Masters no more

[Bebbo]

I wandered around Masters last Saturday. I don't consider 10% really that good a deal unless you are in need of 1000's of dollars worth of equipment. The 30% discount was only on fixings such as screws etc. Bunnings appears to have a better selection for fixings but it seems to me that both stock inferior quality screws etc. I can't tell you how many times I have torn the head off a screw I bought from Bunnings...Zenith brand usually, they must make them out of pig iron. They do stock some quality power tools, but again, 10% is not a great deal unless you are buying some really expensive stuff and are in dire need of such a tool.

As to Masters vs Bunnings - I have always had a love hate relationship - I love hardware, but I hate going to either store. I have only recently discovered Timbecon (also began life in WA like Bunnings) - I got great service there (phone, email and in-store!). I purchased a drill press and the guy threw in some drill bits - you won't get that at Bunnings!

Bunnings is an expensive place to buy fixings from anyway. 30% would still be more then i pay for off several fastener mobs anyway

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[Geebung]

Where do you get your fixings from Bebbo?

[chris0375]

Just got back from masters. I screenshot prices of some dar primed timber earlier in the week. It was less than half price. Go to the store today and it was about 30% more expensive than advertised. Apparently prices are updated every Wednesday. I was extremely off. It wasn't much money but the principle. They can die a painful death as far as I am concerned.

It's price baiting. Probably not illegal but very disrespectful. No store having a closing date sale should be raising prices.

[bueller]

Just got back from masters. I screenshot prices of some dar primed timber earlier in the week. It was less than half price. Go to the store today and it was about 30% more expensive than advertised. Apparently prices are updated every Wednesday. I was extremely off. It wasn't much money but the principle. They can die a painful death as far as I am concerned.

It's price baiting. Probably not illegal but very disrespectful. No store having a closing date sale should be raising prices.

Haha whoever is in charge of administration is a fool. They're going to sit on stock forever while having to keep staff on the books, then eventually drop the price to the level they should have started with anyway.

[crowie]

Just a side issue on Masters Closing Down....

Today I dropped in to see an old mate who works there and while I was waiting for him to finish serving a customer I asked the lass on the counter how she was and how things have been going with the sale.
Well I'd spoken with this lass before and she's quite a good kid but what she said nearly floored me.
The customers have been taking there frustrations about masters and the close down on the staff giving them some awful grief and in some cases abuse.
I was discussed and could only chat with her trying to encourage her.

PLEASE folk, don't take out frustration upon staff who are more than likely loosing the jobs.
Cheers, crowie

[aarggh]

Haha whoever is in charge of administration is a fool. They're going to sit on stock forever while having to keep staff on the books, then eventually drop the price to the level they should have started with anyway.

As per usual I reckon you'll find the "fools in charge" will receive their bonuses and golden payouts regardless of any outcome!

[Shedhand]

I went into Mornington Masters last week. Attracted by tv ad declari g massive savings blah blah. The only things reduced more than 10% was the exorbitantly priced imported American red oak and poplar. I never saw anything else priced less than 10% off. And they were still dearer than Bunnings. I commented on this to a staff member and he said discounts would increase as closure in December got nearer. Yeah, right! When only useless crap is left. Like plastic brush n pan sets.

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[Shedhand]

I got a giggle out of the video.

There was a comment that was notable:

Lowes didn't understand the Australian market. The comment about snow shovels in summer was hysterical. Lowes is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The fact that your seasons and our seasons are reversed was lost on Lowes.

Remember with all of their training, a Lowes manager can manage anyone, anywhere, anytime without having to know what they are managing. I can substitute several company names for Lowes based upon personal experience. LOL!

Here in the US, Sears attempted to move into the home center business. Sears acquired Orchard Supply Hardware, a small supply house oriented about the wine industry in the Napa Valley and in reality a very good hardware chain. Sears changed the name to OSH and acquired a lot of sites. Sears headquartered in Chicago managed the stock and the store layout including shelf space arrangements.

SWMBO wanted to walk through the OSH in Huntington Beach when the store first opened. As we were walking through the store, she starts giggling. I asked her, "What are you laughing at?" SWMBO points and says, "Those are sump pumps, aren't they?" Yes, there was about 2 M of shelf space dedicated to displaying 6 or 8 different models of sump pumps. Her astute observation was, "They aren't going to stay in business very long."

In Huntington Beach, except for a few multistory commercial buildings, there are probably less than 10 basements in the city. All the houses are built on either a slab or a half meter crawl space. In my neighborhood the water table is 1.5 M which makes a basement almost impossible.

I worked in a Timber and hardware retail outlet in the early 1980s just when DIY was taking off in a big way. If anyone with a brain and some commonsense at Woolworths would listen i could tell them where they went so seriously wrong. I watched, from day one, the slide to oblivion. Everythong from staff, product knowledge, product range, pricing, service and location. It was all wrong. Im not surprised they failed.

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[Bendigo Bob]

First time i walked into a Masters, was impressed with how 'showy' it was, but disappointed to overhear two staff conversations bitching about bosses. Went away thinking 'something's wrong here????

I guess success and failure start at the top. If you can't motivate staff you will never succeed.

[aarggh]

I always found the staff at the Keysborough branch really good, but I never liked going there as it felt like walking into a morgue. Always dead and barely a person in sight any time I went.

I passed one last week and needed some concrete, so thought I'd pull in, but it seemed everyone else in Melb had the same idea, not a parking spot to be seen. So I drove out and went to Bunnings.

[Mike B]

Speaking of possible warranty issues. Went to Masters Ellenbrook yesterday and noticed about eight 600mm Bessey K-body parallel clamps - given all the other stores I've visited last week this was a surprise as most Besey clamps had been cleaned out. Was all set to grab a few (more) when I notice two were missing the protection pads... then I noticed two were pretty scuffed up. Turns out every one of them had some sort of damage. Perhaps Masters are dumping returned stock/seconds now.

[Shedhand]

Speaking of possible warranty issues. Went to Masters Ellenbrook yesterday and noticed about eight 600mm Bessey K-body parallel clamps - given all the other stores I've visited last week this was a surprise as most Besey clamps had been cleaned out. Was all set to grab a few (more) when I notice two were missing the protection pads... then I noticed two were pretty scuffed up. Turns out every one of them had some sort of damage. Perhaps Masters are dumping returned stock/seconds now.

Did you buy them mate because i happen to have two pair of protection pads. I sold my K Body clamps a few years ago (stupidly) and at the time couldnt find the pads for 2 of them. Found them recently. Yours if you want them.
Cheers
Mike

[Mike B]

Did you buy them mate because i happen to have two pair of protection pads. I sold my K Body clamps a few years ago (stupidly) and at the time couldnt find the pads for 2 of them. Found them recently. Yours if you want them.
Cheers
Mike

Thanks for the kind offer but I'm all good.
I didn't get them and the ones with missing pads were I suspect sacrificed to better condition clamps previously. They were also either bent in the shaft, cracked or the angle of the jaws was off.

[Shedhand]

Thanks for the kind offer but I'm all good.
I didn't get them and the ones with missing pads were I suspect sacrificed to better condition clamps previously. They were also either bent in the shaft, cracked or the angle of the jaws was off.

Cant understand why on earth the obviously damaged k bodies were back on sale. I thought they would have gone back to Bessey. Weird.

[Damienol]

Did you buy them mate because i happen to have two pair of protection pads. I sold my K Body clamps a few years ago (stupidly) and at the time couldnt find the pads for 2 of them. Found them recently. Yours if you want them.
Cheers
Mike

Hi Mike,

I would welcome them if they are still up for offer. My kids have played hide and seek with mine.

cheers damien