Display hardware supplier sells direct???

[4cpro]

This is my first post and I sure don't think it's ok. Here is the story… I just want some opinions because I'm pretty pissed off.

I buy products from Testrite. I am a registered dealer of their products. They say they sell through authorized dealers.

I have been quoting a project for a few months containing many different parts but one part is a few hundred 22 x 28 sign holders with signage. I am dealing with my client who is purchasing them for a larger retail store. My last estimate was for Testrite stands and I sent my client pictures and referred to Testrite by name and told them they were local in New Jersey and made in the US. After they sent the products to their client, their client told my client that they already had an account with Testrite and could buy them directly.

I contacted Testrite and they told me that they did indeed sell to the end client and it was a special circumstance. They told me that the previous printer the end use had went out of business and that Testrite continued to sell to that printer's client (the retailer). I asked if another large retailer contacted them tomorrow, would they sell to them? Testrite told me no that they only sell through a dealer network and they would refer them to an authorized dealer. If that is the case, why wouldn't they refer my client's end user to an authorized dealer.

Not only did I lose the all the money from 225 stands marked up, but they also know what I marked them up. It turns out that the retailer got gets the same pricing I do.

The end result is my client told me I need to pick up the stands from test rite that they bought and install the posters. I make my money on the stands and installing the poster in the stands, not really much on the posters. The cost of opening the boxes, sliding the posters in and resealing is very time consuming. I also have to ship them all so when there is damage to them, who is responsible for the stands? Typically this falls on me. I buy the stands, I ship the stands, I replace the broken ones.

Im in a bad spot where I quoted a total price for the stand and broke out the cost of the posters separately in my original quote. The cost of the stand also included my labor. Now I have to go back and tell them that the cost of the posters is fine, but now I have to add on money to insert them all because it was included in the total per piece price.

Anyway… after my long story… Testrite stands by selling to the retailer and said it is a long standing relationship. I think you either sell through dealers or you don't. I don't believe if another large enough order came across their desk that they would turn it away.

Opinions? Am I overreacting? I know that I will not make the $10K plus on the job and still take on the responsibility. I know I quoted this job 10 different times and spent a lot of time on it. I think it is wrong. I did months of work and lost the sale to the same supplier who's products I sell to my clients regularly.

 

[signsvisual]

yeh this is not right. have you looked into other suppliers, maybe international? You can check out alibaba.com or even thomasnet.com or if you have time, goto the sign shows , theres tons of suppliers. Even at the ISA website exhibitor directory. http://www.signs.org/ISAMembershipDirectory.aspx
At the ISA show in April, the guys from asia are usually there , and they distribute to the suppliers here in the states. they sell to you straight, hardware, frames, etc. You just have to connect with them at the shows. How do you think these dealers do it? They just distribute. But also sounds like client was a little shady? I would tell them if you want me to do the printing posters/labor of inserting etc., you have to void that order with the supplier and use me directly. I mean i would try to hardpress them on that.

 

[4cpro]

Selling Direct

My client is one of my best. Not shady. They are doing what the end user tells them to. Unfortunately I am stuck with this and to tell them no I potentially lose all of their business. Not a route I can go. As for another supplier, I have plenty of suppliers that sell a cheaper stand. Unfortunately the Testrite stand is a nicer aluminum stand and they are the manufacturer, not a reseller which brings me back to my original problem. I am the distributor. They skipped that part of the supply chain and sold directly to an end user. Granted they are a very large end user that probably buys a ton of stuff, but they have taken that business from me or from another distributor who could potentially get this business.

 

[synergy_jim]

Sad story but this happens all the time. I quote job using a modest markup on items spec'd by an architect and we lose the work. When I approach the builder, he gives me a number from a competitor that is less than what I was quoted cost on the product...

Back door crap going on all the time. I do not, and never will use vendors who sell direct to my clients or offer better pricing to my competitors because of under handed deals. When I find out, I use someone with some integrity and cross them off the list.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Really what do you expect Testrite to do? Call the customer and tell them that even though they've been selling to them direct all these years and even though they know the wholesale price they now have to buy them directly from you at your marked up price? The customer would drop you in a heartbeat.

As far as what you quoted before it's irrelevant. Your previous quote was a package deal, they are changing the package. If you were selling the job for $200 per piece and the cost of the stands was $45 then tell them the new price is $155.00. The only thing they have removed from the job is the wholesale cost of the display. Your labor, material costs, and liability is still the same, there's no reason to discount that.

 

[signage]

I would ask this client if when they go out to eat do they bring their own food for the restaurant to cook? I agree with Pat just remove the cost of the stands and tell them that is the cost!

 

[CanuckSigns]

Really what do you expect Testrite to do? Call the customer and tell them that even though they've been selling to them direct all these years and even though they know the wholesale price they now have to buy them directly from you at your marked up price? The customer would drop you in a heartbeat.

As far as what you quoted before it's irrelevant. Your previous quote was a package deal, they are changing the package. If you were selling the job for $200 per piece and the cost of the stands was $45 then tell them the new price is $155.00. The only thing they have removed from the job is the wholesale cost of the display. Your labor, material costs, and liability is still the same, there's no reason to discount that.

This is the way to do it!

 

[4cpro]

Yeah unfortunately I have given them the breakdown and the posters are inepensive printed offset... If the posters cost $1800 for 500 of $3.50 each. Lets assume I'm selling the stand for $105 each that cost me $70.00 and I'm assembling and repacking for $20 per package....

I make the bulk of the money (the easy part) on my stand markup. Now I have to pack them and ship them and bear the responsibility...
I get to print my posters and assemble/ship supplied product. Part of a quote is based on a whole, jot the individual parts. Anyway I already know I need to go back and requote.

That is not the point though. The point is that Testite sells itself as a wholesale distributor to the trade and is selling to my clients behind my back. I'm sure they would sell to anyone. What do I expect from them? Never to sell to the end user. They should have referred it 10 years ago.

I was just wondering was I wrong to be pissed off as the Testrite sales rep who contacted me with he snippy effing attitude basically told me to eff off and it was her account. I'm sure she didn't want to lose the sale.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Yea sucks. But can't do anything about it now. Tell them the price of the posters was contingent on them buying the stands through you also. If they want a quote for posters and install only that you can supply them with that. Like you said you might lose business if you turn them down on this one. Just do it and eat it on this one. Tell Testrite to go shove it and find a new supplier. Sign-mart has done this to us also. They say that they won't sell but if they come in and ask to buy it they don't ask any questions. Quoted A frame a couple times just to have them come back in with the one from sign-mart and have me do the signage only. Sucks but that's the way it is.

 

[signage]

Welcome to the sign industry! They all will do it if the customer orders are large enough.

 

[Gino]

It's upsetting, but it happens all the time. We have several vendors who now sell to our clients, because they went around our back and did some underhanded selling.

In fact, I had a vendor a year or so ago, call me and ask me about a customer of ours and wanted to find out the exact size of something they were buying from us. I would buy several sizes of a particular type bracket and they knew we did work for this customer and thought nothing of it..... asking us outright for that information. I told them, I thought they were lousy business people and asked them why they wanted to do this to me ?? Oh, well we know you buy a lot for 'ABC' company and thought we could better serve them for you by selling to them directly. Huh ?? Needless to say, I found another vendor which sold almost the same thing, dropped my markup and told them what happened. My customer said, we would never have gone with them directly. That's why we hire you. We don't want to deal with these cutthroats. That's why we pay you more than what they'd sell direct to us. It's not worth the headaches.

Anyway, I did change companies and this other company finally called them and they said to contact me, that I was there distributor. That was a fun phone conversation, telling them they were losing about $15,000 a year on one item alone. So, we dropped all the other items with them within a few months. They now lost a total of maybe $45,000 a year from us.

Be ready to roll with the punches and fight back. Do your homework and find someone willing to work with you on the up & up.

 

[solock]

Testrite in particular has established relations for years in the photobusiness, direct to retail for non sign components like holders, displays for hard goods etc, that a retailer uses for merchandising. Ive been caught in some customers realizinbg that testrite in their particular market is the same testrite that I am using.

I remove any branding and never spec by name.

I dont necessarily blame either as they already have some relationship. I dont like it but I do understand it.

 

[davearama]

No Name 'Em

I'm in w/soluck. When you quote don't give a vendor name and only a partial part number.

I almost always figure clients are getting competitive quotes. I also figure I'm seldom the low price vendor. So when I quote I try not to mention a specific model name or number that they can easily cross check on the internet or with another competitor. Will sometimes abbreviate model names and/or numbers.

For something like a sign face replacement I won't spec a face size on the quote and make it easy for a potential client to dial up four more places using my work.

Let them go climb around or bring out their bucket truck to go measure.

 

[player]

If they are such a good customer they will understand you use the mark-up on the stands to cover the labour to pick them up and open them and install the prints. If you are not making $ don't do it. It is only fair, and your good customer will want you to be able to make enough to cover expenses. If not, they are not such a good customer...