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Agree with above -- however there are a lot of possible options
For example if its a specialist plant you may need to get from an extremely specialist nursery - maybe via online - When you are looking at exact varieties of particular plant (particularly new varieties) its often best to use a specialist envolved with that species -- wholesale nurseries / importers dont always supply the exact plant - or there can be confusion over new varieties. Any supplier should give you at least 10 % off (not all) but there are del charges in mail order / online which need to passed on.
Regarding percentage to add on - you can add far more than 20 % obviously if you can source a very good discount or buy at the right times - i.e end of season autumn 9cm / 1 litre and pot up and store for spring planting in 2 litre size. Many small nurseries have unsold / damaged .plants they dont want to hold that you can get far cheaper - you just have to be sure they will recover with some TLC.
Bare root gives further options. Bulbs / corms / rhizomes all good possible mark ups.
Also as a small scale/ sole trader its usefull to continual discuss planting with clients throughout the year and aim to get them used to an early spring or late summer - winter planting time.
This way you can plant at the best times and more importantly create a much larger purchase from chosen wholesaler/ nurseries - obv you have more room to push better discounts with a much larger order. - or at least a free delivery from were ever they are.
Id say the most time consuming part of everything is the constant search for the best suppliers or the best discounts locally or nationally - but if you dont spend the time you wont find them and obv regarding discounts if you dont ask you dont get.
Theres huge premium plant nurseries that customers are very brand aware of that offer trade far more than 20 % off at the right times - id say you can add 50% on some plants whist still giving the customer a price they will believe is fair.
Really its depends a lot on you and a lot on your client - you may feel 20% is enough to cover your travel - you mght not - you may get an easy purchase , delivered to your site and feel 10 % is worth it.
Key is to communicate with your client and communicate with your possible suppliers , and find good ones that you can build a relationship with - the tiny nursery near by might develop into a great connection , so might a massive national wholesaler.
Planting is obviously a great way of developing good extra income , whilst satisfying/ impressing your client and maybe most importantly giving you the joy of watching a personal project develop !
Spend a lot of time looking for suppliers -- its most time draining to begin with but gets less so as you find the good ones !
Spend a day looking at your local and national suppliers / nurseries - get plant lists and get retail and wholesale/ trade price list
Store them and use them as guides to work from -- look at what your local wyvale etc sell things for - this is what some clients view as a correct market price -
As long as you save this information/ request this information you can get on mailing lists to get upto date / quarterly / annual updates through the mail box.
Thanks for the advice, always a balancing act trying to be competitive with prices whilst also making it pay! The internet doesn't always help with customers thinking they have cheaper prices online but haven't added VAT and delivery charges etc! But I think it's a good way of adding value to the business even if financially it's not a huge earner it could lead to more varied and interesting work, personally I like doing the whole job from sourcing plants, planting and maintaining!
I tend to just add a bit for time and travel to keep the cost of materials down and then charge more for the work. Otherwise Ive found that people want to source the plants themselves and buy a load of crap from B&Q. I also want to encourage this side of my business as its good for social media and I enjoy it. Trade nurserys near me tend to be about half the price of retail sites so there is scope for making money on it if you want to.
Hi Ben,
It is not all about markup, its also about actual cost. Say you need one plant and it's 50p and you add 20%, you make 10p, not really worth it is it?
And value.
You really need to consider the market i.e retail prices, your time sourcing plants, fuel costs, research time.
In addition, depending upon whether you go and buy as & when, and accept what the nusery has at that time or you buy from further afield or online. You may need to buy in advance, may need to look after stock, watering etc. This needs to be factored.
If people are asking you get the plants, consider what this means, they don't have the time, expertise or transportation to get them. We buy and plant a fair few plants. Most nurseries stock say 3-400 different plants, sounds like a lot until you need to plant a dry shade garden. We buy direct from nurseries and online, and we are well versed with buying small and larger volumes.
Most trade nurseries grow a to 1,2 & 3 litre perennials, and a range of sized shrubs and trees.
Trade prices and discounts vary considerably, depending on whether you;re dealing with a 'grower', a wholesaler 'trade' only, wholesaler 'public welcome', retail nursery, specialist, independent garden centre or a chain GC.
Most nuseries local to us i.e any where in Yorkshire charge for all deliveries, typically to get free deliveries from growers you need to order £700 or a danish trolley.
A typical pallet delivery is £55 + VAT per pallet.
We've used https://dorsetperennials.co.uk/ a few times, they are retail, but great stock, interesting plants
https://www.westcountrylupins.co.uk/index.html supply trade and retail, great stock
Great trade nursery's are http://www.kingsdown-uk.com/ and http://manorfarmnurseries.com/
If you want to meet Nurseries, other than going to their sites, you can attend a trade show. We go to the http://www.fouroaks-tradeshow.com/, but you don't need to go that far...
Right near Exeter, is the South West Growers show 3rd Oct 2018
Four Oaks website, has a comprehensive website directory of their exhibitors i.e trade growers
However quality retail growers tend to be in the HTA, the ones that go to RHS shows ,etc
need more info
contact me inthe BOG