Discussion A vendor of mine just suggested I do something like this

[Ray Miller]

With production going downward in most arenas lately he sent me a message from many of his suppliers.

Due to the volatility of metal pricing, all orders are based as price in effect at time of shipment.

He said it's happening with all metal products, coroplast, pvc's across the board. He said no one can hold you to a quote anymore because demand is way out in front of supply these days. Metal went up about 39% overnight. Car manufacturers can't build cars like they used to and neither can anything else. It's a real mess if you ask me.

I'm thinking of adding something like this to all of my quotes going out from here on in.

 

[Boudica]

Wouldn't be a terrible idea.

 

[signage]

I would have asked him if prices go down will i get the materials for that new lower price?

 

[FireSprint.com]

You can try this, but I feel like you'll have a lot of angry customers.

The cost of material at the time of shipment doesn't matter anyhow, it matters how much it was when you bought the material. For example, we're still running coro that we purchased back in February. This has allowed us to maintain our pricing even though or competitors may not be able to.

What I see most suppliers doing is honoring quotes for 5 business days or less, but the price at the time of ordering is the price at the time of shipping,.

 

[2B]

You can try this, but I feel like you'll have a lot of angry customers.

The cost of material at the time of shipment doesn't matter anyhow, it matters how much it was when you bought the material. For example, we're still running coro that we purchased back in February. This has allowed us to maintain our pricing even though or competitors may not be able to.

What I see most suppliers doing is honoring quotes for 5 business days or less, but the price at the time of ordering is the price at the time of shipping,.

Agreed, if you start changing pricing after the quote is approved/done, the person paying will be ANNOYED
If I'm quoted a price, that is the price I expect to pay.

We have reduced our "valid days".
No longer are we doing 30 + days of valid quote, depending on the material it could be the same day or a couple of days MAX
We also have implemented a "timeframe" for orders. Meaning you cannot approve the order price and then wait weeks, months to start production just because you wanted to get the better price.

 

[Boudica]

I don't think he was talking about changing current estimates on his customers, he's talking about adding a disclaimer to his future estimates. We have a line at the bottom of our written estimates that the price is good for 30 days. If they come back in 3 months to go forward with the project, the estimate might change.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Yeah, pricing is pretty volatile right now. If that's what the OP meant, then yes, that makes sense. I read it as in "We'll decide what to charge after the job is done." That just won't fly with most customers...

 

[Ray Miller]

You're lucky if you can buy a large enough supply, but I can't. It's rare that you'll ever see prices drop. Once they get the prices up there they're bound to basically stay up there.

For those who didn't understand. If I quote a job today and they don't accept the quote for 4 weeks, my costs of goods could go up and according to him as much as 40% at a shot or more for some things. A piece of aluminum costs $100 today when I quoted it but in 2 days it could go up to $140. I get charged so wouldn't it be in my best interests not to eat that and alert the customer about these volatile times? If the manufacturer or the supplier is going to pass it on shouldn't I pass it on too?

 

[Gino]

I just saw the same thing today. I've been getting my Cor-X for as low as $9 a sheet according to the quantity. Normal getting 5 or 10 sheets at a time was around $11. I was talking to my supplier about something else and he brought up that his next batch of COr-X will be going up to about $18 a sheet. gulp This cheaper than sh!t product is not so cheap anymore.

 

[Vinyl slayer]

You're lucky if you can buy a large enough supply, but I can't. It's rare that you'll ever see prices drop. Once they get the prices up there they're bound to basically stay up there.

For those who didn't understand. If I quote a job today and they don't accept the quote for 4 weeks, my costs of goods could go up and according to him as much as 40% at a shot or more for some things. A piece of aluminum costs $100 today when I quoted it but in 2 days it could go up to $140. I get charged so wouldn't it be in my best interests not to eat that and alert the customer about these volatile times? If the manufacturer or the supplier is going to pass it on shouldn't I pass it on too?

With any luck, they might make a change that requires a new quote. Then you can explain industry material shortage... Rising costs etc. Don't go back on current quotes. just forward.
A member here has often said to roll with the punches and then adjust accordingly.
Don't panic, adjust.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I feel like a crash is coming.

 

[Vinyl slayer]

I feel like a crash is coming.

Stop looking at that chick with the seqwin mask and keep your eyes on the road.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Stop looking at that chick with the seqwin mask and keep your eyes on the road.

Hey now, don't reveal all of my secrets

 

[Vinyl slayer]

Hey now, don't reveal all of my secrets

You said you were about to crash. My Guess was a stab in the dark on your focus.
Now, who is revealing secrets?

 

[Chrxs]

With production going downward in most arenas lately he sent me a message from many of his suppliers.

Due to the volatility of metal pricing, all orders are based as price in effect at time of shipment.

He said it's happening with all metal products, coroplast, pvc's across the board. He said no one can hold you to a quote anymore because demand is way out in front of supply these days. Metal went up about 39% overnight. Car manufacturers can't build cars like they used to and neither can anything else. It's a real mess if you ask me.

I'm thinking of adding something like this to all of my quotes going out from here on in.

In germany it's the same! The market is empty you can't even get plywood "out of the shelves". We added this quote also to our jobs.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Maybe I should rethink of getting into the US market now, but the shipping is very expensive for small orders. Only way to buy are either 20' or 40' containers.

 

[signage]

here is the real problem someone isn't delivering as they should be causing prices to go up! this went on for more than a quarter mile!

 

[Gino]

For me, that's a big blurry mess. What is that and when was that picture taken ??

 

[Stacey K]

A couple home contractors I work have 20 days on their estimates. I have 30 on mine but might bring mine down to a couple weeks. I'm selling what I have at the price I bought it for but once I know I will need to buy something for a job I'll adjust my pricing accordingly.

 

[Gino]

I told a friend of mine about this thread and he said, so if you get a roll of paper towels at the store today for a dollar and go back in tomorrow and get another roll and it costs $1.49..... are you gonna stand there and argue it's not fair ?? Or..... go to another store or another store or just pay the frickin' price instead of wasting the gas?? Sorry, the way I see it, the end user pays for it...... or just do without.