for fitting. UNBELIEVABLE if it wasnt for the fact that they wanted to charge the wife £40 for fitting a CD player when 30 seconds and two matchsticks were all that was required. its very like those adverts on tv with the mechanic saying "half of them are mugs and i can tell them what i like".

Robin

I'm not sure about that - my local paint / autofactors have pretty much everything you could want spares and tools wise, and will happily dish out clue if you ask. Which is something you generally don't find in Halfords.

The key word there is *local*. If there was an alternative *national* chain of car stores which stocked a wide range of parts and spares, plus offered good advice from clued up staff and charged reasonable prices how long do you think halfrauds would be in business? Not long in my opinion.

Matt

But that's the point - we don't need another national chain. There are always "local" alternatives - Yellow Pages has the answer. Even A1 autoshops have multiple outlets - not in Halfraud's league but they don't need to be.

I use CarSpares here in the West Mids - about 5 outlets only and I'm lucky that their biggest outlet is around a mile away. My parents live in fairly quiet part of Scotland - their options are (a) Halfrauds in the nearest shopping sprawl or (b) at least three independent shops.

All of the local one-outlet places I've frequented have stocks just as wide-ranging as Halfrauds - just because it's not stacked on highly visible shelving doesn't mean it isn't readily available.

Why does the competition have to be a national chain?

If the customer cannot be arsed to look in Yellow Pages, and is content to drop into Halfraud's just after the monthly shop at TescoAsdaMorrisons then that's their problem and their choice.

The supermarket feel of Halfrauds seems to suit some people, and to hell with the cost. I'm just jealous I'm not an executive director! ;-)

I agree, people do not realise though, how much supermarkets and large national chains are starting to shape our country and effect our lives in general.

Having recently started a small shop, I am supprised at the mark-up on certain items, I would be supprised if halfrauds pay more the 80-90p for a H4 bulb, they then sell these for £5 upwards. Given there buying power, they may even get the bulbs cheaper.

The mark up on sofa's is around 110-180% - thats why the likes of DFS can afford masive advertising campaigns with the likes of old sold out tv z-list celebs linda barker etc.

Green peace recently (last two months or so) stopped Tesco's from selling whale meat (minky) in there chineas stores..... - How many people know this and would still shop there?

PS:- I am not a wierd green bierded vegematarian or anything

Andy

I'm constantly amused by the hostility towards Halfords. Everyone

Here's an example, I found out on Saturday afternoon that I needed new brake disks for a Citroen ZX. Called around and none of the Citroen Garage's parts departments were open. Called some of the general autoparts companies- none of them could help but could get them in a couple of days. Called a Halfords super store- they only had one (and advised me to replace both) they suggested I tried another superstore- they had four. 30 quid each so about twice what I'd pay elsewhere.

However I needed them there and then so I was more than happy to pay the premium.

Carrying slow moving stock costs money. Employing staff (even on close to minimum wages) costs money. Renting large stores in convenient locations costs money.

Then we've got the cost they charge for fitting bulbs, number plates and the like. Try walking into any garage you don't know and ask them to fit it for you, they're *most likely* to charge you what appears to be a large price. It's the cost of ignorance in any field- you pay for someone else's knowledge.

I'm more than happy with Halfords generally even though I know I'm paying over the odds.

The message from "Nik&Andy" contains these words:

And the rest. One of my nephews works for a distribution company and occasionally has to pay for sofas that get damaged in transit. Or HGV as the case may be.

The wholesale value of some leather sofas from China is under £50. These sell for around £300.

I've change a few radios in my time, and never found one which simply plugged into the existing loom without some alteration. If you did, you were lucky. I'd say they have a fixed price which will include adaptors or alterations as necessary. So 40 quid doesn't seem unreasonable for a conveniently placed High Street operation to charge.

FWIW, a BMW dealer, whose service place is on an industrial estate, tried to charge me 16 quid to change a brake light bulb which didn't need any tools at all to do.

Not a make I've heard of before, but even at £300 sounds cheap. How many mpg do they do? Mike.

I like Halfords because I can park easily and browse for the things I want. As regards advice, they're hopeless. As you'd expect since they only seem to employ kids. But I've yet to come across a motor factor or accessory shop where you can browse in comfort. And that has to be paid for.

I'd guess it's massively more than that, given their continual '50% off' etc sales...

I can't think of anything that doesn't get marked up by at least that much when sold in a shop.