These days, the most common and popular way of picking up steel beams and RSJs is to find a brand of quality online and place an order digitally. It’s really never been easier to hammer in a quick Google search and come up with all manner of different businesses selling structural steel for industry uses, while at the same time steel beam prices have never been more agreeable. The web has made it possible for small and large steel suppliers alike to sell their products across the UK and beyond, leading to stiffer competition than ever before.
In terms of making the right choice, it’s technically possible to split the whole market right down the middle in one very big and important way. On one side of the industry you have those who supply their beams and RSJs directly, while others are essentially middlemen who buy their beams in from other suppliers and then sell them on at a slightly higher price. Both will of course allow the end buyer to get the job done with little to no fuss, but experts have long advised buyers looking to make smaller or large RSJ purchases to only ever do so directly from the source.
But why? What are the advantages of buying directly from the supplier, rather than a middleman?
1 – Quality Control
Well, first of all there’s the way in which buying directly from a leading supplier means taking home the supplier’s quality guarantees on every product across the board. By contrast, if you were to buy a bunch of beams from a third-party middleman, there’s a chance that the same quality guarantees may not apply. Chances are that they themselves won’t be in the habit of inspecting and verifying every single beam that passes through their own business on its way to you, so there’s always the chance of something less-than desirable creeping its way into the mix.
2 – Consistency Issues
Next comes the problem associated with middleman suppliers who take their products from multiple suppliers in accordance with whoever gives them the best deal. The end customer may have ordered say 200 of the exact same beam for the same price and to the same specification, but there’s no way of knowing if the third-party retailer will in fact source them all from the same place. There’s every chance you’ll end up with beams from a dozen different manufacturers that are made to a dozen different specifications and a dozen different quality levels – all while paying the same price for each of them. If consistency is of any real importance, direct sales are the only way to go.
3 – Delivery Times
One of the biggest issues with the non-direct approach is the way in which the supplier in question will probably not keep a stockpile of products on hand at any one time, but will instead take orders and then pass them on. As such, it can take quite a lot longer for the order to be fulfilled compared to the direct ordering process, as to order directly means to have your order processed, picked and shipped pretty much immediately. As such, where time is any kind of factor and faster results are preferred, buying directly from the manufacturer is again the only way to go.
4 – Help and Guidance
Chances are that somewhere along the process you might have a question or two to ask about RSJs that demand the expert advice of someone who knows the subject inside out. Third-party sellers may be able to answer your questions about RJS sales, but when it comes to the more technical stuff and the important guidance you may need from time to time, chances are they won’t be up to par. They might relay your questions on to the actual supplier then get back to you at some point with the answers, but this is hardly preferable to dealing directly with the experts.
5 – The Lowest Prices
Last but not least, if you’d prefer not to hand out extra money that essentially doesn’t bring you anything worthwhile at all, there’s really no sense in going anywhere but directly to the supplier. When you buy from a middleman or any kind of third party, it’s necessary for them to bump up the price at least slightly in order to earn a living – they aren’t in the game for free. But when you buy directly from the supplier, you pay the price of the products and the product price alone – no extras and no commissions.