When you are thinking of investing in a new garden shed, summer house, garden workshop or garage do you rely on a computer screen or leaflet or do you take the conscious decision to actually go and touch the product. Yes – I know that actually touching the product may seem old fashioned but the fact is, with certain items you may buy then, this is the only way to know what you are going to get.
So buy your sheds direct after seeing them in the flesh. This will ensure you won’t be disappointed. We all can see the super, all dancing web sites where the marketing men have pulled out all the stops to entice you into believing that buying their new shed direct from them is the best option and also the cheapest. However cheap does not mean BEST value and you can’t even make a judgement until AFTER your new building has been delivered.
This is because YOU are unable to see what you have spent your hard earned money on until after it has been delivered. MOST internet shed companies do NOT have a UK display site to direct you to.
Surprisingly there are many companies out there who make the claim that it’s better NOT to have a display site as you can look at their photographs directly on their web site. They claim that this saves you from driving many miles to visit a display site. Whilst this is true as you can save on fuel, which is very expensive, but by not viewing you risk losing more money with a potentially duff product. So how can you be sure? Well you can’t without viewing and if you don’t view you may have well put your money on a horse – the odds are probably about the same as the horses ending up in Tesco Burgers (remember that from years ago although I’m certain that is not the case any more)
These very same companies also claim that companies which have display sites and where you can see sheds directly are outdated. They imply that if you buy a garden building from their company and you don’t like the quality of it you can reject it AFTER it has been delivered and assembled. RIGHT!!. More often than not it’s the lady of the house who is in when the building is delivered, and even if they were aware of what they should be looking for, and many ladies are, how uncomfortable could that make them, or you, feel.
It may be that all your garden items from your last shed are spread around the garden or house waiting for the new arrival. If you send it directly back to the factory then what are you going to do with these items? Are you going to wait 3 or 4 weeks more by refusing an unsatisfactory product?
Don’t take this risk, deal with companies who can supply sheds direct but have a web site as well as a display site, or radically, ignore the web and visit a shed display centre such as these based near Guildford and Woking. You can then make your own judgement of the strength of the buildings – you can push on the walls and jump on the floor – and this will ensure you are not sold a shed which you will regret after the first heavy cloudburst or winter.
Forward-looking companies such as 1st Choice Leisure Buildings had the foresight to combine quality buildings with great customer service. By being the first company to have a garden buildings web site in the UK and still back that up with a physical presence. This is not outdated but a great model for the future where customers are, and always should be, KING. Don’t regret not looking before buying!! Buy your shed direct from a company only after seeing it in the flesh, so to speak.
The humble garden shed is a very popular British obsession and is used for a massive amount of different purposes. Traditionally the shed is there for the storage of garden tools, bikes, barbecues, garden furniture etc but is quite often used for a home workshop where the house holder can spend time beavering away either making things for the house or by following their hobby.
Having a separate space away from the house allows anything you are working on to be left on the side in the shed ready for when you come directly back to it. You can also get a little bit of peace and quiet and some ‘me’ time which we all need in these stressful times. Many people share their sheds with others like minded people and they can bond over a model train, or some form of electronic hobbies. They can talk about the pros and cons of the various ways of looking at their hobbies. My wife has a garden potting apex shed which she uses to make greeting cards and quite often has friends down there so they can share their hobby.
By buying sheds direct from 1st Choice you are able to see buildings in ‘real life’ before signing on the dotted line. Besides these sort of uses the garden shed can reign supreme as a garden office where the basics of your home business can take place. Very useful where you need a little space away from the house for your paperwork and maybe answering a phone. It does get to be a little more involved if you employ people as planning permission is likely to be required also you need to be aware of any Health and Safety issues because you do not want to get sued – do you?
Pauline Barnett, the pioneering fundraiser, who lived in West Bromwich actually set up one of the town’s first charity sheds in her shed over 30 years ago. She also believed that it was for more than just storing lawn mowers and other garden equipment. And over a period of 20 years she was able to raise £65,000 from her shed directly for the Williams Syndrome Foundation by selling second hand clothes from this resourceful garden building which was also used as her garden office.
It was an novelty for a shed to be used like this and was called ‘The Shed Store’ – surprisingly – and attracted visitors from a great distance, Mrs Barnett’s daughter, Sue, said that people used to come from miles around and, in fact, one woman used to come over from Ireland with an empty suit case just to visit The Shed Store and fill it with bargains and then take these items bought from the shed directly back to her home.
If you are thinking of setting up an small business in a shed then we, at 1st Choice, offers sheds direct to you in timber. metal, plastic and concrete and their range should suit most people – and if not – they can make a bespoke one just for you. With any size shed direct to you from 6×4 up to 26×14 and all of which can be adapted to suit your needs you can make it work for you. And you could become one or the 1000’s of new businesses which start life in a garden shed each year..