Masters Vs Bunnings Vs the others - which is your fav store?

[LeroyPatrol]

I was in the Mornington Masters store and thought, wow. There's just something about it that makes it look more impressive than Bunnings. I've been becoming a little disillusioned with Bunning of late with things being more expensive and the quality of goods not being as good as they used to be. It's not quite like a cheap $2 shop but some products are.
Up here in Albury/Wodonga there pretty much now is only Bunnings and Dalsens with Home Hardware and Mitre 10 closing some time ago.

I had to buy an aluminium extension ladder and Bunnings had them for $329. Masters had 2 models. They had a cheaper one for $198 which looked the same as the Bunnings one but Masters had an even better model with better more comfortable rungs for $219!!
How can they do it??

Leroy

[jok11n]

have yet to go into a Masters store so no idea what they're like, Bunnings I find is ok if you're buying a brand name product, their generic stuff has always been a bit hit and miss but seems to be getting more miss than hit recently

[ol' boy]

Masters????

[xnavyman]

Masters????

In cahoots with Woolies, I think.

[jok11n]

In cahoots with Woolies, I think.

no cahoots, owned by Woolies

[LeroyPatrol]

no cahoots, owned by Woolies

and also Lowes in the USA I believe.

Leroy

[jok11n]

and also Lowes in the USA I believe.

Leroy

not familiar with Lowes, a friend of mine is a buyer for Masters though, employed by Woollies

[Godzilla]

I have a masters not far from me.

Its all smoke and mirrors, once Bunnings notice a masters nearby the prices are adjusted accordingly.

I noted my local masters carries quality German spanners, they are expensive however they are also similarly priced to Sidchrome, id rather stay with the brand i can get anywhere anytime thanks from any Bunnings or Repco store.

After a while the novelty wears out, they each carry their own brand lines that compete against each other, at the end of the day things start to look the same.

[mandc]

My biggest gripe with Masters are that they only have unmanned checkouts where you have to scan your own stuff then either do your own eftpos or credit card or shove money into a slot and get change from a shute below...bought a $830 stove from masters with cash...Fark...what a pain

[bigfella08]

Don't they also have "Maccas" in Masters stores

[mandc]

Don't they also have "Maccas" in Masters stores

Yep...they do at my local one which they built 300m from the existing Bunnings which is opposite another Maccas.... LOL

[Godzilla]

Not my one in Meadow heights (that i have noticed)

There is a Maccas 400m down the road at another intersection though.

[hughdman]

They are coming to Perth soon, apparently since they sell whitegoods they weren't allowed to open sunday, At the end of this month all retail shops will be able to open sundays. Coincidence? Maybe.

Also the model numbers/ being different is a bit of a scam, it's so they don't have to price match, I could order a container of lawnmowers and name them HughDMan and then put any price on them, I want.

[allover]

I am in the trade and it is cheapest for me to buy from the 2 dogs as i get a 10% discount on top of the supposed trade price from Bunnings

[Uncle Fester]

Masters appears to be predominantly for Vic and Qld.
I find only 2 stores in whole NSW and one new one opening, while 7 new ones will open in Vic/Qld.
Bunnings have the monopoly in NSW and Woolies don't seem to have the guts to do much about it.
I was very angry when Bunnings bought out our local Hardware House and shut it down 8-9 years ago, where I could negotiate prices and get special orders.
Since then almost every source of hardware and timber has disappeared here

[Joey]

They are coming to Perth soon

There is one in the Bibra Lake commercial center , it's massive !,has been open for about 3 months , what is most noticeable is their layout and overall presentation , leaves bunnings for dead with their concrete floors etc.

There is also one in Baldivis , Forrestdale and one opening in Ellenbrooke in Sep .

[toyboy11]

They are coming to Perth soon

They've been in Baldivis for at least 6 months now, possibly longer.

[toyboy11]

The last time I was in Masters there where checkout operators and if that changes to check yourself out, well that's what I will do.........walk straight out the door, what's happening to good old service and peoples jobs for that matter

[nbound]

In my experience its a case of:
Magnet Mart: ACT and nearby
Bunnings: Strong in NSW/ACT, but has a presence in most places.
Masters: Weak in NSW, but more popular in most other places
Mitre10/Home Hardware/etc.: No particular locational preference

[aa23]

Went to the one in Scoresby yesterday, (directly opposite Bunnings ) Much bigger car park and better designed than the redesigned competition over the road. Nearly slipped ass over out the front on their very slippery when it's been raining entrance .
Once inside, it seemed roomier, found the cutting discs I wanted for $2 each. Went to the checkout and scanned stuff, put in bag and was then asked how many bags I would be purchasing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Empty bag, pay and go. I have no idea if the discs were cheaper than bunnings and I wasn't going to go over the road to just see if I could save 20c.
No greeting when I walked in, but friendly "Goodbye" when I left.
However, I walked around just looking for about 10 minutes and no-one asked me ifI needed any help. Which I actually like. There was employees standing around looking like they were itching to be asked for help, so that's a good thing.
Next time I need stuff, I'll go there again and get a better idea of service and prices.
It may be owned by a big huge company, but Bunnings ate away all their competition, so I'm glad there may be some more again now.