i can see two sides to this , one is that yes you want to supply all the traders at a very competetive price to be all other suppliers , the other is that most people will buy from the cheapest supplier out there,

the problem is here

i will always try my supplier 1st , i will ring stu/kenny and say have u got / can u get ??

now , because i know my supplier very well , and is always my 1st choice then i know i will get an honoust answer as to yes/ no can get /cant get and the price will always be competetive , not ness the cheapest in all cases , but the service will be second to none , then the next item i buy will beat all prices hands down , so even if i paid and extra £2.50 (and thats all im talkin if there is ever a differance ) then the next time i will say tat and then some.

so i think alot of the retail problem is that alot of people dont trust anyone in psrticular to but all or most of there items from

so in the trade v retail row then the suppliers to the trade i.e you phil need to keep trade trade and retail retail , and thats that, otherwise your just gonna screw the whole system up, i know what its like im in the trade for my occupation , so you must set and stick to set margins , if your not doing it to make a lot of money , then set up your trade , than add a mark up for retail , then if you have to discount to sell to the public , just dont drop to the trade discount or your back at square one !!

hth

mark