Buying supplies online revolutionizes Canadian DIY
Online shopping makes it easier to buy great consumer goods at the lowest possible prices without travelling to a physical store, and online shopping is also changing the way do-it-yourself home improvement happens, too.
A Canadian outfit called Paint Supplies Direct (paintsuppliesdirect.ca) is one case in point that I’ve found.
It’s the work of John Burke and his partner James Mumby, a Canadian entrepreneur with a humble beginning in the paint product business 40 years ago.
“Back in 1974, my dad began manufacturing painting supplies such as brushes and rollers, additives and enamel paints in our family garage,” remembers James. “I learned what it meant to put in a full day’s work packaging products, loading trucks and dealing with the painting public.”
The business eventually came to be known as Dynamic Paint Products and it grew to be Canada’s largest manufacturer of brushes, rollers, trays, drop cloths and other painting supplies. After helping his dad at hundreds of trade shows over the decades, James kept hearing the same story. For years, painters would ask if they could buy their supplies directly from Dynamic instead of going to physical stores and paying marked-up retail prices.
“Direct sales weren’t practical at the time,” says James, “so we had to say no. Retailers were needed then for year-round sales. Now things are different. The retail landscape in Canada has changed dramatically.”
Paint Supplies Direct is just one example of something fundamental that the internet is doing in all sectors. It cuts out middlemen by more directly connecting suppliers and consumers.
“The bottom line is simple. It’s less costly to sell a paint roller online and ship if from a central warehouse than it is to distribute that same roller to a retail store, have it sit there for a while, then hope someone will walk in and buy it some day,” says James. “When it comes to painting supplies, an online presence lets us lower our selling price by about 20 per cent compared with storefront sales.”
The most interesting thing about all this is not just that you can get specialty items more conveniently and for less money. Another benefit is product quality.
Although Paint Supplies Direct is built to suit the needs of professional painters, regular home improvement people can shop there, too. If nothing else, online shopping is quite inclusive.
Over the last five years I’ve tested the quality of painting rollers, brushes and trays and there’s a huge difference in how well different brands and types perform. As with most things in life, professional-grade supplies work better and last longer. Specialty online shopping gives you access to pro quality supplies at prices that are lower than retail, but there’s more to it than this.
A business called RenoRun (renorun.ca) is another example of how an online service designed for tradespeople also helps handy homeowners.
RenoRun offers 50,000 different building supply products online, and they promise to deliver it in two hours or less in specific Canadian cities.
Download the phone app, set up an account, then choose what you need and hit a button.
Before you know it the RenoRun truck arrives at your house with what you ordered.
Cost is never more than $65 for delivery and the service happens evenings and weekends as well as weekdays.
“We created this service for professional contractors,” explains Eamonn O’Rourke, founder of RenoRun, “but about eight per cent of our users are DIYers and weekend warriors. If you don’t have a truck or the time, we deliver what you need.”
The internet certainly has its drawbacks, but there’s also nothing like it for connecting homeowners to the things they want.
That’s true even if those things are paint rollers, 2-by-4s and anything else you need to make your home better.