Saving on materials you reorder

[gene]

If you reorder from the same suppliers over and over DON'T until you check out what they do.
I have been ordering from the same supplier for a few years and have noticed that as expected a few prices were going up. I didnt think about it at the time i just assumed inflation. Every time i called an order ( @ Wurth wood products Greenville sc ) in they asked for my account info so they could see what i had been charged in the past. I decided to check another company (Hood Dist in Greenville sc ) and was shocked at the prices i was paying . Some sheet goods B2 Red oak ply was 12.00+ a sheet cheaper exact same material and 3/4 MDF W1S was 7.00+ cheaper .
In these tough times i need to save as much as possible, as i am sure that the rest of you do too. I had just gotten used to dealing with the same people year after year but i guarentee from now on i will price around at least every few orders. The reason i posted this was to inform people that if you are dealing with the same dealer over and over most likely you are being overcharged also .. On this small order there was over 620.00 savings by just comparing prices...Hope this helps yall

[myxpykalix]

So much for customer loyalty...what you need to do is take your quote on materials from the cheaper source to them and ask "is this the thanks i get for being a loyal customer?"

You know whats even worse? Is getting a price for labor from in-laws that is higher then the price from a stranger. Now thats family loyalty!

[rb99]

Sometimes family charges what they should get...after all you would not want someone you really care about to take a beating on your job would you?

RIB

[john_l]

Great advice. I saved about $400 on a $3000 order today, the very same way you did. Just made a phone call.

I don't get suppliers. You'd think they would know better since it is so easy for us to check other prices. When this happens to me, I start thinking about how many dollars I have spent with these guys over the last several years, some a couple decades, and how much I have likely left setting on the table.

And family... my nephew manages a supply house nearby. They are always the highest price by a large margin, even on large orders, same material.

[gene]

So much for a family discount

[bcammack]

My office is next door to our Purchasing Mgr's office. You should hear him beat up our suppliers. He's _brutal_. You should also see the deals he gets.

[gene]

Brett , Thats a good thing. He's treating the money he's spending like it is his. My mistake was i guess i looked at the sales guys as friends. Never mix friends and buisness . Well another lesson learned , and paid for.

[coach]

Good advice Gene.
I check my prices right at the delivery truck.
If they went up I call the salesman before I accept the order. Usually the response is......
"sorry about that" and the driver changes it on the invoice.
Also don't hesitate to call competitors and share the price you get. I have faxed copies of my invoices and had prices beat.

[woodworx]

The company I sell plywood through does something similar. We are all commissioned based so needless to say if you were ok paying 30.00 for a sheet, there is no reason to change it. Yet the same principal works if our costs go up. The company I work for is wholesale so prices go up and down almost everyday, especially on high commodity items like melamine, mdf, and particle board. Since we cater to smaller shops who have no loyalty and will sell you out for $.50 a sheet, I don't have a problem with increasing profit from 20% to 25% without question.

One thing I never knew was in actuality what most would people think is the same panel from one supplier to the next is far from the truth. Veneer core panels from one supplier to the next can have dramatic difference.
1. # of plys
2. Type of veneer cut Rotary/Whole Piece face/flat cut ect.....
3 Thickness of top veneer
4. Core density.
5. Shop core/void free
6. Import/domestic panel

Other factors that influence my ability to sell someone and make maximum profit are:

1. Loyalty
2. Frequency
3. How they pay. (usual 30 day, 60 day?) credit card? cash?
4. How hard they do beat me up.
5. Any other items to go with the order.

The competitions comparative prices do make a difference in how I price my items, but the main goal is to hold your ground and be confident in the quality, and the service your company brings.

80% of the new customers that call my company to place an order are typically bad customers who owe everyone else money and won't show their face anywhere else.

Anyone who wants only good prices ends up being the customer whom neither you or I want in the first place. Knowing your product and your options will save you the most money. We are all woodworkers and the first lesson in business is usually "You get what you pay for."

[rb99]

If you are making an order that is big enough, you can get the price down as low as you can, then ask if credit card is OK. When they say it is, tell them you will pay with money transfer or certified cheque. I saved about $300 off an order last year.

It was the most money I made per hour in a long time. 30 minutes to the bank for 300 bucks.

RIB

[gene]

Justin,
The materials i was refering to were in fact the same materials , same grade , same brand from the same city. I just got to where i trusted the sales rep and he knew that i reordered materials frequently. I dont blame him , I blame ME. I should have known NOT to trust a salesman....
I posted this because i know that there are alot of others that are doing the same exact thing. You are right , if a customer is willing to pay 30.00 a sheet then charge 30.00 and in a few weeks go to 31.29 and blame it on oil prices or freight . The customer will not blink most of the time. They assume it is a legitimate expense of the company, when in fact the commodity market may be down that week, = higher profits...for the sales man.... If you think the sales rep is watching out for you then you better think again. He wants to make as much as possible , as we all do.....

[eaglesplsh]

I switched suppliers a few years back and got lucky - found one that had the lowest prices and dramatically better service.

The main difference - they load sheet goods onto their trucks _by_hand_. My prefinished plywood no longer has scratches/gouges/smashed corners from fork lifts. They also don't use steel banding to bundle the orders together - that used to give me rust marks and damaged edges on the top + bottom sheet of every order.

The other main difference - their delivery driver actually gets out of the truck and helps unload! I was so sick of having a teamster sitting in the cab twiddling his thumbs while I'm hefting full sheets of MDF off his truck and carrying them by myself over an icy driveway.

I hear what you guys are saying about price shopping. I'm this kind of shopper when it comes to personal stuff. With business purchases I need stability, reliability, quality, helpful, friendly, fast...

The new supplier has my loyalty unless things change dramatically.

[wberminio]

Hi Russ

Who are you using for your sheet goods?
I use several suppliers,most are do as you say.

I do get damaged goods at times-scratches/nicks/gouges

I call the office with the driver waiting and if I can still use it,they give a good discount.
So not to take it back.

Erminio

[eaglesplsh]

Hi Erminio,

Actually, I think that I found out about them from you or someone at your ShopBot Camp, so thanks!
By the way, I've stopped by your shop a couple times just to say hi and see what you were working on. Keep missing you - guess you've been out doing installs or something.

The supplier that I like/use for most of my material now is Rosenzweig Lumber.

Atlantic Plywood was the worst supplier that I've used - damaged goods _every_time_!

I always inspect stuff as it comes off the truck. With the other suppliers I did call and complain. First they'd give me the line about how "if 95% of the piece is up to spec then you're suppose to be able to cut around the bad spots." There's no way that I'm redrawing my cut files to compensate for their errors! Some of the stuff they'd replace, but it would take several days to get the replacement. Some of the stuff they would discount, but then I needed more material to finish my production run - I don't have a lot of storage space so I only order what I expect to use immediately. Either way it was a pain in the butt and more work/stress that I didn't need.

I visited Rosenzweig's warehouses once when I was looking for some hardwood. It's a crazy place - employees running everywhere with sheets of wood in their hands. They've got trap doors in the floors and have guys handing boards through the floor one at a time to move stuff from the basement or second floor racks to the first floor for loading on their trucks.

You'd think that using manual labor would be much more expensive/less quality conscious than fancy automation, but that's not what I've seen on my end. When I talked to their employees they were actually friendly, knowledgeable, and seemed to give a damn - maybe that's what makes them more efficient in the long run.

[wberminio]

Russ

I think I gave you that lead.I found the same results with Rosenzweig.I use a few other good companies also.
In fact,I'm getting a delivery on Monday.
I never had the chance to make the trip to the Bronx
to visit their warehouse.Sounds like a fun place!
BTW:I have enough of their pencils to last 10 more years!

Atlantic has gotten too big.I used them 20+ years ago when they had only one warehouse.I haven't seen their salesman in 10 years.

Please give me a call!I've been working on a job nearby, in Katonah.
It would be great to go over some projects with you!

If you come by and see my van,Call my shop (914-666-8756)and leave a message -sometimes,I don't hear the bell.
Luigi is too loud at times

Erminio

[gene]

Erminio,

Is luigi your bot?
I wonder how many bot owners name their shopbot?
Mine is Pedro . Best employee i have.

[myxpykalix]

Mine is named "Jamie"...after the bionic woman.
She's half bionic woman half robbie the robot from lost in space. I have substituted the sound file for carriage movement for "Danger Wil Robinson!"
Kind of appropriate i thought.


danger.wav (http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/312/danger-48113.wav) (21.0 k)

Back on topic...Because i'm contemplating building this house 84 lumber has package kits of houses and you will find that some things are cheaper and some things are more expensive.
I am going thru the list and on the big ticket items like trusses, floor joists, rafters, I am comparing prices between them and if I am going to spend 30-40G's then yeah i expect the best price you can give me.
Some places price themselves out of a sale.

As an example I need a trench dug out 8' deep X8'wide by 44'long. I got prices from $1,000 to $8500.00, now what makes the guy who wants to take 4 days and $8500.00 a better deal then the guy who will do it in 1 day for a grand?

[gene]

Jack,
It has got to be the quality in the way the guy digs. Do you want the dirt just thrown about or carefully removed from earth and gently repositioned in a manner as not to hurt the composition of the material. Maybe the 8500 guy is a licensed specialist in the art of soil relocation. He has got to be a dirtologist relocation specialist ... I think that i would get references from the 1000 guy and make sure he has insurance. If he gets hurt on your property ,,,Well you know what happens next. Are they going to use a track hoe or backhoe?

[myxpykalix]

I don't really care if he uses a track hoe or backhoe or a bunch of guys from a chaingang using shovels and pick axes. As long as they remove the dirt from the hole lol.

I will have insurance.

[jerry_stanek]

Hey jack if you have a hole then how how do remove the dirt.

[coach]

My bot is named Jaws...from the teeth marks on my t shirts.
I always keep a clean / non work T in the truck when I need to go on delivery or look at a job.
Those teeth marks are not looked at as a problem, they mean I have a bot and it is being used.

[wberminio]

Gene

When I 1st got my Bot running,I called my wife
and told her-
"Luigi is working and I'm drinking coffee"
The name stuck.He Is part Italian (HSD Spindle)


I agree with you Gene-Best employee I ever had!

[eaglesplsh]

When I was coming up with a name for our bot I wanted something that sounded tough as nails (cut through a hold down recently, anyone?) and that emphasized her "proportions"... settled on Big Agnes.

[curtiss]

I have found a fair amount of material at the local Habitat for Humanity store here. They get a lot of pretty good scrap veneer panels, hardwood boards, cabinet doors, mdf and other stuff that is about 1/4 the price at the box stores. Someone dropped off a few hundred sheets of counter top laminate sheets the other day.

Great for making mistakes on....