Unlike Other products you can buy online, Fires can be classed as a specialist product, that if not installed Correctly, can kill you.
With the onset of the web, small retailers set up websites to promote their showrooms, as it was a cheap way to advertise your company and Brand. People started seeing these sites and some inexperienced people decided to jump on the band wagon and set up Fireplace websites, working from a Spare room in their houses, Getting Manufacturers to deliver direct to the end user and making, for Example £10 profit on the item sold. This is sustainable for a period, but with working on such low margins, not being experienced in what they were selling and not being Customer faced, so they didn’t know how to deal with customers, any Margin they made was lost in returns costs and compensation. This on top of not paying VAT, business rates, Heating, lighting etc made selling certain Fires and Fireplaces Simple for them, but not for the Dedicated, Experienced showrooms, scattered around the country, who had to pay all these charges and try to price match product found on the Web.
2 Years ago, 2 major online Fireplace Retailers went bankrupt, taking consumers for over £70,000 worth of card payments, for fires and Fireplaces which they had no intention of sending goods out for. Manufacturers were also taken for enormous amounts, with one Manufacturer losing over £150,000 worth of products that had not been paid for, but sent out to consumers, so they could not get the stock back.
Eventually, Manufacturers found that sales of their products were slowing down, as showrooms decided against selling their products. They also found that due to the inexperience of the Online retailer’s knowledge, their service and complaints departments were having a substantial increase in calls from Customers, saying there were faults with the Product, when in fact it had either been sold Incorrectly, or fitted Incorrectly.
There are now Manufacturers who will now only sell their products through Bricks and Mortar showrooms, where the staff have a vast amount of knowledge and training on their products, where they have dedicated teams of experienced Installers and can offer a Personal service to each customer, who purchases their products.
With this They also offer a longer Warranty period when bought through their special dealer lists, and some may even charge you for Calling out to a Faulty appliance, if they have been bought online.
The Word is finally getting out there now, that the Internet is great for buying lots of things easily and sometimes cheaper, but with products like Fires and Fireplaces, there are too many variables in choosing the right appliance and if not chosen correctly, you have the hassle of returning the product in Pristine condition, with the chance of a Restocking fee, if made especially for you and Having the delivery just delivered to your Kerbside, not brought into your house, as well as having to find a Qualified Installer to fit it safely and correctly for you.
We have decided to only sell products we feel will be easy enough to get installed by a Competent and Qualified Installer and purposely not selling online, items which are Complicated to Install, require lots of parts to install it and are not allowed by Manufacturers to Sell Online.
We have 40 Years in the Industry. Our Sales Staff have over 250 Years’ experience in the Fireplace Industry, both Retail and Manufacturing, so If anyone has the knowledge, and Experience, then we are Them.
So, if you see any products with ‘POA’ and a Box saying we cannot sell these products online, that is the reason! Call into our showrooms and see our friendly staff, who will spend as much time with you as you want, to decide on the Perfect Fireplace for your Home.