Hold on to your hat Bunnings, Masters is here

For years Bunnings has had the hardware market monopoly with a wide range of stock they make it easy to be the one stop shop that we all need. Bunnings does have its drawbacks and as we all know it’s often hard to find a park on the weekends and it’s also hard to find service once inside the shop, but still where would we be without Bunnings? Now the chain of masters hardware shops have opened in Sydney with a new and exciting range of products. Some of the electrical range and plumbing range is larger than Bunnings and a lot of the same items such as general hardware are also available.

The lock range did look larger than Bunnings and they do have some imported locks that we have not had access to until now.

Key Cutting.

Bunnings have until now has the Silca poker key machine to cut keys with, This is a very good quality key machine, We also sell this key machine in out lock shop.

Bunnings then replaced their key machines with a manual key machine-made by Ilco. In my option I think they were better off with the automatic key machine that did not allow as much to go wrong, Very little effort and skill is needed to run a Silca automatic poker machine compared with the manual key machines they now use.

Over time I think it will become clear if their staff is able to handle and use a manual key machine and cut keys accurately, as before using the automatic. With all hardware shops it’s all about profit and from my understanding the new ilco key machine was a cheaper option for them compared to renting the expensive Silca automatic machines.

Investment in quality key machines is exactly that an investment. With Bunnings using a key machine that worth fewer than three thousand it’s a small investment compared with Masters. Its looks like Masters are willing to invest and willing to offer a more expensive range to their customers that will in the end win them more business and higher profits.

The key range at masters included normal keys as well as nice fancy painted keys that we also sell in out lock shop. The customers can see the keys and feel the keys on the shelf and select the fancy key they like for cutting. This key selection has normally been available at locksmith shops only.

When I said before about investing in Key machines, I was not joking, masters have bought a top of the line laser automatic key machine with a touch screen and to this day I have not seen available on the market. It’s a large machine as seen in the photo that has a laser reader to read the key and give the exact size and measurements to the cutting part of the machine. In my experience I believe that this machine will provide more accuracy in the long run and allow all the staff to be able to cut good keys with minimal effort and training, the machine has a LED touch screen and most people these days are happy to just following the instructions on-screen.

The cost of the machine is unknown, but I would be expecting it to be above the fifteen thousand dollar mark. The key range is also a large investment that will in the end return more profits and most likely help them keep the advantage and pay the expensive machine off fast.

This is the new Key machine that Masters use in Sydney

A fancy painted key normally sells for $14 the buy price in Bulk is about $7 so the profit on a rough scale could be $7. This is higher than the normal $2-3 profit, and when you cut 30 keys a day for example your return is $210 per day compared to the standard key cutting profits of $60-70, Over the years the key cutting could possibly be worth $76,000 in profits. That’s enough to recover the cost of the machine in the first year. Key cutting would possible make more money than any other service that they offer per square meter , The key machine and keys take up 1 meter squared, Wood and plants take up a lot more space and would not return the same profits.

You too can cut keys.

If you would like to buy a key machine and start cutting keys, See our lock shop, we sell the same machines that Bunnings use to use. Fully automatic and easy to use. We also have key starter kits and fancy keys. Please email for more info