While it’s not to say that the web as a whole should be approached with skepticism or outright fear, online retail has nonetheless opened a floodgate for dodgy dealers to pour through. Not the end of the world in most everyday instances, but when you’re buying something like structural steel to go about a construction project, you’ll probably want to know that what you’re buying is the real-deal quality-wise.
According to the experts at wesellrsj.co.uk, buying RSJs only represents the most sensible approach of all for any business looking to combine superb quality with the lowest prices and maximum convenience to boot. However, buying online also calls for an added level of proactivity and savvy, in order to avoid falling foul of those that exist for their own gain above that of their respective customers.
Dodgy dealers are few and far between in the RSJ manufacture and retail game, but in order to ensure you don’t come out of the deal worse off, it’s more than worth keeping your eyes peeled for any of the following warning signs:
1 – Third-Party Resellers
First of all, while there’s nothing specifically dodgy about those that sell RSJs on behalf of other firms, these are generally not the best sources to go to with your orders. The reason being that in so many instances, those behind these kinds of sites don’t know the first thing about the industry and basically just relay your orders to other sellers. And in doing so, they add a commission onto the price you pay in order to provide them with a wage for doing pretty much nothing at all. There’s a chance you’ll come out with quality products and you might not be too unhappy with the price you pay, but at the same time you could in all such instances have got a far better price quote by going directly to the supplier.
2 – Poor English
Chances are that for a wide variety of very valid reasons, you’d prefer to do business with a local RSJ supplier or at the very least one that’s based here in the UK. Not only does doing so means putting something back into British industry, but also guarantees a certain quality standard and no undue delays in shipping times. However, there will always be those suppliers who despite having .co.uk domain names and stating outright that they are UK-based are in fact located on the other side of the world. It’s a very common trick and one that can lead to huge problems when fallen for, which is why it’s crucial to be on the lookout for any signs they aren’t based here in the UK. Poor quality or broken English tends to be a dead giveaway, as too does a lack of any printed UK address or no landline telephone number listed. If in doubt, give them a call and see what impression you get.
3 – No Feedback
These days, with so much competition in every industry area across the board, there’s really nothing more important for the reputation of any business than the feedback and recommendations of its past and present customers. Feedback is one of the most crucial elements of all when it comes to online retail as this is really the only way of ascertaining the capabilities and prowess of a vendor before going ahead with a purchase. And all online vendors know this very well, which is why when and where you find yourself presented with a website that doesn’t seem to have any feedback to share at all, there’s probably a very good reason for this…and a bad one at that. Any brand with strong, glowing and abundant feedback will stop at nothing to share it with the world, while those with nothing to be proud of will do their best to keep the public’s voice silent. If in doubt, carry out a web search on the brand and see what you can uncover.
4 – No Guarantees or Clear Pricing
Last but not least, if a company of any kind is confident that it is offering the best quality products on the market at the lowest prices, they should be willing, able and happy to offer iron-clad guarantees across the board. This extends to RSJ retail just as it does to everything else – the importance of these kinds of building supplies means there’s really no room for accepting substandard items. As such, it’s important to be on the lookout for brands that offer not only clear pricing, but guarantees of the lowest prices and the best quality to boot. If no such promises are made, this should tell you all you need to know about both the products on offer and the supplier thereof.