Tuesday, May 15, 2007

OFFERS OF THE SEASON

Spring is very definitely here and all thoughts have turned to improving our homes. Spring time seems to give us all the push to finally get around to doing all those jobs that we promised ourselves we would finish when we had some time!

Here are some offers that we think you may find useful:

Spring Cleaning - Have a look at our prices for the famous E-cloth cleaning system. We have added a video showing the advantages of this environmentally friendly system as the system uses NO CHEMICALS and cloths can be washed on a 90 degree wash 300 times!

One 2 Five Bin System - This is a fantastic solution to your kitchen bin problem. For 400mm, 500mm and 600mm cabinet widths with a maximum capacity of 80 litres, and with SOFT CLOSE runners it really is a must have - From around £83.00 with FREE DELIVERY.

Spice racks - In stock now! Available for immediate delivery - the very popular four tier rack. Only £11.95.

Bar Handles - We are still hugely cheaper than the high street - Check out our cost comparison table. We have also added a video explaining how easy it is to change your handles. Check it out here!

Shelving - the quality of our brackets and support channels is second to none. Made from white stove enamelled steel and capable of supporting heavy loads. They can be used either indoors or in the garage and the garden shed. Why not spend spring time sorting out that garage?

Help your friends take advantage of these special prices - just forward the link to my blog.

Hope the spring cleaning isn't too arduous!


The DIY Essentials Group
0800 389 9732

The DIY Essentials Group is comprised of:
Registered in England: 5316189
VAT No: 865 5372 93

Monday, May 14, 2007

15% off Lever Door Handles

We've just lowered prices on our most popular ranges on www.door-handles.com.

This makes the following ranges amongst others, the cheapest on the internet:
Scroll Lever Handle - £5.78 per pair


Plain Victorian Lever Handle - £8.73 per pair

Interior Door Handles are our passion. The site is dedicated to providing you with the right Lever Door Handles, Door Knobs, Pull Handles including their fixings like Key Hole covers, Backplates and all the other fixtures and fittings you need to make your doors look handsome!

For UK customers delivery is free on all orders over £50. Otherwise Postage and Packing is £6.00.

As part of the DIY Essentials Group all Door Handle customers also have access to a huge range of products at our other sites, including:

DIY Supplies - Door handles - Spice Racks - Kitchen Accessories
Kitchen Bins | Stainless Steel Bins | Integrated Kitchen Bins
Bathroom Accessories | Bathroom Supplies UK | Towel Rails
Kitchen Door Handles | Stainless Steel Bar Handles | Kitchen Knobs

We are all experienced trades people who like talking to our customers and offering advice where necessary. When you talk to us you talk to experts!

All our products are sourced from high quality suppliers located around the world.

We love to talk to you so give us a call on 0800 389 9732.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Cardholder Not Present Fraud

Well we made the big time a week last Friday with an interview on ITVs Tonight With Trevor McDonald. They ran a feature on Cardholder Not Present Fraud and as we have had some experience with this I went along to Granada's studios in Manchester and was interviewed in a lovely old bonded warehouse about 100 yards from the Coronation Street set, and no I didn't see any of the cast.

Seriously though this is a real threat to the online retailer. We have experienced a few transactions that have gone through and look perfectly legitimate until you dig a little deeper.

To catch them we now ring the telephone number provided to verify the identity of the customer. If we get no answer we then email and if no response is received within a week we do not send the goods and we refund the card back.

It is important to avoid "Chargebacks" from the bank as they charge you for the privilege of taking the money out of your account and if you get a lot of chargebacks they will withdraw your merchant number!

I believe the banks are introducing a new system in the summer that will prevent the merchant from being penalised in any way but I do suspect that the cardholder will bear the brunt once again, when the system is introduced.

Here is a useful review of Fraud and its prevention from Protx.

This website has lots of great information on how to shop and bank safely online.

Anyway thats all for now but look out for some great spring cleaning offers from DIY Essentials early next week.....

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Kitchen Door Handles - a guide to fitting.

Kitchen Door Handles are a fundamental part of your kitchen design. They will set the initial ambience within the kitchen. They will be the part of the kitchen that you touch many times each day. The must be functional, stylish, durable, simple to maintain and compliment the overall design of the kitchen.

Here at the diyessentials Group we offer many thousands of styles and finishes and have kitchen door handles available to suit any budget. In fact most of our customers are able to fit their kitchens with kitchen door handles for less than £45. We run a dedicated website www.kitchen-doorhandles.co.uk that is one of the most popular sites in the group receiving over 5,000 unique visitors per month.

Listed below are the fundamental questions you need to ask yourself when considering new kitchen door handles.

  1. Are you replacing existing kitchen door handles or is this a brand new installation?
  2. Do you need kitchen door knobs or kitchen door handles or a combination?
  3. What style of kitchen door handles should you choose?
  4. What size do you need?
  5. Have you got the tools to do the work yourself?
This is a very inexpensive way of giving your whole kitchen a new look. The process is very simple and need take less than an hour.

Kitchen Door Knobs

Typically an average kitchen will have 20 individual kitchen door knobs or kitchen door handles. Changing knobs is a very straightforward and simple operation as there will be one hole already made in the draw or door.

To remove the existing knob simply open the door and locate the handle bolt and unscrew it whilst holding onto the knob. Tools required would be a Philips screwdriver.

Take the new kitchen door handle bolt and new kitchen door knob and fit. In total this job should take no more than 1 minute per handle. So 20 minutes in total for a complete revamp.

Kitchen Door Handles

These are a little trickier as you will have two holes. The distance between the holes is known as the hole centres and on most modern kitchens these will be:

64 mm
96 mm
128 mm
160 mm
192 mm

etc in increments of 32 mm

So when purchasing replacement handles firstly measure your hole centres before you go shopping.

To replace simply unscrew the handle bolt, then fit your new handles, again the only tools required are a Phillips screwdriver. In total this job should take no more than two minutes per handle giving 40 minutes for our average kitchen.

Many people will look to replace the doors and handles as this will give the whole kitchen a completely new look for little cost. This approach also means that you can choose whatever handle of knob you like. Fitting is slightly more complicated as you need to drill holes in your new doors and draw fronts. It is also worth considering fitting a soft close hinge system whilst you are replacing the doors and handles. The soft close hinge system can be installed for around £5 to £6 per door.

The most important aspect to consider when fitting kitchen door handles or knobs to new doors is consistency, so purchase a jig to make sure all the holes are drilled in exactly the same place on each kitchen drawer or drawer front.

There is nothing worse than looking along a line of cupboards to discover the handles are all at different levels!

The tools required here would be:

  • Handle Jig
  • Cordless drill
  • 4.0mm drill bit
  • Philips screwdriver.

To complete a standard kitchen should take no more than one hour.

If you have any questions please contact us on 0800 369 9732. We would be delighted to talk to you.

www.kitchen-doorhandles.co.uk

As an added bonus here is a short video showing one of our more popular handles and a description of how to measure hole centres.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

DIY Clinic 28/04/07 9am - 12 noon

This Saturday we are running a DIY Clinic hosted by three experienced trades people who operate locally.

We have a time served Plummer and Electrician, an experienced cabinet maker and a kitchen fitter all waiting to help you solve your problems with your DIY projects.

Learn the secrets from the masters to ensure that your DIY project goes smoothly.

There will be a free coffee and bacon sandwich available to all interested parties.

This will also be an excellent opportunity for both Trade and General public to gain a full appreciation of the products we have on offer, along with the great prices and service!

We are located here. And the phone number is 0800 389 9732 if you need anymore details.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Just Sandpaper hits the headlines!

Yet another site in the diyessentials group. This one offers exactly what it says on the tin - sandpaper.

Our supplier Mirka is one of the leading manufacturers of sandpaper and abrasive products for the automotive, wood and boat building sectors in the world.

With a huge range of products and delivery set at a lowly £2.99 for orders under £45, why bother paying much higher prices at your local store for a lower quality product.

All roll products such as the highly acclaimed Hiomant , Jepuflex and Hiflex are sold by the metre. Or why not try out Abranet, which is a revolutionary new product designed to keep dust levels down to a minimum.

Just-sandpaper.co.uk will become the leading UK supplier of Mirka Sandpaper and associated products to the DIY sector.

Anyway, happy shopping and watch this space for the launch of our next site which is shaping up to be our best yet!

Sunday, April 08, 2007

www.Door-Handles.com - its here and its great!

www.door-handles.com has gone live with a big bang!! Orders have exceeded our expectations and the warehouse is very busy.

We went a bit mad and are offering new customers either:

10% off their first order - use voucher code New Customers

Or:

Free postage (worth £7.11) - use voucher code Free Delivery

This site has a huge range of interior door handles, door knobs, pull handles and all the associated hardware needed to make your doors look special. We will be adding a range of door handles for exterior doors in the very near future.

Happy Shopping and hope you are having a great Easter.


Friday, March 23, 2007

DBB Mortice Jig - only £136.59

This is a fantastic product with a world wide following. For those of us fitting mortice locks this handy tools saves hours. Here at DIY Essentials we have the DBB Mortice Jig on offer for a limited time only at the fantastic price of only £136.59 including VAT and with free delivery to UK addresses.

We will ship abroad but will only take orders over the telephone and goods are not despatched until cleared funds have been received.

You can buy the DBB Mortice Jig on www.diyessentials.com.

And whats more here is a little video clip to demonstrate the DBB Mortice Jig in action.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

10% off on all sites in the DIY Essentials Group

We have been racking our brains on how to reward our Customers for their loyalty. We are running our Win an Easter Bunny competition across all our sites but we also wanted to give some cash back to you and your friends.

We are offering a Voucher with a code of Easter that is valid across all the DIY Essentials Group web sites:


This gives you the opportunity to shop once on each site and get 10% off each time.

The Voucher code is also valid for orders placed over the telephone.

Simply type Easter into the voucher code box when placing your order. The voucher will be valid until April 3, 2007.

Happy Easter and Happy Shopping.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Easter Bunny Surprise!


We are running a great prize draw leading up to Easter. All orders placed on:

DIY Supplies | Door Handles | Spice Racks | Kitchen Accessories
Kitchen Door Handles | Stainless Steel Bar Handles | Kitchen Knobs
Kitchen Bins | Stainless Steel Kitchen Bins | Integrated Kitchen Bins
Bathroom Accessories | Towel Rails

between 19 March and 3 April will receive a Lindt Chocolate Egg. The Customer receiving the egg covered with silver foil will win the huge chocolate Gold Bunny.

Good Luck!!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Innovative Bathroom Storage Solution


We have taken delivery of 100 Bathroom Pole Systems that would make any bathroom look fabulous. The quality is superb and they include a number of popular bathroom accessories including:

1 x 300 mm chrome plated wire basket with toughened glass shelf
1 x Glass holder with two glasses included
1 x 300 mm Beech wooden shelf with chrome plated railing

Readers of this blog have an excellent opportunity to be first in the queue for this fantastic pole system.

Full details can be found at www.bathroom-essentials.co.uk

The retail price of this item has been estimated at £125, they are on sale including VAT and delivery to UK addresses for an amazing £70.48.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Seven key tips for success with Google Pay Per Click

We spend a huge sum of money with Google every month but we get fantastic results so the spend is justified. I thought it would be a good idea to share what we have learn't with budding internet entrepreneurs in the hope that you don't make the same mistakes we did.

There are many so called experts out there but we are active merchants who have mastered the PPC game so it delivers real results for our business.

So here goes, enjoy!

  1. Choose keywords to bid on carefully. We started out bidding on the keyword DIY which was great in terms of generating traffic but hopeless in terms of conversion. We now bid on exact match key phrases that are the ones you type in when you want to buy. For example if you selling a particular tv, make sure you bid on the exact model as a keyword as this is what people will type in when they want to buy. They may start out with "plasma tv" but when they have decided what they want they will type in "JVC PD-42DX6 42" Plasma TV Screen" or a variation of.
  2. Understand totally the difference between phrase and exact match. It is likely that your conversions from exact match keywords will be highest once you have figured out the right ones.
  3. Get help from experts. We used traffic broker for a number of months and would recommend them as a first class organisation. They will manage your account for you and is a good way of getting a campaign set up the right way from the start.
  4. Measure conversions. It is extremely important to know which keywords are performing and which campaigns are successful. We measure success as a CTR (click through rate) in excess of 15% and expect 5% of traffic to make a purchase.
  5. Use tracking software. Good tracking software is not free but can be acquired for as little as £35 per month. We use Saletrack which is exceptional and comes with no fixed contract. So go on try it for a month and be prepared to be amazed. Oh and don't forget to mention me, Simon Taylor, when you telephone!
  6. Continually look at the numbers. We know exactly what percentage of gross sales we are prepared to spend on Pay Per Click. It is very easy to fall into the trap of becoming a slave to Google and having to spend the money to make the sales. Don't lose sight of your bottom line.
  7. Work hard! The more time you spend on your keywords and campaigns the greater the rewards will be. Expect to spend some time every day reviewing what is going on.
  8. Okay I said seven but here is a free one. Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion, it will enhance the effectiveness of your ads ten fold if you use it in the correct way!
Thats all for now and I hope this is useful for you. If you need more drop me a line and I will help if I can.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Handturned Wooden Knobs for Kitchens


Well we have finally done it and launched a bespoke service for customers looking for that fantastic unique look for their kitchen cupboard doors.

We have a local craftsman who will turn any pattern we present him with, in a timber of your choice and finished the way you want. We will advise throughout the process to ensure the exact look is achieved.

To see some examples look at the handturned wooden knobs on www.kitchen-doorhandles.co.uk.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Uniross Hybrio Range - reduce your carbon footprint!

The days are counting down to the launch of our green battery site! This will be our major contribution to help all uk consumers reduce their carbon footprint. Throw away all those disposable batteries and replace them with state of the art batteries from Uniross.

When we launch it will be announced on this Blog first and there will be some great giveaways and voucher codes on offer.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Search Engine Optimisation

OK we have selected blueclaw to work with us on optimising the sites for our keywords that generate most business. Fergus will certainly have his work cut out over the next few months but we are very excited at the prospect of reducing our pay per click spending.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

New Catalogue

For some time we have been pondering over how to produce a catalogue that won't bankrupt the company. One of our suppliers has come to the rescue and in early February we should be able to send all customers a massive 140 page spectacular with the majority of our best sellers included.

We will also allow potential customers to request it from the web sites by leaving their contact details.

I'll post a firmer date later in January.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Green Batteries and helping save the Planet

In the New Year we are going to be offering the Uniross range of rechargeable batteries and chargers.

Did you know that every year in the UK we throw away enough disposable batteries to cover 150 football pitches!
What an environmental disaster!!!

PLEASE USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES.


The Uniross range has been endorsed by WWF hence our reason for offering them.

Anyway keep an eye on diyessentials for more news!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

SEOs and are they worth the money?

WOW have we come a long way since my last post. Back in January we had been trading for six weeks with our new site www.diyessentials.com and life was ok. We now run three more sites:

www.kitchen-doorhandles.co.uk
www.binsforkitchens.co.uk
www.bathroom-essentials.co.uk

Turnover has tripled and we are moving into new premises in the New Year. Staff numbers have also doubled which is making life interesting. We have plans for four more sites in the next three months so watch this space.

We went to see blueclaw today who came highly recommended and had a long chat with Fegus, the MD. He seems to know what he is talking about so we will probably be using his services in the New Year. This will boost our natural listings for our chosen keywords and enable us to cut down on Google ppc spend.

Thats all for now and I promise to keep the blog much more up to date.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

EZ sniper : Free ebay auction sniper software. Snipe auctions online. Automatic esnipe bid sniping agent.

Just discovered this great site. If your tired of losing ebay auctions in the last minute, try this!

Read more at www.ezsniper.com

Saturday, January 14, 2006

High quality products for the home improver at great prices. Call 0800 3899732 for the latest brochure.

Just updated the site in preperation for some PR in the Eveing Standard on Monday.

What do you think?

Read more at www.diyessentials.com/s...