Gemini Resellers so cheap and fast??? WTH

I've wondered the same thing. There are a few other places the do the same thing, Alphabetsigns being one. Only thing I can think is that they have a large stock, Gemini has some secret tiered plans, or it is Gemini themselves. I will admit, I've looked into the latter pretty heavily. And unless it's some "disconnected" friend or relative, then they aren't the same.

Also, to add onto this, I think the prices are right at or just below catalog price for the standard letters and products.

 

I've given up on Gemini as well, for this reason as well as poor customer service. So much for taking care of the legitimate sign stores.

 

So they are not selling the letters at the retail price? Are they really Gemini letters? Do they come with the Gemini warranty postcard in a Gemini printed box?

 

I've got two standard formed plastic letters jobs coming up. Will let you know. I've never really paid attention before. I want to say that we typically get a shipping notice within 3-4 days after the order one non-custom products.

 

Read the fine print. 5-7 days for the production + shipping which is 2 weeks, just like you get them. Plus this company is probably buying 50x as much as you are so they get some preferential treatment.

Lastly, I believe their pricing is pretty close to list last I checked. Even if they do sell cheaper, they either get better pricing from Gemini or simply take it off their own profit as they're making it up with volume and less customer interaction.

 

Texas, This is what the bottom of there website says.
Gemini Sign Letters™ is an Authorized Reseller for Gemini Incorporated. If you are a sign company and currently have an account with Gemini Incorporated, please call them directly.

 

I just went to the geminisignletters dot com and did a quick check on one formed plastic letter. Gemini catalog price is $11.10. My cost from $6.60. The resellers price was $10.58, so yes they are discounting the letters from Gemini's catalog, but still making a decent profit when you consider they are simply selling the letters off the internet, no customer interaction and probably drop shipping from Gemini directly to the customer. On a simple formed plastic letter they are stating 6 to 8 business days lead time. They are out of Massachusetts so I'm thinking no affiliation to Gemini, Inc., just a reseller selling over the net. What surprises me is that Gemini didn't buy up every domain name with Gemini in it to protect their brand.

 

Yes, they are doing what millennials call "being disruptors". It's their darling new business model. Take an established industry and "disrupt" it. That basically means try to suck away all the business by using the internet to undersell everyone else, in this case by reselling a product from a company that has done very well at presenting themselves as a quality manufacturer from whom you get products only through authorized distributors, with standardized pricing that is transparent and available to all, but now they are cutting the price that the manufacturer has set.

 

I was on the page for their plastic formed letters and it said 6 to 8 business days for lead time. Maybe those customers that are complaining about a 10% difference are forgetting that you are laying out the letters, making sure they will fit in the specified area, putting in the order, receiving and unpacking the order. What the hell, do they expect you to do all that for free? They are doing all the things I just mentioned to save that 10%, plus if you screw up you eat it and make it right. If they screw up they eat it. Service counts for something.

 

I'm shocked that they allow it to happen, if they do not have some agreement in place to allow it. Want to get sued... create a domain with just part of the name of a trademark/copyright protected text from a college and start selling online with that domain. You will get letters from their law team faster than Calvin Johnson Jr, ran the 40 time at the combine.

I wish I could buy that domain..lol. They will pop up as #1 or #2 on most search engines when you try to locate the real company. Their website is lacking attention for sure. But the fact that many re-sellers will describe "Gemini" on their marketing media and invoices will lead to more sales for them. I guess we should be happy that they do not put money into their website in the way many of us would do to have a more modern online store.

Gemini Sign Letters™... amazing what patents and trademarks are passed. Gemini in our industry is like Ford or Chevy in the Auto Industry in my eyes. They are the top dogs in terms of sales volume on a global stage. Could you imagine if you could get Ford Used Trucks™ for your company's name. Then have that for the domain...lol. Gemini should protect their brand and challenge the ™ for their company name and then take on the domain name.

I think they have an agreement... Otherwise why would they have allowed it for so many years? I don't mean they are a typical re-seller like we are on any level.

 

I suppose rather than speculating we could ask Gemini what's up.

 

True... I hope to read about a response from them in this thread from one of the Signs101 members that go through to them about it.

Just in case it is truly open game... I went ahead and purchased "geminisignsandletters.com". I will put a pin in it until I get done with more important projects for our online stores. If nothing else it will be a good forward domain for the future as we sell a lot of Gemini products to our retail and team based clients.

 

They aren't being disruptors and it has nothing to do with any new wave business theory. It's called increases in efficiency and volume means you have the ability to lower prices if you choose to.

As for Gemini, my guess is they are happy to see the sales revenue and probably have a long standing relationship with this company that is beneficial to both parties.

 

I don't see the big deal, anyone is free to do the exact same thing if they want. I thought Gemini's intention was to print retail prices so you can give a catalog to a customer? It makes it really easy to close a deal since it gives the illusion of transparency and you don't have to waste much time making up a quote. They have essentially established the margin that they feel the reseller should be making and it's in their best interest to not have everybody out there quoting their products at 2-3x cost. Being a little under retail isn't exactly whoring and really should not cause anyone to lose a face to face deal unless you are trying to knock it out of the park. About every single sign shop has the same catalog with the same printed pricing so if you are quoting well above their retail pricing then you are going to get embarrassed at some point in time.
Another thing is, nobody outside of the sign industry knows what Gemini letters are and it will be pretty tough for the average joe to find this site.

 

You'd be surprised. The last couple of years I have done more Gemini installations of letters the customer got on their own and then called us to put them up. I wondered how they were getting them--they would have them in a Gemini box, unopened, when I would arrive. The customers are always vague with me about how they got the letters when I ask. So I think they know what Gemini letters are, they know we sell them and service them, but they have found places online like these that sell them cheaper than the catalog and just bypass us completely. And they don't have to know the name Gemini letters. They just have to do a google search. These companies not only have websites, but they are buying google advertising and placement with all kinds of keywords.

 

It's really not a whole lot different than any other business buying products to resell and we can all do the same thing. Gemini doesn't have any obligation to limit online sales. It seems that many here are expecting them to do that for no good reason other than ensuring that they can make the money that they feel they are entitled to.
This is why I take issue with businesses that want to use wholesalers for a chunk of their production work. You end up building up someone elses business and never get yourself into a position that your own size, scale and capabilities create a barrier to entry. So while they build up, you sit back as some sort of manufacturers rep and start crying foul when the next guy comes in doing the exact same for less.
There are tons of threads in here about where to buy stuff cheaper, consumable items, material, machines etc etc when we all have local distributors. It's all good for us to buy online to save a nickle but heaven forbid someone else does. How many went and loaded up with squeegees from that cheap wrap place on here so they could avoid paying the supply house's prices? Grimco, Fellers or whoever else has a lot of overhead and runs route trucks so their argument is just the same as anyone else running a brick and mortar would be.