Ridiculous Delivery Costs
I have purchased from Ivinghoe Turf on a number of occasions and I must agree that the screened topsoil is not great (clay and building fragments, etc), but ok for us as we have used it to raise the level in paddocks so not for normal lawn.
My issue is their total rip-off delivery costs. I wanted to order 12 (yes 12) bulk bags of 20mm gravel.
I accepted that the cost of £576 for the gravel inc VAT was c£70 more than Wickes or B&Q, but I was happy to pay more to help out a local business.
What is wanted them to look at was the £196 delivery charge. The total return journey would be <10 miles from their site, yet despite this being a 'full load' there wasnt any chance of any sort of cost reduction. Not even £20 (which I would have accepted).
Seemingly, the cost of fuel and the driver was so great that their 'salesperson' felt that it was better to not get any form of sale than it was to make one with a £20 discount (total cost would have been £770 delivered vs £516 from B&Q). The argument was that if they delivered 12 bags to me then they couldnt get any more onto the lorry so couldnt deliver to others and that cost them money!?! I did try to reason that 1x 12 bag delivery to a single site was going to take far less time than 12x 1 bag deliveries to lots of sites but, no, I was wrong and was told 'good luck' with buying from Wickes (not sure I need luck, they are quite good with their deliveries!!)
I dont mind paying a bit more for local businesses and for the convenience of having the bags dropped where I need them, but I cant justify over £250 (nearly 50%) more than local builders merchants for exactly the same product.
This mentality is just so wrong and for small businesses in rural areas, disenfranchising local customers is pretty daft, especially when they have the need for more products in the future, as one lost sale is actually now many lost sales!
2 September 2021
Unprompted review