Hey Fellers and Montroy.

[thesignguy1986]

with all these updates I tried liking your comment thinking we were on facebook or something lol

I'm getting confused,
brian_fellers just block quoted brian_fellers in post #101 saying that what brian_fellers posted in post #100 is "FALSE!" ??



wayne k
guam usa

 

[SignosaurusRex]

You call that "awesome"?? LOL. It's called DESPERATION!!! They are being DESTROYED every since they bought out Proveer. If they knew that they were lose ALL of the Oracal accounts Nationwide, they would NOT have purchased Proveer. They are hurting, why do you think they have eliminated 90% of their outside sales rep. They have turned into a "boiler room", there just another Sign Warehouse now, and that's awesome?? Well, check this out my friend, if you think Grimco won't sell a FINISHED SIGN to the public, you are sadly sadly mistaken, they will!! Go ahead, call in as somebody else, say your a contractor and need to buy 20 stop signs, I PROMISE YOU they will sell to you. "Traffic Division" is their bread n butter, THAT is where they make a HUGE profit margin. How do I know this? I used to work there...........

Can you explain why I have seen FINISHED SIGNS ready to be picked up in "Will Call" at our local branch of the "Fellers" distribution warehouse?

 

[JgS]

I still don't get it. You are all whining as if this is going to let every Tom, Dick, and Harry to open a sign shop in their apartment. You forget it takes a lot of work and equipment to operate on a professional level. Let these guys make Calvin stickers for their friends. Most of you complain about those jobs anyway.

 

[HulkSmash]

Why make up a lie?? A Fellers rep would NEVER NEVER say such a thing!!

Calling my a Lair? Do you even know who i talked to? Do you know anything i said to a manager there on the first day of this? Do me a favor before you make yourself look stupid, do some research.
I called Fellers day one talked to a manager, and she said she was ok with it, and didn't care.

In all honesty Fellers screwed up and hopefully they are taking care of it as they say they are and if so then that's fantastic & I will make sure to call and order Oracal from them again. Though I don't think it looks good upon the company to constantly smash another company such as grimco and signwarehouse. Rather you represent Feller's or not when you say "WE HAVE 72 STORES" it would make me assume you do represent them. On the professional end of it I think a simple we messed up it was launched early and we are working on fixing it would do just fine but instead these multiple posts have gone to far when trying to advert complaints toward other companies. I think a lot of people on here are just simply tired of having to compete with someone going out and spending $200 on a used vinyl cutter to do there buddies golf cart and then coming into our shops and complaining that we are double there price, were to expensive his friend can do it faster and so on and then when you posted the pricing and the public were able to by from you we feel like we were stabbed in the back. I THINK IT THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE: FIX THE ISSUE AND I'D IMAGINE IT'D BE BUSINESS AS USUAL AND STOP POSTING THEY SAME STATEMENT 50X TIMES. WE HEAR YOU SO NOW GO OUT FIX WHAT YOU'VE SAID YOU WOULD AND THAT SHOULD BE THE END OF IT. IN BUSINESS YOU MAKE GOOD CHOICES AND BAD AND AS LONG AS YOU FIX THE BAD QUICKLY AND CORRECTLY ALL IS NORMALLY FORGIVEN

I had my rep and your VP Carl tell me they have sold to the public for a while, and now it's pretty much public. It was not a early launch on accident, he specifically said it was franks call, and thought it would be ok with everyone. Do yourself a favor, and stop making fellers look worse then what they do right now.

 

[Xplizt]

This is 100% NOT TRUE. Long story short, Fellers "new" website was accidentally launched to early without asking for customer info first. This is issue is being addressed ASAP, and the website will be SHUT DOWN (from what I've heard) ;-) until the issue is resolved. Do me a favor, call Grimco, tell them your a contractor, or something similar, and you'd like to buy 10 Finished Signs (Stop Signs, Speed Limit Signs, Handicap, etc.) and guess what? They WILL sell to ANYBODY as long as you "talk the lingo". Fellers DOES NOT SELL TO THE PUBLIC, and Fellers is IS a WHOLESALE SUPPLIER, not just a "supplier". If you Fellers Sales Rep is telling you anything differently, than he is misinforming you. Fellers is TWICE the size of Grimco, we have 72 (about to be 73 next month) warehouses fully stocked, they have 36 warehouses. Grimco is being destroyed by all of their competitors for one simple reason: they eliminated 90% of their OUTSIDE sales reps. They have turned into a "boiler room" and apparently want to be like a SignWarehouse. Fellers deals with EVERY major manufacturer out there, and Fellers will match or beat ANY of it's competitors pricing, all you have to do is ASK YOUR OUTSIDE SALES REP. For those that do not know, for every warehouse Fellers has, there is a dedicated OUTSIDE sales rep traveling on the road, making visits, etc. What happened with the website is and was 100% accidental, and is being dealt with. I think it's pretty funny that Grimco has nothing better to do than put a new banner up on their website announcing "WE ONLY SALE WHOLESALE". LOL I have news for you folks, I personally used to work for Grimco back in 2006, and they do NOT do visit to make sure they are dealing with a "sign company". If you have a Tax ID, and if you can talk the lingo, and act like you know what you are talking about.........THEY WILL SELL TO YOU TOO. Fellers does the best they can to "filter" the calls, but when you are the largest vinyl distributor in the WORLD, let alone the COUNTRY, a few people might slip thru the ropes and get an account open, but there IS a "screening process" before Fellers will give someone an account. Ok, there it is, I know this is against forum rules, but the TRUTH needs to be told, and most of Fellers competitors are being DESTROYED by Fellers. Why? They are BIGGEST distributor in the country which means: MORE BUYING POWER!!! Don't walk away from a great company based on an accidental launch of the website, it is being shutdown, and Grimco is DESPERATE to do whatever they can to "try" and hurt Frank's image. Frank Fellers is the best employer I have ever worked for, and genially cares about this industry, and his customers. For those in the South Florida area, you already know who I am, and I will continue to SCREEN all new customers, and I most certainly do NOT sell to just anybody. If they don't meet the qualifications of either A A Wrap Shop or B A Sign Company, I will refer them to one of my customers. DONT BUY INTO THE LIES, WE DONT SELL TO THE PUBLIC, WE DON'T SELL TO THE PUBLIC, WE ARE A WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR, WE ARE A WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR!!

This is 100% NOT TRUE

Sorry but you are actually misinforming people with bad PR. Fellers DOES sell to the public, I know people who have purchased without any business credentials and your own sales associates also admit to this.

As of now, the website, pricing and shopping carts are all still up.. not shut down as you mentioned. IN regards to asking your outside sales rep for pricing.. that is exactly what we have to do in order to get said "wholesale pricing"... otherwise fellers has already admit many times over that the catalog pricing is public retail pricing.

The website launch was not accidental and I personally HIGHLY doubt that Fellers was going to ask for my input on whether or not they should sell to the public. I am the one who email bombed all your customers about this BS. I have received a LOT of feedback and many verified reports have already shown that Fellers and Frank himself have already fessed up to the situation. Several reports have first hand conversations with Frank who openly admits making the decision on his own. AND, several reports have clearly admit that Fellers is NOT a wholesale supplier but retail and has been. This is why we are directed to our outside sales reps to receive "special pricing". FELLERS OUTSIDE SALES REPS have admit to being able to give ANYONE special pricing in addition to selling to ANYONE.

This talk about Grimco is considered slander and I believe rather illegal.

 

[Xplizt]

Fellers sells only wholesale to customers... Proof

This here clearly supports Brian Fellers on the argument that Fellers only sells wholesale to customers. Note how the "Customer Number" box is not required. All wholesale pricing is clearly public and the next step to complete my order is to simply push the "confirm your order" button.

Yes, you are correct Brian FELLERS, This company clearly only sells WHOLESALE to CUSTOMERS... the devil is in the details where it doesn't specify WHICH customers fellers sells WHOLESALE to.

 

[visual800]

Who sells Oracal!? I can't get it from Grimco. They don't carry it.

Jane we get it from advantage sign supply, very quick and good company

 

[Wrapgirl]

I'm not boycotting anyone but Grimco now...

I personally just wrote to Frank directly at Feller's and made him aware though I'm not huge like some of you I still spend 15k with them a year though I do mainly use Grimco I will be stopping all purchases from them and I hope they change their decision to sell to the public. I actually suggest we start a boycott of Feller's to make them understand you don't sell to the public and its quite pathetic they would to make a couple extra bucks when in reality they are losing a ton from our sign shops that will no longer use them. Sorry to rant but I take it personally when a supplier isn't loyal to their customers!

Thanks for reading guys

I'm not boycotting Fellers! Spoke with my rep yesterday who assured me that the pricing would be secure again & I believe her. Relax folks, enjoy your weekend & it will all be better on Monday. So put on your big boy/big girl panties & stop bashing them the way that Grimco has.......as far as I am concerned "those who stir the **** pot should have to lick the spoon TWICE" ---Get ready Grimco, you think this helped you when it reality you will be the ones who will get hurt from it! Karma is a real ***** & she will be back around to see you again.

 

[Kottwitz-Graphics]

This is 100% NOT TRUE. Long story short, Fellers "new" website was accidentally launched to early without asking for customer info first. This is issue is being addressed ASAP, and the website will be SHUT DOWN (from what I've heard) ;-) until the issue is resolved. Do me a favor, call Grimco, tell them your a contractor, or something similar, and you'd like to buy 10 Finished Signs (Stop Signs, Speed Limit Signs, Handicap, etc.) and guess what? They WILL sell to ANYBODY as long as you "talk the lingo". Fellers DOES NOT SELL TO THE PUBLIC, and Fellers is IS a WHOLESALE SUPPLIER, not just a "supplier". If you Fellers Sales Rep is telling you anything differently, than he is misinforming you. Fellers is TWICE the size of Grimco, we have 72 (about to be 73 next month) warehouses fully stocked, they have 36 warehouses. Grimco is being destroyed by all of their competitors for one simple reason: they eliminated 90% of their OUTSIDE sales reps. They have turned into a "boiler room" and apparently want to be like a SignWarehouse. Fellers deals with EVERY major manufacturer out there, and Fellers will match or beat ANY of it's competitors pricing, all you have to do is ASK YOUR OUTSIDE SALES REP. For those that do not know, for every warehouse Fellers has, there is a dedicated OUTSIDE sales rep traveling on the road, making visits, etc. What happened with the website is and was 100% accidental, and is being dealt with. I think it's pretty funny that Grimco has nothing better to do than put a new banner up on their website announcing "WE ONLY SALE WHOLESALE". LOL I have news for you folks, I personally used to work for Grimco back in 2006, and they do NOT do visit to make sure they are dealing with a "sign company". If you have a Tax ID, and if you can talk the lingo, and act like you know what you are talking about.........THEY WILL SELL TO YOU TOO. Fellers does the best they can to "filter" the calls, but when you are the largest vinyl distributor in the WORLD, let alone the COUNTRY, a few people might slip thru the ropes and get an account open, but there IS a "screening process" before Fellers will give someone an account. Ok, there it is, I know this is against forum rules, but the TRUTH needs to be told, and most of Fellers competitors are being DESTROYED by Fellers. Why? They are BIGGEST distributor in the country which means: MORE BUYING POWER!!! Don't walk away from a great company based on an accidental launch of the website, it is being shutdown, and Grimco is DESPERATE to do whatever they can to "try" and hurt Frank's image. Frank Fellers is the best employer I have ever worked for, and genially cares about this industry, and his customers. For those in the South Florida area, you already know who I am, and I will continue to SCREEN all new customers, and I most certainly do NOT sell to just anybody. If they don't meet the qualifications of either A A Wrap Shop or B A Sign Company, I will refer them to one of my customers. DONT BUY INTO THE LIES, WE DONT SELL TO THE PUBLIC, WE DON'T SELL TO THE PUBLIC, WE ARE A WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR, WE ARE A WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR!!

Ok. I hear what your saying... kinda...it was a little hard to read, but i personally called the 800# and asked the sales rep if my customer called and asked if they could purchase from Fellers, they would be set up with an account. She advised that my customers not find out who i purchase from. I don't tell my customers, but if they see a catalog on my counter, they could put 2 and 2 together.

 

[John L]

Brian, Many business models throughout our country are heading towards manufacture-direct sales. I believe its a combination of both product buyers embracing and having become very comfortable with the act of purchasing online and also our frail economy no longer supporting the heavy markups of the old school middle-man distribution. It's a double win for the important parties in the equation. Manufacture usually sells for more - buyer/user buys for less.

As manufacture and user start to meet in the "middle" I think there may soon be not much room for a Glantz, Fellers, Grimco, or any other of your favorite favor of medicine man.

 

[cdiesel]

I haven't posted on s101 in quite some time, but this warrants me chiming in. We purchase quite a bit of material from various distributors that we consider partners. I cannot and will not support a company that's business practices harm my company and my industry in general. Period.

I've had this very same conversation with Frank, Karl, and Stacie regarding the "wrap shop in a box" sales tactics they were using before. The model of having a million small customers is harmful to the health of the industry, especially those who purchase large amounts from distribution on a continual basis.

It's funny to me that Brian-fellers laughs that the manufacturers won't sell direct. For one, we purchase enough that multiple manufacturers have solicited us to go direct. We've always declined, as we value the distribution channels. Two, he laughs that they won't sell direct to Fellers clients, which is EXACTLY what they are doing to our clients. Distribution would be pissed if you could order one roll directly from the manufacturer at their prices, now wouldn't they?

Frank or Karl, please call me. 602.451.5260

 

[SignProPlus-Chip]

For a company the size of Fellers, how do you "accidentally" launch the new website too soon? Someone trip over a cowboy hat and fall on the website "LAUNCH" button?

FFS just admit you wanted a bigger piece of the pie, didn't concern yourself with feedback from current customers, and didn't expect the public lynching you're on the receiving end of now.

If you claim anything else it's disingenuous at best, as it's a pretty transparent set of events that has occurred here.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck.......

 

[Billct2]

Brian you're doing more harm than good, if I were Frank I'd can your butt for talking out of turn, unless he asked you to respond this way, which is even more pathetic.

 

[Fred Weiss]

I find it interesting that neither Fellers nor Grimco, both of whom have numerous members here, have ever participated in the Signs 101 community either to offer help or to advertise.

 

[ProWraps]

brian_fellers, i sure hope you are authorized to speak on behalf of fellers. otherwise monday is gonna be a rough one.

everything you have said, is counter to what everyone else in your company has said including your boss.

 

[SignProPlus-Chip]

Can Fred verify that Brian Fellers is the real deal? Just want to make sure we don't get sucked in by someone sock puppeting/trolling.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Can Fred verify that Brian Fellers is the real deal? Just want to make sure we don't get sucked in by someone sock puppeting/trolling.

Yes, he is but, as already posted, he really doesn't represent the management of Fellers. He is a territory sales rep.

 

[David Wright]

As a small aside, I have never met nor been contacted by a Fellers sales rep in all my years with them.

 

[RJ California]

+1 for Advantage Sign Supply

Jane we get it from advantage sign supply, very quick and good company

+1 on Oracal through Advantage Sign Supply. I can't vouch that they never sell to the public, (I think most suppliers will now -- if people can find them) but I've never seen any marketing to the public by Advantage. They are very honest and helpful.They have opened on a Saturday for us on a emergency material need... and their assistance on a printer problem last year was way above and beyond! The California branch of Advantage values customer service as much as I do.

I have to say that what Brian_Fellers wrote in defense of Fellers is pretty cringe worthy. Publicly bashing competitors and current and prospective clients is bad form. Hopefully he gets off with just a warning.

 

[Joe Diaz]

Yes, he is but, as already posted, he really doesn't represent the management of Fellers. He is a territory sales rep.

LOL That makes sense, because clearly PR is not his forte.