Warning - Sharps... and plea for help!

Meepster

Oh, just thought I'd add something else.

Hammonds actually sell a high quality product, which is why they are quite expensive. Sharps sell a low quality product and they (like their sibling companies) try to "big it up" as something better than it is and should be avoided like the plague. (And no, I don't work for Hammonds, just in case you were wondering, read my other posts if you don't believe me)...

sarahg1969

nomoneytoday wrote: »

Sorry, but 50%, 10% and 10% do not add up to a 70% discount.
The discount is 59.5%

(Taking £100 as the starting point, you get £50, £45 and £40.50)

You are correct, if each discount is deducted from the previous (discounted) price). If, however, it's deducted from the original price, then it is 70%. And as the OP has the figures at hand, then there's no reason to assume that's not the way it was calculated.

soolin

I found this thread by accident but am also in the position of needing a reasonable quote for a run of wardrobes to go across a straight wall. I hadn't really thought of a sole trader/small business but if I do go through yellow pages how can I be sure i find a good one? My only other real experience of yellow pages was for a plumber who spent 5 minutes in the house once told me he didn't 'do' work in lofts (despite him coming out for that reason, and charged me £95.

longhotbath

I am the very happy owner of sharp bedroom furniture - both this house and last, but both were for odd-shaped rooms.

For a straifgt run / easy shape, I would never consider the big guys.
Talk to your neighbours / friends and get their recommendations. If youve just moved, throw a housewarming for the neighbours and ask them then. They would be flattered, and you would have broken the ice with them....

Good luck

ps, I had enough materials left over from both jobs to fit wardrobes in another bedroom each time. I think that its hilarious that they send a designer out first, then a measurer who sucks his teeth and says 'we cant do that' all the time, then the delivery guys send twice as much materials because they dont trust the first 2 !!!!!:rotfl:

grrmich

I had a quote from sharps earlier this week for £2900 for a simple 5 door fitted wardrobe (doors are the smaller 450mm width). The guy seemed quite genuine, and has given me a week and a half to decide whether to take his offer. What have other people paid for their sharp wardrobes and what kind of units/size were you quoted for? I have no idea whether this is a decent quote or whether I should be insisting on more of a discount.

pandora205

I've been looking at bedrooms too, though wasn't particularly impressed with Hammonds range (and having got my phone number they keep pestering). The ones I liked better were a modular system in John Lewis by a company called Nolte Mobel. This looks better value than Hammonds and is very versatile.

sarahg1969

grrmich wrote: »

I had a quote from sharps earlier this week for £2900 for a simple 5 door fitted wardrobe (doors are the smaller 450mm width). The guy seemed quite genuine, and has given me a week and a half to decide whether to take his offer. What have other people paid for their sharp wardrobes and what kind of units/size were you quoted for? I have no idea whether this is a decent quote or whether I should be insisting on more of a discount.

He's given YOU a week and a half?! Or what? You are not allowed to buy wardrobes from him?

When you say he quoted £2,900, I assume that was the final price. How much did he start out at? Over £5k? Did he ring his boss to get him to agree to a special discount just for you? And how long did he stay in your home? Almost £3k sounds an awful lot for just 2.5m of wardrobes.

Google Sharps/Moben/Dolphin/Kitchens Direct to see what other people think of this company.

Then get a quote from a local independent firm.

inclement

I've no doubt that both Sharps and Hammonds deliver a quality product however they have overheads that the local designers don't and as such cannot compete on price with local tradesmen. This is what I was told by both Sharps and Hammonds salesmen when I told them about the quote of £2500 from the local company.

I was lucky in that the local company had been recommended - and please note that I'm not quoting the name of the company in order that no-one can complain that I am biased.

grrmich - if you've had a quote of 2900 for a 5 door wardrobe, compare that to the quote I had of 2500 for 6 door wardrobe run, 2 wide low bedside chests, 4 chest of drawers and a small cupboard.

I just wanted to make the point that if you're thinking of a new bedroom, don't automatically think that the big companies will be cheaper.

And if anyone is particularly interested in the company I've gone with I'd be more than happy to pass on the details - I live in the Manchester area.

Inclement

lizzie_dripping

I had a local company fit wardrobes for a fraction for the cost that Hammonds quoted.

The thing I most liked about the firm is that their website contains pictures of actual units they have put in people's houses.

I am in south Essex if anyone would like a recommendation.

soolin

Last month i picked up a brochure from a company with a display in th elocal shopping hall, they are called Betta Living and seemed really nice. I explained that I am a bit of a ditherer so didn't want hard sell, I just wanted a brochure and details of what they did so that I could make my mind up and then call them in for a quote. We went through the whole conversation about how other companies pester you for an appointment and then do all that silly 'you must sign today to get this discount' and they assured me they did not do that.

Lo and behold though the next day, a Sunday no less, the phone calls started, I told them politely to go away and explained that I needed to go through fiances first before I could even get a quote, but then they called back a little while later saying why didn't I just get them in to talk to a salesman. Then a third call, that I missed and then finally a fourth call that Sunday afternoon .

I hit the roof, the woman calling denied that anyone else from the company had actually called and that I must be mistaken as they didn't act like other companies bothering people. I was so cross I told her to make a note of my details and pass them onto her bosses to explain that due to their harrassment there was no way on earth I would use them or recommend them now.

All that hassling lost them a possible sale,.