Do you buy at the local specialty store or do you order online?

The smartest thing is to combine brick-and-mortar and online retail. Just wait and see what will happen in the future. I work in IT and deal with such things, just on a different scale.

I may be a dwarf, but I still find the topic hot. I’m also planning to open a store again. We’ll see.
It’s already the case that in the store you get the offers explained on your phone when you stand in front of them. I think that’s cool. I’m curious what else will come.

For building materials, the local wholesale has always been the cheapest so far. TGA Kram is cheaper on the internet.

What I notice about traditional businesses is the rigidity of the owners. They do not inform themselves about prices, offers, and new suppliers.

That is also an important point, I think. The plumber simply has his two bathroom showrooms as partners and sends his customers there for sampling. He has always done it that way. But if the bathroom showroom is already 50% more expensive than the end customer price on the internet, it will not have become cheaper after the plumber’s markup. The bathroom showroom’s suppliers might be in a similar situation. In the end, the Villeroy & Boch bowl costs 800€, instead of 250€ on the internet. Out of habit, they limit themselves to Hans and Udo as suppliers, although a bit more heterogeneity would be smart, but it would not be manageable due to the small business—having few suppliers also has its advantages. But craftsmen are craftsmen, despite master training, they are not merchants. I assume there is a lack of willingness to change and a lack of knowledge about how to set something like this up.

the offer prices for air conditioning systems from specialist dealers are unbelievably high. A system that can be had on the internet for 2,000 EUR costs more than 3,500 EUR locally... and then there are additional small parts as well as installation, and in total you end up paying over 5,000 EUR for an air conditioning system. I now buy the system myself and save 1,300 EUR... I pass on 200 EUR of my original saving of 1,500 EUR to the craftsman so that the "loss of earnings" from the air conditioning unit is compensated. But only because I have been totally satisfied with him so far.

Why doesn’t this craftsman buy his stuff himself online at exactly this shop? Either he has calculated a fat margin on it for you, or he buys his goods from a wholesaler who is more expensive than the end customer price online. This supply chain is bad, why doesn’t a craftsman with a master title realize that?

Yes, the courage to cross borders is often lacking as well. I buy all over the world. Although I am a dwarf, I get goods from Pakistan, Thailand, etc. The possibilities are there for the offline people as well, but they rarely use them.

Why doesn't this craftsman buy his stuff online himself from exactly this shop?

There is someone sitting in overalls in front of a PC, and only reluctantly at that, because he can no longer do his invoices and accounting by hand. The internet is for him the source of evil since it ruins his business, and so on and so forth... besides, only counterfeits are sold on the internet, you have to pay upfront as a craftsman, and there is always trouble with the dealer in case of defects.

Of course, such a person does not order anything over the net.

The dealer's equity was higher than my equity... in this case it was such that the dealer has nothing to do with Daikin, and therefore according to his own statement does not receive the best conditions from Daikin. Nevertheless, he certainly did not want less than a 20% margin.

From the life of craftsmanship. Shipyard. Five people, four plus the boss. An old PC in a corner. The case: a customer wants a parking heater installed on his ship. Difficult installation situation, lots of additional material needed. Version 2017 would be, the boss researches the best equity on the internet, wades through countless pdfs for the additional parts, then orders, say, from [Vertrieb xy in Bremerhaven]. Price would be 3400 net. Classic version. He calls his trusted wholesaler. Bruno, make a price for this and that plus a one-inch connecting piece, you know, the ones from Allpa, plus an exhaust pipe extension, the one with the bend, yeah..., exactly that one, plus the mounting bracket with the rubber feet....ah, 4300 net for everything...Bruno, I’ll pass it on, will get back to you...Karsten