a pleasant shopping experience...

I had a pleasant shopping experience and wanted to pass along the vender’s name…
I thought I had an endless supply of 6” X 89” belts for my oscillating belt sander… What a shock when I discovered that my entire stock consisted of worn out belts. I had kept them thinking I might get more use from them someday!
In the past, Supergrit.com has been my “goto” source, this time I couldn’t wait for something to be shipped halfway across the country! Dallas is a big place, I thought, surely these belts can be sourced locally! Rockler and woodcraft don’t carry anything longer than 48”. Some Home Depot stores in the area carry them, but at a high price… I thought, until I priced the industrial supply houses!
Almost by accident I came across Econ abrasives… They were listed as a manufacturer, Not the usual source for an individual/small business. I called them… It turned out they were located 10 minutes from me! They are a manufacturer… they make stock and custom size belts from the HUGE rolls they have in stock. They happened to have what I needed in stock, but typically fill orders in two days.
I called back a week later asking for a custom belt… I wanted 6”X 89” belts with silicone carbide grit for a Turquoise inlay project I was working on. Two days later I had them!
I’m very pleased with the product… It turns out that much of what supergrit carries is overstock and ageing stock. Belts have a shelf life, if you have ever had a splice come loose, it was because it was past its prime!

The following is what I found for 6” X 89” 80 grit belts with an X weight fabric backing… The prices are all over the place! IMHO, Econ Abrasives has a superior product at a fraction of the cost! Superior because the splice is fresh! Because Econ turned out to be local for me, I have no experience with their shipping costs.
SG

Econ… $6.75 https://www.econabrasives.com/index.php
Supergrit … $8.60 http://www.supergrit.com/
Amazon … $11.50
Home Depot $18.53
Grizzly $13.75
MSC $20.65
Grainger $46.50 (EA!)