sg31 wrote:brightncheerful wrote:Recently I tried to buy a large quantity of something and was told it would take 3 weeks
Likely, the shop will only place an order with its supplier when the minimum value of the order is £x or else either the supplier won't oblige or the shop would have to pay extra. If the price to you of the large quantity of something would be less than the minimum order value then the shop would allow up to 3 weeks for another customer/other customers to want something that the shop doesn't keep in stock or would have to place a special order for. For shops, the holding cost of inventory and stock-turn eats into profit margins.
Buying on line is generally quicker because the seller is more likely to specialise in the product so carries more stock.
I can understand that for small quantities but I was buying £3000 worth of insulation.
And if the shop had consulted its crystal ball 3 weeks ago and known a customer were going to turn up and want £3000 worth of that particular type of insulation, it would doubtless have ordered it and have had it in stock for you to buy then and there. But with working crystal balls in short supply, sellers have to play the odds: keep things in stock and take the risk of tying up working capital if there's a high probability of a customer turning up for the product, order them from the supplier and accept the risk of the customer not going ahead because of the delay that creates if it is low. And a specialist online seller might well have a much higher chance of a customer turning up...
Gengulphus